2024-25 NBA Final Day Playoffs Scenarios: Here's how the Western Conference seedings could play out ft. Warriors, Clippers & more

The NBA regular season is in its last weekend, and there are still several teams with something to play for, as playoff positions are still not etched in stone. This scenario applies in particular to the Western Conference, as all playoff and play-in positions in the Eastern Conference are already set.

The Thunder, Rockets and Lakers have locked up the no. 1, 2, and 3 seeds, respectively, but for the Warriors, Nuggets, Clippers, Timberwolves and Grizzlies, where they will fall in the playoff picture is still to be determined, with the fourth through eighth separated by just two games.

All of the teams are in action on Sunday afternoon, with the outcomes of their games to bring the NBA Western Conference playoff picture into focus.

The Nuggets take on the Rockets on Sunday afternoon. Denver will claim the no.4 seed with a win over the Houston Rocket team that has nothing to play for, as they have locked the 2-seed.

Meanwhile, the Clippers-Warriors matchup may have the most implications of any NBA game played on Sunday. If the Clippers win, they will secure the No. 5 spot. A Denver loss combined with a Clippers win will take L.A. to the No.4 seed. If Golden State wins, it will avoid the play-in tournament by locking in the sixth seed and a meeting with the LA Lakers in the first round.

With Memphis’ 117-109 loss to Denver on Friday night, the Grizzlies are locked into the playoff tournament. The best they can do at this point is rise to No.7 seed, provided they beat the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday and Minnesota loses to the Utah Jazz.

The Timberwolves will be without the suspended Anthony Edwards, who's serving a mandatory one-game suspension after picking up an 18th technical foul of the season on Friday night against the Brooklyn Nets.

The Timberwolves, like the Grizzlies, are a lock for the play-in; it's just a matter of whether they will enter the preamble to the postseason as the seventh or the eighth seed. If the Anthony Edwards-less Timberwolves win on Sunday afternoon, and the Grizzlies lose to the Mavericks, Minnesota will claim the seventh seed and host the first game against the eighth-seeded team.

Bringing up the caboose of the NBA Western Conference playoff standings are the Sacramento Kings and the Dallas Mavericks, who are ninth and 10th, respectively. A Sacramento win on Sunday against another disappointing team, Phoenix Suns, will lock the Kings in as the ninth seed. Dallas will leapfrog Sacramento with a Kings loss and if the Mavericks beat the Grizzlies on Sunday.

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The NBA Eastern Conference Playoff field is locked in

The waters of the NBA Eastern Conference playoff picture are far more placid than the bedlam of the Western Conference. Things have been settled since the Pacers’ loss to the Magic and the Bucks' win over the Pistons, which set the 10-team field.

The Orlando Magic and the Atlanta Hawks will meet in the 7/8 play-in game, while the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat lock horns in the 9/10 matchup. The reward for the teams that come out of the play is the top-seeded Cavaliers and the No.2 Boston Celtics, who await the No. 8 and No. 7 teams in the first round.

The New York Knicks ended the season at No. 3 aand will face the No.6 Detroit Pistons in the opening round. Detroit beat New York three times this season.

The final first-round matchup pits the No. 4 Indiana Pacers and the No.5 Milwaukee Bucks, who solidified their No. 5 spot with a 125-119 defeat of the Detroit Pistons. Milwaukee has beaten the Pacers in three of its four meetings this season.

The SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament tips off on Tuesday, April 15, with the 7/8 matchups in the Eastern and Western Conference squaring off.

The victors of those contests will advance to the postseason as the seventh seed. The next night, April 16, the 9/10 matchups will take center stage. On April 18, the winner of the 9/10 games will meet with the loser of the 7/8 matchup, with the winner advancing to the playoffs as the eighth seed.