Back to Home
NewsYahoo Sports

Three days left in the regular season and 14 of 20 playoff seeds are still undecided.

The NBA regular season ends Sunday, April 12, and the picture is far from settled. Ten teams have clinched playoff berths — Detroit, Boston, New York, and Cleveland in the East; Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Denver, Los Angeles Lakers, Houston, and Minnesota in the West — but 14 of the 20 total playoff seeds remain up for grabs.

In the West, the 3-through-5 seed race is a knife fight. Denver (51-28), the Lakers, and Houston are separated by just 1.5 games. The difference between the 3-seed and the 5-seed could mean the difference between avoiding OKC until the Conference Finals or running into Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's buzzsaw in the second round. The Play-In Tournament spots are locked: Phoenix, the Clippers, Portland, and Golden State will battle it out April 14-17.

The East is even messier below the top four. Toronto and Philadelphia are in a dogfight for the 6-seed to avoid the Play-In. Orlando, Charlotte, and Atlanta are all still alive for direct playoff berths. Three days, dozens of scenarios, and every game matters.