Today is the last day of the NBA season, and it’ll also determine who the Golden State Warriors will face in the first round of the postseason.
The bottom three teams in the West’s playoff race have waited till the last day of the NBA season to finalize their seed. It’ll the Thunder, Clippers and Spurs all vying for the higher seed in an attempt to not take on the Golden State Warriors in the first round.
The Thunder, who would give the Warriors the toughest matchup of the three, are playing the most difficult opponent. However, they don’t necessarily need to win to avoid the eighth seed.
They’ll take on the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference at the Fiserv Forum, an area the Bucks have lost just seven games at all season. That said, the availability of Giannis, who is currently day-to-day, may save the Thunder from a guaranteed loss.
The Clippers will take on the fifth-place Jazz and the Spurs have the easiest opponent, the Dallas Mavericks. That said, let’s dive into how the Warriors will be impactful by each outcome.
So we don’t look at every single situation, let’s make a few assumptions. Let’s assume the Spurs and Clippers will win, and the Thunder will lose. The Clippers, at home, should be the favorite to down Utah although Utah is technically the team with the better record.
If that comes true, a tiebreaker between all three teams would then have to happen. The Spurs, who are 4-3 against the other two opponents, would claim the top seed. The Clippers, who are 4-4 against the teams, would then get the No. 7 seed.
The Thunder would have their worst-case scenario come to life after a thrilling victory. They’re just 3-4 against the Spurs and Clippers, so then they’d secure the No. 8 seed. A Thunder-Dubs first-round matchup would be exciting for fans but not so much for Golden State or Oklahoma City.
It’d be nice and easy if the Thunder win either the Clippers or Spurs lose. That said, if the most likely scenario happens, the Warriors will be taking on the Clippers, a favorable matchup for the Dubs.
All that to say, any of these three could be the Dubs first-round opponent in the Western Conference.