
NBA Playoff Picture 2023: Latest Play-in Bracket, Seeding Scenarios for Last Day
The NBA regular season will conclude Sunday with all 30 teams in action.
The Eastern Conference's playoff seedings and play-in tournament positions are already set. Meanwhile, the top four Western Conference seeds are locked in as well.
The 10 Western Conference playoff and play-in teams are in place, but seedings for No. 5 through No. 9 in the West remain undecided. The fifth and sixth seeds will confirm their playoff spots, while the seventh through ninth seeds will have to earn a postseason berth through the play-in tournament.
Four games will decide the remaining Western Conference playoff and play-in seedings, and all of them will go down on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET.
- New Orleans Pelicans at Minnesota Timberwolves
- Utah Jazz at Los Angeles Lakers
- Los Angeles Clippers at Phoenix Suns
- Golden State Warriors at Portland Trail Blazers
Here's a look at the remaining scenarios.
You can check out how the playoff and play-in brackets look right now alongside quick breakdowns for the five Western Conference teams whose seedings have yet to be decided.
Eastern Conference Play-in
No. 8 Atlanta Hawks at No. 7 Miami Heat (winner plays No. 2 Boston Celtics in first round)
No. 10 Chicago Bulls at No. 9 Toronto Raptors (winner visits Heat/Hawks loser for the No. 8 seed, which will play No. 1 Milwaukee Bucks in Round 1)
Eastern Conference First Round
No. 1 Milwaukee Bucks vs. No. 8 seed (Heat, Hawks, Raptors or Bulls)
No. 2 Boston Celtics vs. No. 7 seed (winner of Hawks at Heat play-in game)
No. 3 Philadelphia 76ers vs. No. 6 Brooklyn Nets
No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. No. 5 New York Knicks
Western Conference Play-in
No. 7 seed vs. No. 8 seed (winner plays No. 2 Memphis Grizzlies)
No. 9 seed vs. No. 10 Oklahoma City Thunder (winner plays loser of 7/8 play-in game to become No. 8 seed and play No. 1 Denver Nuggets in Round 1)
Western Conference First Round
No. 1 Denver Nuggets vs. No. 8 seed
No. 2 Memphis Grizzlies vs. No. 7 seed
No. 3 Sacramento Kings vs. No. 6 seed
No. 4 Phoenix Suns vs. No. 5 seed
Los Angeles Clippers (43-38, No. 6 because of a better division record than Golden State)
The Clippers aren't in the best of spots. If they win, they'll face the Phoenix Suns in the first round. The Suns are 8-0 with Kevin Durant in the lineup and very well could be the best Western Conference team despite having its fourth-best record. Simply put, that's a brutal draw.
On the flip side, if the Clippers lose, they run the risk of falling all the way to seventh and needing to earn their way to a playoff spot through the play-in tournament.
That would happen with a New Orleans Pelicans win plus: a. Lakers and Warriors wins, b. Jazz and Warriors wins or c. Jazz and Blazers wins.
Golden State Warriors (43-38, No. 6)
It's pretty simple for the Warriors: Golden State avoids the play-in tournament with a win over Portland.
The Warriors can fall as far as No. 8 with a loss. They'll be the No. 5 seed with a win plus a Clippers loss to Phoenix. If the Clippers beat Phoenix, then the Warriors' best-case scenario is the No. 6 seed.
Los Angeles Lakers (42-39, No. 7 because of head-to-head tiebreaker over New Orleans)
The Lakers need to beat the Jazz to have a chance at leaving the play-in field, ensuring a playoff spot in the process. However, L.A. would also need Golden State to lose to a Trail Blazers team that's been sitting most of their best players since they were all but eliminated from playoff contention.
A loss to the Jazz means that the Lakers will fall to No. 8 to travel to play No. 7 no matter what. There is also one scenario where the Lakers win and still drop to No. 8 (Golden State, New Orleans and the L.A. Clippers all win).
New Orleans Pelicans (42-39, No. 8)
The Pelicans' scenarios are all over the map. They can finish anywhere from Nos. 5-9. A loss locks them into the No. 9 seed.
A win gives them a shot to get as high as No. 5, but the Pels would still need some help to avoid the play-in tournament.
There are quite a few scenarios, but to boil it down a bit, the Pels can't get the No. 5 seed unless they win and Portland beats Golden State.
More realistically, New Orleans can get the No. 6 with a win plus Golden State and Phoenix victories.
Minnesota Timberwolves (41-40, No. 9)
The Minnesota Timberwolves are locked into the play-in tournament no matter what, but they'd obviously like to move up from ninth place to eighth or seventh, giving them an automatic win-an-in scenario. If they win and the Lakers lose, they can go as high as seventh. Should the Lakers win, though, the T-Wolves can only go as high as eighth.
A loss will lock them into ninth, setting up a home date with the Thunder in an elimination game.





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