April 12, 2025
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Chaos reigns in the West on the last day: all the options

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Other Sports

Chaos reigns in the West on the last day: all the options

The penultimate day of the regular season in which all 30 NBA teams played, left the map of the Playoffs and Play-In of the Eastern Conference closed, but only cleared one (the seventh place of the Lakers) of the many doubts that still cause the chaos that reigns in the Western Conference.

This Sunday, the NBA will unify the games of both conferences in what will be the final outcome of the regular season.

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It is the West that will be the focus of attention in the final stretch of the season. With the Lakers already out of the fight after beating Houston and certifying their third place (reaching 50 wins for the first time since 2020), five teams are separated by just two wins. There is one game left to play and it is clear that those two wins are an insurmountable wall for the Grizzlies, but they explain what the Western Conference has been like this season. From 4th to 8th there is still nothing decided and there will even be a battle to be ninth, which at least grants playing the first Play-In duel at home.

Right now, the West is tied between the fourth-placed Nuggets and fifth-placed Clippers with 49 wins, another tie between the sixth-placed Warriors and seventh-placed Timberwolves, and another between the ninth-placed Kings and 10th-placed Mavericks. That would be the landscape of the Playoffs if they ended right now or if they equal scores between them, but there is one game left and everything can change, especially when there is a decisive Warriors-Clippers game on the horizon.

Playing fortune tellers

Among the many possibilities that can occur, and why it is much more complicated to venture anything, is a four-way tie at 49, if Golden State beats L.A., Minnesota also wins (against Utah), and Denver loses to Houston. It is a quite possible scenario.

However, it seems that the Rockets will play without part of their backbone, as they did against the Lakers and it is very possible that Denver will win. The same goes for Minnesota against Utah, although Anthony Edwards will not play, as he was called for his 18th technical of the season. So, playing the guessing game, it would all come down to the result between the Warriors and Clippers.

Assuming a Denver win (which would be fourth) and a Minnesota win (which would be fifth and would see them in the Playoffs), there would be two possible scenarios at the end of the day. With a Warriors win over the Clippers, Golden State would be sixth and would face the Lakers in the playoffs, while the Clippers would be seventh and would have to go through the Play-In against Memphis.

But if the Clippers win, the Los Angeles team would be fifth and would face the Nuggets, the Wolves would be sixth and would be the opponent of the Lakers in the Playoffs and it would be Golden State who would finish seventh relegated to the Play-In against the Grizzlies.

All possible options

But in reality everything is much more complicated, so as a guide, and to further complicate this chaotic analysis of everything that can happen in the West, here are all the possibilities of classification according to whether the teams involved win or lose. In brackets is the position in which each team would finish in the conference in each case:

If Warriors, Wolves, Grizzlies and Nuggets win: Nuggets (4), Wolves (5), Warriors (6), Clippers (7) and Grizzlies (8).

If Warriors, Wolves and Grizzlies win and Nuggets lose: Wolves (4), Clippers (5), Warriors (6), Nuggets (7) and Grizzlies (8).

If the Warriors and Grizzlies win and the Nuggets and Wolves lose: Clippers (4), Nuggets (5), Warriors (6), Grizzlies (7) and Wolves (8).

If Warriors and Nuggets win and Wolves and Grizzlies lose: Nuggets (4), Clippers (5), Warriors (6), Wolves (7) and Grizzlies (8).

If Warriors and Wolves win and Nuggets lose:Wolves (4), Clippers (5), Warriors (6), Nuggets (7) and Grizzlies (8).

If Clippers, Wolves, Grizzlies and Nuggets win: Nuggets (4), Clippers (5), Wolves (6), Warriors (7) and Grizzlies (8).

If the Clippers, Wolves and Grizzlies win and the Nuggets lose:Clippers (4), Wolves (5), Nuggets (6), Warriors (7) and Grizzlies (8).

If Clippers, Nuggets and Grizzlies win and Wolves lose:Nuggets (4), Clippers (5), Warriors (6), Grizzlies (7) and Wolves (8).

In summary, of the 16 possible combinations of results, the Nuggets would be fourth in eight of them, but only if they beat the Rockets. If they lose, they would drop down the standings, but never as far as eighth.

Minnesota, however, only has two options to be fourth, both winning and with the defeat of Denver, while the Clippers have the six remaining options. No other team can be fourth.

Behind them, Memphis will be eighth in 12 of the 16 combinations, and only Minnesota would take the remaining four.

Further down, in ninth and tenth place, things are clearer. If the Kings beat the disappointing Phoenix Suns, they will be ninth as they win the tiebreaker (3-0) against the Dallas Mavericks. In any case, this will be one of the Play-In duels.