NBA standings, Western Conference playoff picture: Kings on cusp of No. 2 seed; Blazers into play-in field

The Sacramento Kings, who haven’t made the playoffs since 2006, the NBA’s longest drought, swept the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday for their eighth win in their last 11 games and are now just one game behind second-place finish. . Memphis Grizzlies.

Meanwhile, a loss to the Pelicans led to a five-runner tie in the bottom of the play-in race in the Western Conference, starting with the 9th-seed Utah Jazz and ending with the 13th-seed Oklahoma City Thunder.

Below is a comprehensive snapshot of how things are going in the Western Conference playoffs and play-in races coming into play on Tuesday. This post will be updated daily for the remainder of the regular season or until all seeds have been collected.

A reminder of how the play-in tournament works: No. 7 plays No. 8 and No. 9 plays No. 10. The winner of the 7–8 game gets the No. 7 seed, and the loser plays the winner of the 9–10 game for the No. 8 seed.

READ: Eastern Conference Playoff Photos

NOTE: Developed by Data Prediction Engineer Steven Oh, our SportsLine model simulates the entire season 10,000 times to provide the most objective and accurate predictions imaginable.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

1. Denver Nuggets (46-19)

The Nuggets would have to go in absolute tank to blow up the No. 1 seed. With 17 games to play, they effectively lead the Grizzlies by seven games with a secured tiebreak.

• Projected Seed: 1
• Current match of the first round: TBD
• Tie-break against Memphis: Denver won
• Tie-break against Sacramento: Season series tied 1-1 with one player
• Tie-break against Phoenix: Denver leads the season 2-0 with two players

2. Memphis Grizzlies (38-25)

The Memphis seed seems weak now that Ja Morant is out indefinitely. In 19 games, the Grizzlies lead the No. 3 Kings by one in the losing column and the No. 4 Suns by four. On the other hand, Memphis has the easiest schedule in the league.

• Projected Seed: 2
• Current match of the first round: Mavericks/Clippers game winner
• Tie-break against Denver: Nuggets won
• Tie-break against Sacramento: Kings currently own via conference call
• Tie-break against Phoenix: Grizzlies own through division leader

3. Sacramento Kings (38-26)

The Kings have won eight of their last 11 games and are just one spot behind the No. 2 Grizzlies in the losing column. They also currently own the tiebreaker over Memphis with a higher conference winning percentage. The Kings are three games ahead of the Suns, but there are still two head-to-head games ahead. In our SportsLine model, the Suns eventually passed the Sacramento for third.

• Projected Seed: 4
• Current match of the first round: vs Timberwolves
• Tie-break against Denver: Draw 1-1 with one to play
• Tie-break against Memphis: Kings currently own via conference call
• Tie-break against Phoenix: The Suns are leading 2-0 with two more to play.
• Tie-break against Golden State: Warriors lead 2-1, one player left

4. Phoenix Suns (36-29)

After the Durant trade, the Suns are 3-0 and have a great chance of beating the No. 3 Kings, who are three games behind with two head-to-heads left. The Suns lead the Warriors at number 5 in scoring in three games with a secured tiebreaker.

• Projected Seed: 3
• Current match of the first round: against warriors
• Tie-break against Memphis: Grizzlies own through division leader
• Tie-break against Sacramento: Phoenix leads 2-0 with two to go
• Tie-break against Golden State: The suns entrenched
• Tie-break against Timberwolves: Sans leads 2-1, one player remains
• Tie-break against Dallas: Suns currently own through conference win percentage
• Tie-break against the Clippers: Sans leads 2-1, one player remains

5. Golden State Warriors (34-31)

The Warriors continue to struggle on the road, losing to the Lakers without LeBron James on Sunday in Los Angeles. However, they have won five out of six and hold the lead with one loss over the No. 6 Wolves and No. 7 Mavericks.

• Projected Seed: 5
• Current match of the first round: against the suns
• Tie-break against Phoenix: The suns entrenched
• Tie-break against Timberwolves: Warriors lead 2-1, one player left
• Tie-break against Dallas: Draw 1-1 with one to play
• Tie-break against the Clippers: Warriors lead 2-1, one player left
• Tie-break against New Orleans: Pelicans lead 2-1 with one man
• Tie-break against Utah: Warriors won

6. Minnesota Timberwolves (34-32)

The Wolves share the loss record with the No. 7 Dallas and only one lead over the No. 8 Clippers and No. 9 Jazz. The good news is that the Wolves have a tiebreak over both of these teams, so the airbag is effectively two games long. The race to stay above the line will be intense. SportsLine doesn’t like Minnesota’s chances of making it.

• Projected Seed: 7
• Current match of the first round: in kings
• Tie-break against Phoenix: Sans leads 2-1, one player remains
• Tie-break against Golden State: Warriors lead 2-1, one player left
• Tie-break against Dallas: The wolves grappled
• Tie-break against the Clippers: The wolves grappled
• Tie-break against New Orleans: Draw 1-1 with one to play
• Tie-break against Utah: The Wolves currently hold the division record
• Tie-break against the Lakers: The wolves grappled

PROGRAM TOURNAMENT

7. Dallas Mavericks (33-32)

The Mavericks have lost six of their last 10 games and have slipped below the play-in line, tying the No. 6 Wolves in the losing column, who own the tie-break. Dallas is just one game behind the No. 5 Golden State but only two games ahead of the No. 11 Lakers.

• Projected Seed: 8
• Current match of the first round: vs. Clippers (beat)
• Tie-break against Phoenix: Suns owns by conference win percentage
• Tie-break against Golden State: Draw 1-1 with one to play
• Tie-break against Timberwolves: The wolves grappled
• Tie-break against the Clippers: Dallas currently holds the conference record
• Tie-break against New Orleans: Dallas leads 2-1 with one to go
• Tie-break against Utah: Dallas leads 2-1 with one to go
• Tie-break against the Lakers: Dallas leads 2-1 with one to go

8. Los Angeles Clippers (34-33)

The Clippers are two behind the No. 5 Warriors, one behind the No. 6 Wolves, and just one behind the No. 9 Pelicans, No. 10 Jazz, and No. 11 Lakers. Our SportsLine model loves, to be above the play-in line.

• Projected Seed: 6
• Current match of the first round: in the Mavericks (play)
• Tie-break against Phoenix: Sans leads 2-1, one player remains
• Tie-break against Golden State: Warriors lead 2-1, one player left
• Tie-break against Timberwolves: The wolves grappled
• Tie-break against Dallas: Mavericks currently owns via conference call
• Tie-break against New Orleans: The Pelicans are leading 1-0, it remains to play together.
• Tie-break against Utah: jazz clinch
• Tie-break against the Lakers: Clippers won

9. Utah Jazz (31-34)

Utah has the same 31-34 record as the #10 Blazers, #11 Lakers, #12 Pelicans and #13 Thunder. In tiebreak scenarios involving three or more teams, the nod, in order, is given to the team with the best head-to-head record against all participating teams. For now, Jazz is in the lead in this scenario.

• Projected Seed: Lottery
• Current match of the first round: vs Blazers (beat)
• Tie-break against New Orleans: Jazz Clinched
• Tie-break against the Lakers: Jazz leads 2-0, two players left to play
• Tie-break against OKC: Thunder leads 2-1 with one to play
• Tie-break against Portland: Blazers lead 2-1, one player left

10. Portland Trail Blazers (31-34)

The Blazers are currently transitioning to the playing field due to New Orleans’ loss to Sacramento on Monday. See the Utah section for an explanation of tiebreaks involving three or more teams.

• Projected Seed: Lottery
• Current match of the first round: in jazz (play)
• Tie-break against Utah: Blazers lead 2-1, one player left
• Tie-break against the Lakers: Blazers currently own through conference winning percentage
• Tie-break against New Orleans: Pelicans lead 2-1 with one man
• Tie-break against OKC: Thunder shrink

OUTSIDE VIEW INSIDE

11. Los Angeles Lakers (31-34)

The Lakers have the same 31–34 record as the No. 9 Jazz, No. 10 Blazers, and No. 12 Pelicans. In tiebreak scenarios involving three or more teams, the nod in order receives the team with the best head-to-head record against all participating teams. At the moment, the Lakers are not participating in the play-in tournament.

• Projected Seed: 10
• Tie-break against New Orleans: Lakers lead 2-1, one player left
• Tie-break against Utah: Jazz leads 2-0, two players left to play
• Tie-break against OKC: Draw 1-1 with one to play
• Tie-break against Portland: Blazers currently own through conference winning percentage

12. New Orleans Pelicans (31-34)

Since losing to the Kings on Monday, the Pelicans are on the same 31-34 record as the No. 9 Jazz, No. 10 Blazers, No. 11 Lakers, and No. 13 Thunder. See Lakers section » above for how tiebreak scenarios involving three or more teams are handled.

• Projected Seed: 9
• Tie-break against Golden State: Pelicans lead 2-1 with one man
• Tie-break against Timberwolves: Draw 1-1 with one to play
• Tie-break against Dallas: Mavericks lead 2-1, one player left
• Tie-break against Utah: jazz clinch
• Tie-break against the Lakers: Los Angeles leads 2-1 with one to go
• Tie-break against OKC: Pelicans won
• Tie-break against Portland: Pelicans lead 2-1 with one man

13. Oklahoma City Thunder (30-34)

The Thunder are 30-34 behind the No. 9 Jazz, No. 10 Blazers, No. 11 Lakers, and No. 12 Pelicans. See the Lakers section above for how tiebreak scenarios involving three or more teams are handled.

• Projected Seed: Lottery
• Tie-break against New Orleans: Pelicans won
• Tie-break against Utah: OKC leads 2-1 with one to go
• Tie-break against the Lakers: Draw 1-1 with one to play
• Tie-break against Portland: OKC won