The Golden State Warriors staged a comeback in their final home game of the regular season to earn a crucial victory over the Thunder, but the final weekend of the season could still see Golden State’s playoff route vary wildly depending on results.
The bottom half of the Western Conference standings is a logjam, with five teams fighting over five spots. The Warriors will have to go on the road to defend their championship, but depending on the outcomes of the final two games of the season, the road could become much more difficult, with potential matchups against Kevin Durant’s Suns or even Nikola Jokic’s top-seeded Nuggets.
Here’s a full breakdown of the Warriors’ playoff position and all of the scenarios to follow.
Western Conference standings (as of April 6)
1. Denver Nuggets (52-27)
2. Memphis Grizzlies (50-30) – 2.5 games back
3. Sacramento Kings (48-32) – 4.5 games back
4. Phoenix Suns (44-35) – 8 games back
5. LA Clippers (42-38) – 10.5 games back
6. Golden State Warriors (42-38) – 10.5 games back
—————- Play-in territory —————-
7. Los Angeles Lakers (41-39) – 11.5 games back
8. New Orleans Pelicans (41-39) – 11.5 games back
9. Minnesota Timberwolves (40-40) – 12.5 games back
10. Oklahoma City Thunder (38-42) – 14.5 games back
—————- Out of playoffs —————-
11. Dallas Mavericks (38-42) – 14.5 games back
12. Utah Jazz (36-43) – 16 games back
Warriors remaining schedule
The Warriors have two games remaining, both on the road.
First, the Warriors will head to Sacramento for a potential playoff preview, before finishing the regular season in Portland.
Friday, April 7: @Sacramento, 7 p.m. PT
Sunday, April 9: @Portland, 12:30 p.m. PT
The Warriors lead the regular-season series with both the Kings and Blazers, 2-1.
Opponents' remaining schedules
The Clippers, Warriors, Lakers, Pelicans and Timberwolves are all fighting for the same playoff seeds, and are separated by two games in the standings with two games left to play.
Of those four team, the Pelicans have arguably the easiest remaining schedule, while the Clippers finish with a back-to-back. The Blazers and Suns will play pivotal roles in deciding the final standings in the West.
Clippers: vs. Portland (4/8), at Phoenix (4/9)
Warriors: at Sacramento (4/7), at Portland (4/9)
Lakers: vs. Phoenix (4/7), vs. Utah (4/9)
Pelicans: vs. New York Knicks (4/7), at Timberwolves (4/9)
Timberwolves: at San Antonio (4/8), vs. Pelicans (4/9)
Potential playoff matchups
The first four seeds in the Western Conference are mostly set, and the consensus among many experts is that the teams jockeying for position further down the standings would covet the No. 6 seed.
Why? The sixth seed in the West could play the Sacramento Kings – a talented but unproven team on the rise, while the fifth seed will play Kevin Durant’s Phoenix Suns.
There is a twist, however. Should the Grizzlies lose out and the Kings win out, they’d swap places and the No. 6 seed would then face the No. 3 Grizzlies. For the following scenarios, we’re going to assume the first four seeds in the West stay put:
If the Warriors finish fifth: First round vs. Suns, second round vs. Grizzlies or play-in team
If the Warriors finish sixth: First round vs. Kings, second round vs. Grizzlies or play-in team
If the Warriors finish seventh or eighth: Play in game vs. seventh or eighth seed. If the Warriors win, they’d advance to the first round vs. Grizzlies.
With a loss in the 7 vs. 8 game, the Warriors would then face the winner of the 9 vs. 10 matchup, and a win would move them on to face the No. 1 Nuggets.
A drop to ninth is still technically possible for the Warriors if they lose out while Minnesota wins out, due to the Warriors losing tiebreakers against nearly all of their Western Conference rivals. You can see the Warriors’ current tiebreaker scenarios here.
If the Warriors finish ninth: Play in game vs. No. 10 seed (either Oklahoma City or Dallas), play in game vs. loser of 7 vs. 8 game, first round vs. No. 1 Nuggets.
