Examining How The Western Conference Play-In Tournament Will Be Determined
Entering Thursday night, the Western Conference standings remain as tight as they have ever been with about two weeks left in any NBA regular season.
The Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Clippers are currently tied for the 4-seed in the conference with the Golden State Warriors just one game behind them at the 6-seed.
Just one game behind the Warriors though in the 7-seed is the Minnesota Timberwolves and just a half-game behind them are four teams: Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder and New Orleans Pelicans. Just a half-game behind these three teams, the Utah Jazz are looking to keep their playoff hopes alive.
With almost every team having seven or eight games remaining on their schedule, just three games separates the 4-seed in the West from 12th place, which is why we are set up for one of the greatest finishes in the standings in league history.
Where each team lands in the standings will have drastic effects on how the postseason plays out, thus resulting in who will ultimately make the NBA Finals this year.
As if things could not get any crazier, the Clippers defeated the Thunder 127-105 on Thursday night, throwing a wrench into the standings once again.
As shown above, not only are the Clippers now tied with the Suns, but the Thunder dropped a half-game in the standings, resulting in them being tied with the likes of the Mavericks, Lakers and Pelicans.
There are still games to be played and some of these teams will play one another down the stretch run of the season, but right now, a four-team tie is very unique and something that would take a lot of brains to try and decipher who would actually make the playoffs in this scenario.
Here are the official tiebreaker rules from the official NBA rules on how the standings are determined:
TIEBREAKER BASIS FOR TWO-WAY TIES:
- (-) Tie breaker not needed (better overall winning percentage)
- (1) Head-to-head won-lost percentage
- (2) Division leader wins tie from team not leading a division
- (3) Division won-lost percentage for teams in the same division
- (4) Conference won-lost percentage
- (5) W-L Percentage vs. Playoff teams, own conference
- (6) W-L Percentage vs. Playoff teams, other conference
- (7) Net Points, all games
TIEBREAKER BASIS FOR MULTI-WAY TIES:
- (-) Tie breaker not needed (better overall winning percentage)
- (1) Division leader wins tie from team not leading a division
- (2) Head-to-head won-lost percentage
- (3) Division won-lost percentage for teams in the same division
- (4) Conference won-lost percentage
- (5) W-L Percentage vs. Playoff teams, own conference
- (6) W-L Percentage vs. Playoff teams, other conference
- (7) Net Points, all games
If there was to be a four-way tie at the conclusion of the regular season, then the head-to-head won-lost percentage would come into play. We could realistically be looking at a scenario in which a team misses the playoffs or Play-In Tournament as a result of another team they are tied with defeating a second team they are tied with during the first month of the regular season back in November.
There are a couple of matchups coming up on Friday and Saturday though that could once again drastically shift the standings in the Western Conference.
Friday night's game between the Thunder and Lakers will hold a lot of weight, as one team will either maintain their spot in the standings or fall out of the Play-In region. Losses by Dallas, Utah, Golden State or Phoenix on Thursday night could also result in things becoming more complicated in regards to tiebreakers.
On Saturday, the Clippers will take on the Pelicans in a game that both teams will need to win. Los Angeles could potentially jump Phoenix for the 4-seed with a win, but with a loss, they could fall to the 6-seed or worse. As for New Orleans, a win could potentially move them up as far as the 7-seed in the conference pending the results from the day before.
There are just so many moving pieces right now and every game that these teams play down the stretch matters, as they are almost like mini-playoff games in a way.
Just one loss could result in a team going from being in the playoff picture entirely to falling down to the bottom of the Play-In Tournament region of the standings. A second loss could very well mean the end of their season.
If there is one thing that we know though, it is that the NBA league offices are going over all of these scenarios and notes for the tiebreakers this season because they are going to need them!
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