Sports
NBA Playoff Picture 2024: Standings, Predictions for Lakers, Warriors and More – Bleacher Report
The regular season is now down to its final day.
All 30 teams will be in action on Sunday, with seven games tipping off at 1 p.m. ET and the remaining eight beginning at 3:30 p.m.
There’s still plenty left to decide. Here’s a look at the latest standings as of 11 p.m. ET Friday, what to watch for Sunday and picks for the final playoff and play-in seedings.
Updated NBA Standings
Eastern Conference
1. Boston (63-18)
2. Milwaukee (49-32)
3. New York (49-32)
4. Cleveland (48-33)
5. Orlando (46-35)
6. Indiana (46-35)
Play-In Picture
7. Philadelphia (46-35)
8. Miami (45-36)
9. Chicago (39-42)
10. Atlanta (36-45)
Playoff and Play-in Seeding Predictions: 1. Boston, 2. New York, 3. Cleveland, 4. Milwaukee, 5. Orlando, 6. Indiana, 7. Philadelphia, 8. Miami, 9. Chicago, 10. Atlanta
Western Conference
1. Oklahoma City (56-25)
2. Minnesota (56-25)
3. Denver (56-25)
4. Los Angeles Clippers (51-30)
5. Dallas (50-31)
6. New Orleans (48-32)
Play-In Race
7. Phoenix (48-33)
8. Los Angeles Lakers (46-35)
9. Sacramento (45-36)
10. Golden State (45-36)
Playoff and Play-in Seeding Predictions: 1. Oklahoma City, 2. Minnesota, 3. Denver, 4. L.A. Clippers, 5. Dallas, 6. New Orleans, 7. Phoenix, 8. Sacramento, 9. Golden State, 10. Los Angeles Lakers
In the East, the biggest intrigue involves who finishes in the top six. At the moment, the Orlando Magic win a three-team tiebreaker over the Indiana Pacers and Philadelphia 76ers by virtue of winning their division. And then the Pacers have the head-to-head tiebreaker edge on the 76ers, giving them the sixth seed.
The guess here is that all three teams win on Sunday. The Magic have the toughest game in hosting the second-place Milwaukee Bucks, who just crushed Orlando 117-99 the other day. But this game will be in Orlando, where the Magic have gone 28-12 (versus 18-23 on the road). The Bucks will also be without superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf strain) again.
Milwaukee does have to win or hope the New York Knicks lose to the Chicago Bulls, who are locked into the play-in tournament and ninth seed, in order to clinch the No. 2 spot in the Eastern Conference.
The host Pacers are playing an Atlanta Hawks team locked into the 10th seed, so they won’t be going at full bore. And then the host 76ers have the 32-49 Brooklyn Nets, who have nothing to play for.
Ultimately, look for the Magic to benefit from the tiebreaker here and get the No. 5 seed, with Indiana finishing sixth.
In the West, the biggest question involves who’s lucky enough to avoid the 9-10 play-in game, which would necessitate a team needing to take two straight win-or-go-home games.
The team that looked to be in trouble was the Los Angeles Lakers, but things couldn’t have broke better for them on Friday night. They did struggle to get by a Memphis Grizzlies team that is just playing out the string, but a win is a win at this point in the season.
On the other end of the spectrum, both the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors fell behind the Lakers in the standings with losses on Friday. Sacramento’s injury woes have this team struggling at the wrong time.
The Kings’ 108-107 loss to the Suns dropped them to ninth, while keeping Phoenix alive for the No. 6 seed. Sacramento has lost seven of its last 10 games.
Golden State went from the No. 8 seed down to 10th with its loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. It can climb up to eighth with a win over the Portland Trail Blazers and losses by the Lakers and Kings.
The Lakers have to finish with a better record than Golden State and Sacramento for the eighth spot because it loses the head-to-head tiebreaker to both teams. They will play at New Orleans on Sunday in a game that both clubs need to win.
If the Pelicans want to avoid the play-in tournament, they need to finish ahead of the Suns in the standings. Sacramento still has a chance to move up to No. 8 with a win over the Utah Jazz and a Lakers’ loss.
The Dubs also have some issues, because they lose a tiebreaker against the Sacramento Kings by virtue of the divisional record (Golden State and Sacramento tied the season series at two games apiece).
The guess here is that the Lakers and Warriors ended up playing each other in the 9-10 play-in game, a bewildering sight considering that it’s now a very real possibility that both superstars LeBron James and Stephen Curry will both miss the playoffs in the same year. That hasn’t happened since both were in the league beginning in 2009, when Curry debuted.