It all comes down to this.
On Friday, the Memphis Grizzlies, Phoenix Suns, San Antonio Spurs and Portland Trail Blazers will each play their final seeding game. Each team will have something to play for, as the No. 8 and No. 9 seed in the Western Conference are still up for grabs.
Remember, the teams that finish eighth and ninth in the Western Conference will enter a play-in tournament for an opportunity to make the playoffs. The team in eighth will have to beat the team in ninth once to make the playoffs, whereas the team in ninth has to beat the team in eighth twice in a row to make it.
With that in mind, here's what each team has to do to make the play-in tournament.
Friday's schedule
Memphis Grizzlies vs. Milwaukee Bucks (1:30 a.m. IST)
Phoenix Suns vs. Dallas Mavericks (1:30 a.m. IST)
San Antonio Spurs vs. Utah Jazz (4:00 a.m. IST)
Portland Trail Blazers vs. Brooklyn Nets (6:30 a.m. IST)
What's at stake
Portland will be seeded...
- No. 8 if Blazers win OR Grizzlies, Suns and Spurs lose
- No. 9 if Blazers lose and loss by any two of Grizzlies, Suns or Spurs
- ELIMINATED if Blazers lose and wins by any two of Grizzlies, Suns or Spurs
FiveThirtyEight's RAPTOR model gives the Blazers an 84% chance of beating the Nets.
Memphis will be seeded...
- No. 8 if Grizzlies win and Blazers lose
- No. 9 if Grizzlies win and Blazers win OR Grizzlies, Suns and Spurs all lose
- ELIMINATED if Grizzlies lose and wins by either Suns or Spurs
FiveThirtyEight's RAPTOR model gives the Grizzlies a 17% chance of beating the Bucks.
Phoenix will be seeded...
- No. 8 if Suns win and Blazers and Grizzlies both lose
- No. 9 if Suns win and Blazers or Grizzlies lose
- ELIMINATED if Suns lose
FiveThirtyEight's RAPTOR model gives the Suns a 43% chance of beating the Mavericks.
San Antonio will be seeded...
- No. 8 if Spurs win and Blazers, Grizzlies and Suns all lose
- No. 9 if Spurs win and loss by any two of Blazers, Grizzlies and Suns
- ELIMINATED if Spurs lose
FiveThirtyEight's RAPTOR model gives the Spurs a 32% chance of beating the Jazz.
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