So we have 4 teams hoping to get to the 8th spot in the West. How will these 4 teams get to play in the play-in game first? San Antonio who has the least games played this season, even if they win their last game against Jazz, will only have a record of 33 wins while Portland, Memphis and Phoenix will have the chance to reach 34 or 35 wins. Their standing in the restart and this season
Memphis 1-6 / 33-39
Phoenix 7-0 / 33-39
Portland 5-2 / 34-39
San Antonio 5-2 / 32-38
Because the teams will not end up with the same number of total games, the 8th and 9th seed will be determined based on the final winning percentages.
The final seeding games for the four teams on Friday PH time will all be crucial:
PHX v. DAL (4:00 a.m.)
MEM v. MIL (4:00 a.m.)
SAS v. UTA (6:30 a.m.)
POR v. BKN (9:00 a.m.)
* If POR wins, it will automatically be the 8th seed with the twice-to-beat advantage in the play-in tournament regardless of the outcome of the other games. If POR loses, it will be eliminated if MEM wins and SAS or PHX wins in their last game.
* If MEM wins, it will qualify for the play-in tournament and, with a POR win, automatically eliminate SAS and PHX even if they win in their last game. Whether it will be the 8th or 9th seed depends on the outcome of the POR game. But if MEM loses and SAS or PHX wins, MEM will be eliminated.
* A SAS or PHX loss automatically eliminates them. For PHX to qualify for the play-in, MEM or POR has to lose. For SAS to qualify for the play-in, any two among MEM, POR and PHX have to lose.
Most likely POR will end up as the 8th seed after the play-in tournament, pero sana it will face PHX instead of MEM.