NBA Playoffs 2019: Known Schedule, Bracket Picture Before Final Games of Season
The final NBA playoff berth and a few seeds in the Eastern and Western Conference are up for grabs on the last day of the regular season.
In the Eastern Conference, the final three seeds still have to be determined, and there's one side out of the playoff positions with a chance to clinch a postseason berth.
Wednesday's games in the Western Conference will affect the seeding of the bracket, as spots No. 2 through No. 4 and No. 6 through No. 8 need to be finalized.
Going into Wednesday, the top five teams in the East have been determined, as well as the No. 1 and No. 5 seeds in the West, but after that, we will be forced to familiarize ourselves with the tiebreaking procedures ahead of the 11-game slate to close the 82-game regular season.
After Wednesday, the 16 playoff teams get a few days off before the first round of the postseason starts Saturday.
Bracket Picture
Eastern Conference
No. 1 Milwaukee vs. No. 8 Detroit
No. 4 Boston vs. No. 5 Indiana
No. 2 Toronto vs. No. 7 Orlando
No. 3 Philadelphia vs. No. 6 Brooklyn
The focus in the Eastern Conference remains on the bottom half of the standings.
Brooklyn and Orlando are both 41-40 going into the final day of the regular season, while Detroit holds a one-game advantage over Charlotte for the No. 8 seed.
The formula to get into the postseason is simple for Blake Griffin and the Pistons. All they have to do is beat the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden and the final postseason berth belongs to them.
There is a scenario in which the Pistons snag the No. 7 seed with a victory, but they would need Charlotte to beat Orlando and Brooklyn to down Miami.
Since Brooklyn holds a tiebreaker over Orlando, it is the favored side to land the No. 6 seed and a first-round matchup with Philadelphia.
A win over the Heat at Barclays Center secures the No. 6 seed for D'Angelo Russell and the Nets, but a loss would likely drop them in the standings.
A Brooklyn loss combined with an Orlando victory over Charlotte would shift the two teams in the standings.
Then there's the Hornets, who have remained alive in the hunt for the No. 8 seed with a four-game winning streak.
Charlotte is a game back of Detroit, so it needs to beat Orlando and the tanking Knicks to defeat the Pistons.
If that occurs, the Hornets would secure the No. 8 seed by way of a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Pistons.
The top five teams in the East are set, with Boston and Indiana locked into a first-round matchup and Milwaukee in possession of home-court advantage.
Western Conference
No. 1 Golden State vs. No. 8 Los Angeles Clippers
No. 4 Portland vs. No. 5 Utah
No. 2 Denver vs. No. 7 San Antonio
No. 3 Houston vs. No. 6 Oklahoma City
Golden State's status as the top seed in the Western Conference is one of the few things set in stone going into Wednesday.
Directly beneath the Warriors is a three-team race for second place between Denver, Houston and Portland.
The Nuggets can make life easy on themselves with a win over Minnesota, which would secure the No. 2 seed.
A victory would keep Mike Malone's team away from Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and the Warriors until the Western Conference Finals.
A Nuggets loss could throw chaos into the Western Conference seeding, especially if Portland beats Sacramento and three teams finish at 53-29.
But that is unlikely given the form of the Nuggets, who have plenty of motivation to end the regular season with a win.
Portland can leap over James Harden and the Houston Rockets with a victory over the Kings because of the head-to-head tiebreaker it holds.
By securing the No. 3 seed, the Trailblazers would force the Rockets to play the Warriors in what would be an epic second-round series.
No matter who the No. 4 seed is, that team will play the Utah Jazz, who are two games ahead of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Russell Westbrook and Co. have the inside track to the No. 6 seed, but the Thunder have to win in Milwaukee to lock up that position.
San Antonio, who hosts Dallas, and the Los Angeles Clippers, who take on the Jazz, are also involved in the fight for the No. 6 seed.
If the Thunder, Spurs and Clippers all win Wednesday, they remain in the same positions they started the day in.
The Oklahoman's Eric Horne laid out all the playoff scenarios for the Thunder:
Mike Finger of the San Antonio Express-News detailed the Spurs' playoff scenarios:
Anthony Slater of The Athletic pointed out all of the scenarios for the No. 8 seed:
The goal for the Thunder, Spurs and Clippers is simply to avoid playing the Warriors in the first round, which will be easier to achieve for Oklahoma City.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90
