NBA Playoff Picture 2023: Latest Standings, Play-in Predictions for Lakers, More – Bleacher Report

Seven teams have three days left to figure out what the order of the fifth through 11th teams in the Western Conference will be.
The play-in race will receive most of the attention as the Los Angeles Lakers try to hold on to the No. 7 seed.
The Lakers are still alive in the hunt for the No. 5 and No. 6 seeds, but the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors have favorable schedules to keep them ahead of the Lakers.
LeBron James and Co. need to fend off the New Orleans Pelicans and Minnesota Timberwolves, who still have paths to finish ahead of the Lakers.
The final play-in position comes down to the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks. OKC is in front by a half-game after it ended its three-game losing streak on Thursday. OKC’s win in Utah eliminated the Utah Jazz from playoff contention.
The Eastern Conference technically has one playoff position left up for grabs, but the Brooklyn Nets should not feel worried about dropping from No. 6 to No. 7.
That leaves the Miami Heat, who beat the Philadelphia 76ers on the road on Thursday, as the best play-in team, with the Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors and Chicago Bulls behind them.

1. Milwaukee (58-22)
2. Boston (55-25)
3. Philadelphia (52-28)
4. Cleveland (51-30)
5. New York (47-33)
6. Brooklyn (44-36)
Play-In Race
7. Miami (43-37)
8. Atlanta (41-39)
9. Toronto (40-40)
10. Chicago (38-42)
Miami’s road win in Philadelphia on Thursday may not mean anything in its pursuit of the No. 6 seed.
The Heat are one game back of the Nets. Brooklyn hosts the Orlando Magic on Friday and Philadelphia on Sunday.
The Nets should beat the Magic, and then there is a chance the Sixers rest all of their starters to ensure Brooklyn is the No. 6 seed and their first-round opponent.
Philadelphia went 1-2 against the Heat in the regular season, and it can ensure the Heat stay in the No. 7 spot by losing to the Nets on Sunday.
Miami should use its final two games against the Washington Wizards and Orlando to fine-tune its rotation ahead of the play-in round.
Jimmy Butler and his teammates are not going to drop from the No. 7 spot, so they would need one win over the No. 8 seed to confirm a first-round matchup with the Boston Celtics.
Atlanta is Miami’s most likely opponent after the Hawks beat the Bulls in Chicago on Tuesday night.
The Hawks have to hope the Sixers opt to rest some of their starters on Friday so that they can remain ahead of the Raptors. Atlanta finishes on Sunday versus the Celtics, who are already locked into the No. 2 seed.
Toronto plays the second of two road games in Boston on Friday and then hosts the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday. Both Boston and Milwaukee should be in full rest mode.
Chicago does not have a path out of the No. 10 seed, and it needs two road wins in the play-in round to set up a first-round matchup with the top-seeded Bucks.
Prediction: 7. Miami, 8. Atlanta, 9. Toronto, 10. Chicago

1. Denver (52-28)
2. Memphis (50-30)
3. Sacramento (48-32)
4. Phoenix (45-35)
5. Los Angeles Clippers (42-38)
6. Golden State (42-38)
Play-In Race
7. Los Angeles Lakers (41-39)
8. New Orleans (41-39)
9. Minnesota (40-40)
10. Oklahoma City (39-42)
11. Dallas (38-42)
The Western Conference playoff math is simple.
The Clippers need to go 1-1 and the Warriors must win out to avoid the play-in round.
The Clippers can afford one loss in their final two games because they have a one-game lead over the Lakers and own the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Golden State does not have that luxury, but it does have the advantage of playing the Sacramento Kings and Portland Trailblazers to close out the regular season. Sacramento has no reason to play its starters after securing the No. 3 seed. Portland has been playing reserves for the last week.
Winning on the road has been tough for the Warriors all season, but they should handle those two away assignments and become the last of the West playoff teams to earn 10 away wins.
The Lakers need to beat Phoenix and Utah to be the No. 7 seed at worst. The Suns come to Los Angeles after a game versus Denver on Thursday. They could be inclined to rest, or limit the minutes, of their star players.
Utah’s postseason elimination should allow the Lakers to cruise to a victory on Sunday.
Sunday will be important in the play-in race when it comes to the Pelicans and Wolves, who square off in Minnesota.
New Orleans is expected to beat the shorthanded New York Knicks at home on Friday, and Minnesota should cruise against the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday. That will set up a winner-takes-all game for the No. 8 seed and a trip to Los Angeles.
The Pelicans and Wolves split their regular-season series, but the games happened in December and January, so they are not true indicators of what Sunday’s game will look like.
New Orleans is 8-2 in its last 10 games, while Minnesota is 5-5 in the same stretch. Minnesota is only 21-19 at home. The Wolves are tied with the Lakers for the fewest amount of home wins among top 10 teams in the West. They lost to the Lakers and Portland during their latest home stand.
Oklahoma City just has to beat the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday to confirm it as the No. 10 seed and eliminate Dallas. Memphis is the No. 2 seed, and it could rest its starters to focus on the postseason.
Dallas must beat Chicago and San Antonio and have OKC lose to Memphis to get into the postseason.
Prediction: 7. Los Angeles Lakers, 8. New Orleans, 9. Minnesota, 10. Oklahoma City

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