NBA Unveils Clinching Scenarios for 2025 Playoff Bracket on April 11 Schedule
Several NBA playoff, play-in and division clinching scenarios are in play as part of the league schedule on Friday night.
The NBA announced that the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors all have a chance to clinch a playoff spot Friday with a win and some help.
The NBA also posted a graphic showing the playoff seeding scenarios still in play in both the Eastern and Western Conferences:
In order to clinch a playoff spot Friday, Denver must beat the Memphis Grizzlies, coupled with one of the Clippers, Warriors or Minnesota Timberwolves losing, while the Clippers must beat the Sacramento Kings, along with a loss by one of the Nuggets, Warriors or T-Wolves.
The Warriors can clinch a playoff spot by defeating the Portland Trail Blazers in addition to losses by both the Grizzlies and Timberwolves.
In the event that multiple playoff spots are clinched in the Western Conference on Friday, some teams will be locked into the postseason play-in tournament as well.
If the Grizzlies lose to the Nuggets and the Warriors beat the Blazers, Memphis will not be able to get into the top six, and thus it will have to settle for a play-in berth.
The same goes for the Timberwolves if they lose to the Brooklyn Nets and each of the Warriors, Nuggets and Clippers win.
Although the Los Angeles Lakers have already clinched a playoff spot, there is another clinching scenario that is possible for them Friday as well.
If the Lakers beat the Houston Rockets or the Clippers lose to the Kings, the Lakers will clinch the Pacific Division titles.
Division titles don't matter in terms of playoff seeding, but it would be a significant accomplishment for the Lakers since they haven't won their division since the 2019-20 season, which is when they last won an NBA championship.
Led by LeBron James and Luka Dončić, the Lakers are currently third in the Western Conference with a 49-31 record. If they win at least one of their final two games, it will mark their first 50-plus-win season since 2019-20 as well.
All 30 NBA teams will be in action Friday, and once the night is over, each team will have one regular-season game left. All 30 teams will play again Sunday, marking the end of the regular season.
That will be followed by the postseason play-in tournament with games being played next week Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. The playoffs will begin April 19.
