The final postseason berth in each conference and seeding for eight of the 16 playoff teams will be determined Wednesday on the final day of the NBA regular season.
The Indiana Pacers and Brooklyn Nets are battling to make the field in the East, while the New Orleans Pelicans and Oklahoma City Thunder are fighting for the last spot in the West.
Thanks to a 99-95, double-overtime victory over the Washington Wizards on Tuesday, the Pacers moved to the brink of wrapping up the final spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Indiana, which eliminated the Miami Heat by winning Tuesday, has a one-game lead on the Nets. A Pacers road win over the Memphis Grizzlies or a Nets home loss to the Orlando Magic on Wednesday would send Indiana to the postseason. However, because Brooklyn holds the head-to-head tiebreaker, the Nets would sneak in if they win and the Pacers lose.
The Pelicans control their fate in the race for the West’s No. 8 seed. Because New Orleans holds the head-to-head tiebreaker with Oklahoma City, New Orleans would make the postseason with a home win over the Spurs or a Thunder road loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. However, an Oklahoma City win and a New Orleans loss would send Russell Westbrook and Co. to the postseason.
San Antonio is in charge of the three-team race for the West’s No. 2 seed. If the Spurs beat the Pelicans, San Antonio captures the Southwest Division title and will take the No. 2 spot.
If San Antonio loses and Houston beats the visiting Utah Jazz, the Rockets would claim the Southwest crown and the No. 2 seed.
Should both San Antonio and Houston fall, the Los Angeles Clippers could jump up to the No. 2 spot. To have a chance at that scenario, Los Angeles needed to earn a win in its regular-season finale on the road against the Phoenix Suns late Tuesday.
More than half of the Eastern Conference playoff seeding is set after the Boston Celtics’ 95-93 win over the visiting Toronto Raptors on Tuesday. The Celtics wrapped up the No. 7 seed, and they will face the second-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers, the Central Division champs, in the first round of the postseason.
The Southeast Division champion Atlanta Hawks are the top seed and will have home-court advantage all the way through the East playoffs. The Wizards are No. 5, and the Milwaukee Bucks are No. 6.
The Chicago Bulls would clinch the No. 3 seed with a win over the visiting Hawks. However, Toronto would move up to No. 3 if it beats the visiting Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday and the Bulls fall to Atlanta. In that scenario, Toronto and Chicago would have the same record, but the Raptors would gain the tiebreaker edge as the Atlantic Division champions.
In the West, the Pacific Division champion Golden State Warriors are the top seed, and they are guaranteed the home-court edge through the entire postseason. The Northwest Division champion Portland Trail Blazers are locked into the fourth seed, though they will not have home court in their opening playoff series. The Dallas Mavericks are assured of the No. 7 seed.
The Memphis Grizzlies will wind up as the fifth or sixth seed, as they cannot win the tiebreaker to capture the Southwest Division title.
NBA PLAYOFF PICTURE THROUGH GAMES OF APRIL 14
EASTERN CONFERENCE
1. *Atlanta Hawks (60-21), Southeast Division champions
2. *Cleveland Cavaliers (52-29), Central Division champions
3. *Chicago Bulls (49-32)
4. *Toronto Raptors (48-33), Atlantic Division champions
5. *Washington Wizards (46-35)
6. *Milwaukee Bucks (41-40)
7. *Boston Celtics (39-42)
8. Indiana Pacers (38-43)
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9. Brooklyn Nets (37-44)
WESTERN CONFERENCE
1. *Golden State Warriors (66-15), Pacific Division champions
2. *San Antonio Spurs (55-26), Southwest Division co-leaders
3. *&Los Angeles Clippers (55-26)
4. *Portland Trail Blazers (51-30), Northwest Division champions
5. *Houston Rockets (55-26), Southwest Division co-leaders
6. *Memphis Grizzlies (54-27)
7. *Dallas Mavericks (49-32)
8. New Orleans Pelicans (44-37)
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9. Oklahoma City Thunder (44-37)
* — clinched playoff berth
& — late result not included