Who could Phoenix Suns face in playoffs? Scenarios on final day of NBA regular season
Duane RankinMINNEAPOLIS – The Phoenix Suns conclude their regular season Sunday at Minnesota looking to land the sixth seed to avoid the play-in tournament.
They need to beat the Timberwolves (56-25) and have the Lakers (46-35) top the Pelicans (48-33) in New Orleans to finish sixth in the West. Phoenix has the head-to-head tiebreaker over New Orleans. Both games start at 12:30 p.m., PST.
The play-in tournament begins Tuesday and concludes Friday. The playoffs begin on Saturday.
The Suns (48-33) can’t finish worse than seventh in the West, but they would have to start the postseason hosting a play-in game against either the Lakers, Kings or Warriors. The 7-8 winner receives the seventh playoff seed while the loser hosts the 9-10 winner on Friday for the eighth and final playoff seed in the West.
Sounds simple enough, but who will the Suns play in the playoffs if they finish sixth?
What if they have to go through the play-in and wind up seventh or eighth? Who will they open the playoffs against?
Here’s the simple answer.
If sixth, seventh or eighth, Phoenix will play either Oklahoma City, Minnesota or Denver in the first round of the playoffs as the Thunder, Timberwolves and Nuggets all still are vying for the top spot in the West. They were tied atop the conference (56-25) heading into Sunday's games. The Suns went 0-3 against OKC, are 2-0 versus Minnesota and finished 2-1 against the defending NBA champion Nuggets.
From here, read at your own risk because here are the scenarios provided by USA Today’s Ayrton Ostly.
He’s a better man than me. Thank you, sir.
If Phoenix finishes 6th
The Suns will open the playoffs at the third seed, either OKC, Minnesota or Denver.
The Thunder will be a third seed if they lose to Dallas and Denver wins at Memphis. The Mavericks are locked into the fifth seed.
The T-Wolves will be a third seed if they lose to Phoenix, Denver beats Memphis and OKC tops Dallas.
The Nuggets will be a third seed if they lose to Memphis or beat Memphis, Minnesota defeats Phoenix and OKC tops Dallas.
If Phoenix finishes 7th
The Suns will open the play-in at home against either the Lakers, Kings or Warriors.
First, let’s determine that eighth seed for the 7-8 play-in game.
The Suns will play the Lakers if the Lakers beat New Orleans or lose to the Pelicans, Sacramento loses to Portland and Golden State falls to Utah.
The Suns will play the Kings if Sacramento beats Portland and New Orleans tops the Lakers.
The Suns will play the Warriors if Golden State beats Utah, the Pelicans top the Lakers and Blazers beat the Kings.
If Phoenix wins 7-8 play-in game to earn 7th seed
The seventh seed plays the second seed in the first round of the playoffs.
OKC will be the second seed if Minnesota beats Phoenix and Memphis tops Denver.
Minnesota will be the second seed if it loses to Phoenix and Memphis beats Denver or loses to Phoenix, Denver beats Memphis and Dallas defeats OKC, or beats Phoenix, Denver defeats Memphis and OKC tops Dallas.
Denver will be the second seed if it beats Memphis.
Now, who will Phoenix play if it loses the 7-8 game and then play the 9-10 winner? The Lakers, Kings and Warriors could all finish ninth or 10th.
Who could be in 9-10 game with the Suns?
The Lakers will be a ninth seed if they lose to New Orleans, or a 10th seed if they lose to New Orleans, Golden State beats Utah and Sacramento tops Portland.
The Kings will be a ninth seed if they lose to Portland and Golden Sate loses to Utah or beat the Blazers and the Lakers beat New Orleans. The Kings will be a 10th seed if lose to Portland and Golden State beats Utah.
The Warriors will be a ninth seed if they beat Utah, Sacramento beats Portland and New Orleans beats the Lakers or they beat Utah, Sacramento loses to Portland and New Orleans loses to the Lakers.
So, say the Suns fall to the 9-10 game and win that game to grab the eighth seed. They would open the playoffs against the top seed in the West.
Who the Suns play as an eighth seed?
OKC will grab the No. 1 seed if it beats Dallas and Denver beats Memphis or Phoenix beats Minnesota and Memphis tops the Nuggets.
Minnesota will take the No. 1 seed if it beats Phoenix and Memphis beats Denver or beats the Suns, Denver tops Memphis and Dallas upends OKC.
Denver will grab the No. 1 seed if it beats Memphis, Phoenix defeats Minnesota and Dallas tops OKC.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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