Every contest on every gameday will have its impact on the NBA standings and the playoff race.
Through three days of seeding games at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, all 22 teams have played at least one seeding game. On Monday, day four, 12 teams take the floor in six highly impactful seeding games.
Below, find an updated look at the standings as well as a rundown of what each game means.
Current Standings
| EAST | WEST | ||||||||
| Team | W | L | GB | Team | W | L | GB | ||
| 1 | x – Milwaukee Bucks | 54 | 12 | – | 1 | x – Los Angeles Lakers | 50 | 15 | – |
| 2 | x – Toronto Raptors | 47 | 18 | 6.5 | 2 | x – LA Clippers | 45 | 21 | 5.5 |
| 3 | x – Boston Celtics | 43 | 22 | 10.5 | 3 | x – Denver Nuggets | 43 | 23 | 7.5 |
| 4 | x – Miami Heat | 42 | 24 | 12 | 4 | x – Utah Jazz | 42 | 24 | 8.5 |
| 5 | x – Indiana Pacers | 40 | 26 | 14 | 5 | x – Oklahoma City Thunder | 41 | 24 | 9 |
| 6 | x – Philadelphia 76ers | 39 | 27 | 15 | 6 | x – Houston Rockets | 41 | 24 | 9 |
| 7 | Orlando Magic | 31 | 35 | 23 | 7 | Dallas Mavericks | 40 | 28 | 11.5 |
| 8 | Brooklyn Nets | 30 | 35 | 23.5 | 8 | Memphis Grizzlies | 32 | 34 | 18.5 |
| 9 | Washington Wizards | 24 | 41 | 29.5 | 9 | Portland Trail Blazers | 30 | 37 | 21 |
| 10 | San Antonio Spurs | 28 | 36 | 21.5 | |||||
| 11 | Sacramento Kings | 28 | 37 | 22 | |||||
| 12 | New Orleans Pelicans | 28 | 38 | 22.5 | |||||
| 13 | Phoenix Suns | 27 | 39 | 23.5 |
x – Clinched Playoffs Berth
The Races for Eighth
Washington Wizards vs. Brooklyn Nets, 11:30 p.m. (Sunday, Aug. 2)
Both the Wizards and Nets opened their time in Orlando with losses and find themselves at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
Washington needs to make up two games in the standings in order to force a play-in situation with Brooklyn for a chance to qualify for the postseason. With a win, the Wizards would get back in play while a loss would be a gut punch for their playoff hopes.
Portland Trail Blazers vs. Boston Celtics, 1:00 a.m.
The Trail Blazers look to ride the momentum of an overtime win over the Grizzlies to get a win over the Celtics, who suffered a close loss to the Bucks to open the restart.
Portland enters the day 2.5 games behind Memphis and has the opportunity to turn up the heat and potentially overtake the No. 8 seed to be in the driver's seat in a potential play-in. A Blazers win both closes the gap with the Grizzlies and builds more of a cushion from the other teams contending for eighth.
Boston isn't fighting for the final playoff spot but it does see Miami clearly in its rearview mirror. The Celtics have just a 1.5 game lead over the Heat, who they are set to meet in the coming days.
There's a real chance the C's fall to four.
San Antonio Spurs vs. Memphis Grizzlies, 1:30 a.m.
The streak is in danger, but there's still a chance.
The Spurs helped themselves with a win to open the restart, jumping them to 10th in the West standings. San Antonio is a half-game behind Portland and 3.5 games behind Memphis in the standings. With a win, the Spurs could potentially jump to ninth (pending the Blazers result) and would also gain a full game on the Grizzlies,
Memphis is still in the driver's seat but a win would do wonders for the confidence of a young team that has little-to-no postseason experience. With a win, the Grizzlies would at least maintain a cushion between seeds eight and nine and would also directly impact the Spurs, a team looking to contend for the final playoff spot.
This is a big one.
Sacramento Kings vs. Orlando Magic, 3:30 a.m.
The Kings need a win in order to bounce back from its loss to the Spurs to open things up. Sacramento is down but not out as just one game separates it, San Antonio and Portland. The key is to find ways to win.
Orlando, the pseudo-home team in this situation, is in good shape after opening with a win over Brooklyn. The Magic appear to be destined to hold on to the No. 7 seed and a potential postseason rematch with the Raptors, which might be slightly more preferable than a date with the Bucks.
Dallas Mavericks vs. Phoenix Suns, 6:30 a.m.
Technically, Dallas has yet to clinch a playoff berth as it opened with a loss to Houston. The Mavs can clinch a playoff berth with a win over the Suns and a loss by the Trail Blazers.
The Suns, on the other hand, are holding their collective breaths as they have yet to be eliminated. Phoenix has the longest shot of all Western Conference teams at qualifying for the postseason but it has a shot.
In trailing the Blazers by 2.5 games and the Grizzlies by five games, the Suns' best-case scenario is to win. And win a lot.
An MVP Showcase
Houston Rockets vs. Milwaukee Bucks, 6:00 a.m.
The Bucks hold a comfortable 6.5 game lead for the top seed in the East and need just one more win to seal that spot for the second straight season. Other than that, all these seeding games are just crucial game reps for the players and the different line-ups that head coach Budenholzer throws out.
Meanwhile, there's plenty at stake for the Rockets. Every game counts. They are currently locked in a three-way battle with the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Utah Jazz for the fourth seed in the West. It could evolve into a four-game scrap for the third seed if the Denver Nuggets slip further.
Apart from what's at stake for both teams, the contest should be competitive and entertaining given the level of talent on the floor. The game will feature four All-Stars of which three have been named league MVPs in the past.
The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA or its clubs.
