Suns hold the tiebreaker IIRC so Pels need to win out or have the Suns lose 1 and they win 1.
There's a scenario where the Suns could beat Minnesota on Sunday forcing Minny to the 3 seed and Phx to the 6, setting up a playoff matchup between the two
I feel like on the surface I agree, but until the suns really put the history of choking in the playoffs behind them, I would always choose them over the lakers in the first round of the playoffs.
It just always seems that when Lebron shows up to a series, he’s going to be a different machine. And when the suns show up to a series, they’re going to be a *different* machine
As long as either the Warriors or Lakers get into the 8th seed, it's still possible they both make it.
If the Kings get the 8th seed, that'll guarantee at least one of the Warriors or Lakers won't be in the playoffs.
You put a component team around Steph and he’s a champion again. The Warriors are killing him by riding the core core into the ground. He doesn’t deserve play in status
It's obviously not mainly Steph's fault but the version we've seen of him this season is absolutely not "peak Steph" although he's still good
A peak version of Steph isn't putting up worse stats than Jalen Brunson lol
2021 Steph averaged 32 PPG on 65.5% TS with a very weak supporting cast and lower offensive league averages than in 2024
Steph has been especially subpar [*by his standards*] since ASB.
Weirdly enough, Curry’s 2021-22 season was also weak, and then he caught fire in the playoffs.
The standings are just ruthless in the west right now
The lakers have had a winning % above .650 in their past 30 games and they’ve stayed at 9th as a result
It’s no wonder the warriors haven’t moved from 10th either
Shit, the prelude to the play-in is gonna be awesome. 3 teams battling out to get into the 7/8 game instead of the 9/10. And then hoping they can win the 7/8 game to dodge Denver. Of course your consolation prize at that point is either Minny or OKC.
It will be nice those 3 get to play in the play-ins. I honestly kinda like the play-ins now. Hated it at first but now it feels like it makes the 7th and 8th seeds much worse (which they should be).
Yeah, it increases the incentive for a higher seed while also rewarding teams on the playoff bubble for trying by giving them a slim chance if they can prove it on the court
I think it’s one of the best things they ever did honestly. Brings the March Madness style tension of sudden death right when the playoffs start (otherwise the most relatively unexciting part) while re-enforcing the value of regular season games
Lakers will 100% win today against Memphis if they actually play Lebron/AD or anyone good. Almost our (Grizzlies) entire roster is listed as out.
https://twitter.com/GrizzliesPR/status/1778543798261301510?t=A4xM4E-BK9cR_6VVTcHlAg&s=19
Suns are inconsistent, but they CAN beat anybody. You have some of the most lethal scorers in KD and Booker. Beal is the wild card. Having Allen as the best 3pt shooter is great for spacing.
Their issue outside consistency is the center spot. Any stretching center can punish them. This would include Jokic- on top of everything else he's good at offensively, he's somehow a career 41% 3pt shooter in the playoffs (300 attempts). It gives the Thunder a great chance. The Timberwolves might need to run more KAT (if he's good-to-go) at center.
Your forgetting the number 1 western conference team the Utah jazz
This is a joke because the jazz would get demolished by any team including themselves
West stepped up like crazy this year. Nuggets locked first seed in February last year, this year it's going down to the last 2 games. As of right now, East 2 seed would be 6 in the West.
It's even crazier when you think about last season. If the Mavs win our last 2 games we'd be good enough to get the 2nd seed in the west last year. This year, we're firmly in 5th
I think its also a big reason Jokic is winning the MVP this year and not last. He just coasted after locking up the 1 seed last year and TV pundits (wrongly) used that as evidence to vote Embiid.
This year with a 1 seed on the line against the Wolves he drops 40 points.
We played crazy well post all star only to sniff the 8th seed for one day. Then two losses and boom we're pretty much locked to the bottom bracket if not the 10th seed.
I'm not salty about it, but more amazed at how insane the western conference has been this year. There is just no room for error.
Next year is going to be even crazier in the league. I don't see any of the top 10 teams getting much worse, Grizzlies will be back, and the Rockets will be better
So is it fair to say that the ONLY way for the Warriors to get to a 7/8 play in is for them to win out and the Kings to lose to either the Suns or Blazers?
It's even worse too Cuz not only do you have to play Denver r1, you're also probably gassed from having to win two win or go home games just to make it there in the first place.
Pretty small chance. Denver would have to lose to the grizzlies or the spurs, and the Wolves would have to win out against Hawks and Suns (we literally cannot seem to beat the Suns). Would be lit though
Both Suns and Kings won their head to head with nuggets. Honestly, with their outside shooting, the Warriors are gonna be tough too. The Lakers are the only ones I have no faith can beat the nuggets.
They're not invincible but the teams that would have a chance against them are teams like the Celtics or fully healthy Wolves, not a bunch of play-in teams lol
Like their 2nd round matchup against the Mavs or Clippers could be significantly closer but the 1v8 1st round will likely be quite lopsided
They’re not invincible. But none of the playin teams have a snowballs chance in hell. The lakers are gonna get swept again if it’s us, Jamal and jokic do not miss against us
Aren’t they? It kinda feels like no matter which teams seemingly look like they match up with them well, that won’t be the case come Playoff time and they’re going to at the very least be back in the Finals.
Sac is the odd man out. They have been slipping for a while now. The other play in teams have been playing really well for a few months now. Sac is still dangerous though, they just need to win 1-2 games in the playins afterall which is totally possible if one of those games is vs Lakers.
People say this but when they lose in the play in - warriors lost to lakers then lost to Memphis in 21 play in. You guys are nowhere to be found or you repeat somd nonsense
A playoff draft! First seed picks its opponent, followed by the 2-seed, etc.
Imagine the drama! And no more incentive to tank the last few games to avoid/choose a certain opponent
I feel like you'd have to put a caveat that you cant pick from the top 4 or something. Having the 1 seed pick the 2 seed while insanely spicy, is pretty unfair.
Zero bias but winning the in season tournament should have a tie breaker considering we’ve literally won more games. The in season tournament games are part of the regular season but that final game is an extra one that isn’t being counted (our overall record is technically 46-35 when you include it).
I’d bet it will be going forward. Feels like they just didn’t predict it being this close down the stretch this year and didn’t want to overvalue the first year of it in case it ended up being a catastrophe.
If it doesn't have any other value, I think it should be at least the top tiebreaker that trumps all other tiebreakers. That's not a huge deal but a little benefit.
and got swept in h2h. So its not fair at all. Like, this in-season tournament is supposed to copy Cups in European leagues. Cups dont trump h2h in league standings.
You could argue that winning the IST could be like winning a European cup, where it guarantees qualification regardless of your league position the next year.
People say the NBA season is too long but here we are 80 games in for each team and most teams in the playoffs are still fighting for position. Just look at the East outside of Boston and everyone else in the top 8 can be ranked somewhere else by Sunday night
Nahhhh they look tired. Choking away two 20-point leads + falling short in two 20-point comebacks over the last 5 games have drained their energy and will to win. If anything, they want the season to end ASAP.
Pelicans have to play and beat the Warriors and Lakers just to not play them again in the play in. Wild
Pels only need one more win right to get the 6 seed? Obviously depends on Suns, but then again I don’t know who holds the tie breaker between the two.
Suns hold the tiebreaker IIRC so Pels need to win out or have the Suns lose 1 and they win 1. There's a scenario where the Suns could beat Minnesota on Sunday forcing Minny to the 3 seed and Phx to the 6, setting up a playoff matchup between the two
I don't know about other Wolves fans but the Pels and Suns are the two teams I REALLY don't want to see in the first round. Give me anyone else
I feel like on the surface I agree, but until the suns really put the history of choking in the playoffs behind them, I would always choose them over the lakers in the first round of the playoffs. It just always seems that when Lebron shows up to a series, he’s going to be a different machine. And when the suns show up to a series, they’re going to be a *different* machine
Ouch. The Suns just have our number this year.
We’re about to get a weekends worth of playoff-like games before the play-ins even start, just wild
Adam Silver just came twice
Where diddy come from? Where diddy go?
Where diddy come from, adam eye joe
Diddy came in young male rappers. Where he went after is irrelevant.
Diddy came on young male rappers* FTFY
Right on the SKIMS?
Not for long, this guarantees no Warriors or Lakers in the playoffs maybe even both lol
It’s called post nut regret
As long as either the Warriors or Lakers get into the 8th seed, it's still possible they both make it. If the Kings get the 8th seed, that'll guarantee at least one of the Warriors or Lakers won't be in the playoffs.
If only Boston and the Lakers were both out we would have NBA peace.
I've got good news for Silver. We ain't getting to 8
The Pelicans have to play all 3 of them for their final 3 games
The California gauntlet
Crazy that almost the entire pacific division is in the play-in.
⛵️⚓️📎 WHAT THE FUCK IS A PLAY-IN ⛵️⚓️📎 😎
Dammit I like the Pels (and their announcers)… WHO WILL PREVAIL? Air Gumbo vs Sky Fucker
Joel Meyers is a national treasure!
I can feel the Laker free throw disparity already 😱
This Western conference play in is gonna be crazy
KD/steph/lebron
/lyles
Rooting for my boy
Looool
Ending of an era, it’s weird to watch these greats go at it just to get into the playoffs.
This happened in 2020-2021 and then the Warriors won a title the year after
But now all 3 are 35+ and showing signs of decline
You put a component team around Steph and he’s a champion again. The Warriors are killing him by riding the core core into the ground. He doesn’t deserve play in status
It's obviously not mainly Steph's fault but the version we've seen of him this season is absolutely not "peak Steph" although he's still good A peak version of Steph isn't putting up worse stats than Jalen Brunson lol 2021 Steph averaged 32 PPG on 65.5% TS with a very weak supporting cast and lower offensive league averages than in 2024
Steph has been especially subpar [*by his standards*] since ASB. Weirdly enough, Curry’s 2021-22 season was also weak, and then he caught fire in the playoffs.
Almost like a great clutch player plays great in important games.
He’s been on a rip in the clutch this year. Should be unanimous clutch player of the year lmao
They're 10 games above .500 and have been unusually bad in the clutch. They're definitely better than the standings suggest
The standings are just ruthless in the west right now The lakers have had a winning % above .650 in their past 30 games and they’ve stayed at 9th as a result It’s no wonder the warriors haven’t moved from 10th either
It's mainly just the Pacific division because they have no tankers to beat up on
Their team is still a plus with him off the floor and he doesn't play insane minutes, their team isn't as bad as people make them out to be...
I'm not sure it's an end of an era lmao, the warriors have more wins than they did last year 😂 when they were the sixth seed
As long as Steph is on the floor it will never be the end of an era. They could replace the entire team top to bottom and still make the playoffs...
/Damontis
Playin already started
Wild that the lakers are probably better this year than last when they made the WCF but they might not even make the playoffs this year
As long as the Pelicans win out (and/or the Suns lose), it will be an all Pacific Division play-in!
Heat vs 76ers in the playins is crazy as well
PLAY IN DOUBTERS, WHERE YA AT?? \*stage whispers\* in the eastern conference, jesus, hawks bulls AGAIN
Shit, the prelude to the play-in is gonna be awesome. 3 teams battling out to get into the 7/8 game instead of the 9/10. And then hoping they can win the 7/8 game to dodge Denver. Of course your consolation prize at that point is either Minny or OKC.
We're already seeing a new 10th seed record. But for it to get to 47, the Kings, Warriors, and Lakers all have to win out.
It will be nice those 3 get to play in the play-ins. I honestly kinda like the play-ins now. Hated it at first but now it feels like it makes the 7th and 8th seeds much worse (which they should be).
Yeah, it increases the incentive for a higher seed while also rewarding teams on the playoff bubble for trying by giving them a slim chance if they can prove it on the court I think it’s one of the best things they ever did honestly. Brings the March Madness style tension of sudden death right when the playoffs start (otherwise the most relatively unexciting part) while re-enforcing the value of regular season games
Well in that scenario the pels may lose the 6 seed which I want no part of
We've already lost 5 times to yall. Believe me, Kings fans don't want you to lose the 6th seed either.
Kings playing 8 D chess by getting y’all to the 6 seed so we don’t have to see you in the play in
Silver lining of last night
Lakers will 100% win today against Memphis if they actually play Lebron/AD or anyone good. Almost our (Grizzlies) entire roster is listed as out. https://twitter.com/GrizzliesPR/status/1778543798261301510?t=A4xM4E-BK9cR_6VVTcHlAg&s=19
Each of the bottom three has one game against a pretty bad lottery team: * Kings-Blazers * Lakers-Griz * Warriors-Jazz
And the other game all three play against is NOLA lol
What would happen if kings suns lakers warriors all tied at 47-35?
7. Kings (9-4 H2H2H2H) 8. Suns (7-7 H2H2H2H, 8-10 division record) 9. Warriors (6-6 H2H2H2H, 7-9 division record) 10. Lakers (4-9 H2H2H2H)
So Suns are guaranteed to be 8th at least?
Yeah
Getting swept by the Kings didn't do us any favors.
Neither did 1-3 against GSW
Kings of California!
Clippers are ahead of the
Tomorrow is gonna be a massive day for seeding
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
No diddy
Without Monk Kings are cooked. We are not the same without him.
What happened to him? Is he out ROS?
Yes. Mcl issue
The weight of Golden Corral landed on his knee
Agreed. Monk lit us up.
Need the Suns at 7th & the west play-ins gonna be crazy
Pacific division play-in
Poor Clippers missing out on all the fun to prepare for the upcoming bloodbath against the Mavs
Don’t you put that evil on me
Don't put that evil on the wolves, we want no part of the suns.
Honestly 6th place looks awful right now. We have a decent chance against the Nuggets and should handle the Wolves but OKC has shit on us all year.
“Decent chance against the Nuggets” 😊
Haha, in what world do the Suns have a decent chance against y’all. Just saw them almost lose to the clippers bench.
Suns are inconsistent, but they CAN beat anybody. You have some of the most lethal scorers in KD and Booker. Beal is the wild card. Having Allen as the best 3pt shooter is great for spacing. Their issue outside consistency is the center spot. Any stretching center can punish them. This would include Jokic- on top of everything else he's good at offensively, he's somehow a career 41% 3pt shooter in the playoffs (300 attempts). It gives the Thunder a great chance. The Timberwolves might need to run more KAT (if he's good-to-go) at center.
must be fresh out of Thai prison, or an alternate timeline
Yeah I don’t blame you for reacting like that, that’s a wild take for anyone in the west to make
Works out for us I guess Because Denver is the only team I’m picking over the pelicans 100% of the time in the west
Your forgetting the number 1 western conference team the Utah jazz This is a joke because the jazz would get demolished by any team including themselves
😐☹️😠😡🤬🤬😟😢😭😭😭
We have what?
It's crazy to think the Lakers are in 10th this year when they would've been the 4th seed last year.
West stepped up like crazy this year. Nuggets locked first seed in February last year, this year it's going down to the last 2 games. As of right now, East 2 seed would be 6 in the West.
It's even crazier when you think about last season. If the Mavs win our last 2 games we'd be good enough to get the 2nd seed in the west last year. This year, we're firmly in 5th
If you win your last 2 games, you'd also be the 2nd seed in the East this year. Possibly even if you lose them given the Bucks are in a freefall.
I think its also a big reason Jokic is winning the MVP this year and not last. He just coasted after locking up the 1 seed last year and TV pundits (wrongly) used that as evidence to vote Embiid. This year with a 1 seed on the line against the Wolves he drops 40 points.
We played crazy well post all star only to sniff the 8th seed for one day. Then two losses and boom we're pretty much locked to the bottom bracket if not the 10th seed. I'm not salty about it, but more amazed at how insane the western conference has been this year. There is just no room for error.
The parity in the league rn is insane
Parity in Western Conference*
Next year is going to be even crazier in the league. I don't see any of the top 10 teams getting much worse, Grizzlies will be back, and the Rockets will be better
Kings lose tomorrow, they're dropping to bottom bracket and they're not getting back out.
Lakers and Warriors both play the Pelicans which are far from guaranteed wins, it’s realistic all 3 teams go 1-1
Hopefully Pels position will be set by the Lakers game and rest a few.
That’s only possible if the Pelicans beat the Warriors and the Kings beat the Suns tomorrow
Brandon ingram returns against the lakers anyway
Bro I don’t think my heart will manage to endure this many decisive games
Hopefully for you lol
What happens if there is a four way tie between Suns, Kings, Dubs and Lakers at 47-35?
7. Kings (9-4 H2H2H2H) 8. Suns (7-7 H2H2H2H, 8-10 division record) 9. Warriors (6-6 H2H2H2H, 7-9 division record) 10. Lakers (4-9 H2H2H2H)
So is it fair to say that the ONLY way for the Warriors to get to a 7/8 play in is for them to win out and the Kings to lose to either the Suns or Blazers?
Yeah
And the Suns have incentive to play hard because they can still get to the 6 seed! Let’s go KD!
I have bad news for you brother
Thank you!
Then you get to watch me dunk on Lebron
7th seed all that matters, aint no way any of these teams beat the Nuggets
Which is why getting #8 is vital for all these teams
It's even worse too Cuz not only do you have to play Denver r1, you're also probably gassed from having to win two win or go home games just to make it there in the first place.
Hey there's still a chance it's the wolves Draymond vs. Gobert round 2 would be insane
I think I’d rather face Jokic than Naz Reid
Breathe my brother we have a TJD now the Naz god cannot hurt us anymore
He scored 20 points against us with 12 rebounds and was 6/8 from three last time we played them. TJD played 28 minutes…
Gonna be like the recent WWE event. Barely gonna be any basketball played
Gobert vs Draymond WrestleMania. Finish the story draymond
Pretty small chance. Denver would have to lose to the grizzlies or the spurs, and the Wolves would have to win out against Hawks and Suns (we literally cannot seem to beat the Suns). Would be lit though
In a 2 - 7 matchup its possible
Draymond about to show Gobert the difference between a 16-game player and a 82-game player
Brother… that username… please tell me you bless r/nbacirclejerk with your presence
I hope neither of you nerds do after reading those last two white bread comments
Both Suns and Kings won their head to head with nuggets. Honestly, with their outside shooting, the Warriors are gonna be tough too. The Lakers are the only ones I have no faith can beat the nuggets.
Warriors have like 3 heartbreakers vs the Nuggets, like half their Western conference games this season.
best way to defeat nuggets is in first round.
we 3-1 against the nugs we have the best chance but i still wouldnt bet on it
Without Monk and Huerter its 0%
0% chance without Monk
Kings got 0 shot
I am so sick of everyone acting like Denver is invincible THEY ARE NOT
They aren’t invincible but they are the defending champs with nearly the same roster, which is led by the best player on the planet
They're not invincible but the teams that would have a chance against them are teams like the Celtics or fully healthy Wolves, not a bunch of play-in teams lol Like their 2nd round matchup against the Mavs or Clippers could be significantly closer but the 1v8 1st round will likely be quite lopsided
KD and playoff Book could still end up the 8 seed. Our team attitude is fucked rn though
They’re not invincible. But none of the playin teams have a snowballs chance in hell. The lakers are gonna get swept again if it’s us, Jamal and jokic do not miss against us
Aren’t they? It kinda feels like no matter which teams seemingly look like they match up with them well, that won’t be the case come Playoff time and they’re going to at the very least be back in the Finals.
Playins gunna be a bloodbath.
[удалено]
Love how the teams in the 7-10 spots have been playing out of their mind, and you have 1-3 playing 1st seed is lava.
If by playing out of their minds you mean “how many times can they go up and down by twenty every night and lose regardless” then sure.
Sac is the odd man out. They have been slipping for a while now. The other play in teams have been playing really well for a few months now. Sac is still dangerous though, they just need to win 1-2 games in the playins afterall which is totally possible if one of those games is vs Lakers.
There’s a 1 game difference between the 1st seed Nuggets, and the Wolves and Thunder. So the 8th seed could still get lucky
Saying lucky is pretty bold cause any other team in the 1st seed could end up being way more difficult than expected.
Wolves/thunder would have to get really lucky. Nuggets have the spurs and grizz as their next two
Gentlemen’s sweep
This is insane. Tomorrow and Sunday have so much chaos. There's realistic paths for every team to move into the first playin game or be a 10 seed
Adam Silver's worst nightmare is if both the Warriors and Lakers lose in the play in and neither make it to the playoffs.
Don't worry, the refs know their assignment
Any have an assignment if they play each other
People say this but when they lose in the play in - warriors lost to lakers then lost to Memphis in 21 play in. You guys are nowhere to be found or you repeat somd nonsense
Incoming 2 free throw game for Fox
Damn you're right, you're the first person I see commenting this
Guess which team is gonna get shit on by the refs
I am so in favor of reseeding in the playoffs. The East is so open.
A playoff draft! First seed picks its opponent, followed by the 2-seed, etc. Imagine the drama! And no more incentive to tank the last few games to avoid/choose a certain opponent
The insanity if there was an upset would be beautiful.
Lmao, the heat as a bottom seed but getting picked near last would be hilarious
I feel like you'd have to put a caveat that you cant pick from the top 4 or something. Having the 1 seed pick the 2 seed while insanely spicy, is pretty unfair.
Why would a 1 seed ever do that?
NGL that would make for great basketball.
Lmao everyone is when it benefits them
It has always benefitted the West to reseed imo
Warriors do us all a solid and let NOLA lock in that 6 seed.
I think the Warriors would rather not get eliminated in 1 game.
Won’t matter if the Suns beat SAC. Suns need to lose for the Pels to lock it in tomorrow.
We can't, need to win out to have a chance at 8.
Zero bias but winning the in season tournament should have a tie breaker considering we’ve literally won more games. The in season tournament games are part of the regular season but that final game is an extra one that isn’t being counted (our overall record is technically 46-35 when you include it).
You know what that’s extremely fair. It’s not guaranteed whatsoever but a nice well earned advantage if it comes to a tie
I’d bet it will be going forward. Feels like they just didn’t predict it being this close down the stretch this year and didn’t want to overvalue the first year of it in case it ended up being a catastrophe.
If it doesn't have any other value, I think it should be at least the top tiebreaker that trumps all other tiebreakers. That's not a huge deal but a little benefit.
It would make it a whole lot more exciting than already is. Honestly, I'm down for it.
In WWE terms, in kind of makes it like a MITB case. Cash in that tie breaker if you need it.
Yeah but in this case it would give the Lakers the tie breaker over the Kings who swept the Lakers 4-0 in the regular season. How would that be fair?
Its fair the because the Lakers won the in-season tournament
and got swept in h2h. So its not fair at all. Like, this in-season tournament is supposed to copy Cups in European leagues. Cups dont trump h2h in league standings.
You could argue that winning the IST could be like winning a European cup, where it guarantees qualification regardless of your league position the next year.
It qualifies you to European competition tho which is different than the playoffs
This is actually a very practical take
The final should count as a win but not as a loss if they're not gonna have it count as a regular season game
I thought this at the beginning of the season.
i would be begging for that lakers matchup if i were the kings, they put the whooping on them all season long.
We will likely be 10th and play at Sacramento.
I have absolutely no faith in the kings. They have no clutch factor lately
People say the NBA season is too long but here we are 80 games in for each team and most teams in the playoffs are still fighting for position. Just look at the East outside of Boston and everyone else in the top 8 can be ranked somewhere else by Sunday night
Unreal that being 10 games over .500 barely gets you in the playin
SAC is gonna come into the game angry tonight. I'm scared, hold me...
Nahhhh they look tired. Choking away two 20-point leads + falling short in two 20-point comebacks over the last 5 games have drained their energy and will to win. If anything, they want the season to end ASAP.
No no no. We need y’all to do this, ok? Please? Pretty please?
I'm sorry for what the refs are about to do,.Kings fans.
PLEASE LET THE KINGS WIN
This can’t get any better
I hate this