NBA playoff and play-in scenarios for Sunday, April 9

The 2023 NBA playoff picture is almost complete, with Western Conference seeds No. 5 through No. 9 up for grabs. Here are the playoff and play-in scenarios involving the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves and New Orleans Pelicans. All these teams will be involved in the postseason in some capacity, either with an automatic playoff spot or a play-in berth. The Oklahoma City Thunder are locked into the No. 10 seed.

There are 16 possible scenarios involving Sunday’s games. Here’s the seeding possibilities for each team.

Warriors

No. 5 seed: 4 scenarios
No. 6 seed: 7 scenarios
No. 7 seed: 3 scenarios
No. 8 seed: 2 scenarios
No. 9 seed: None

% chance automatic playoff berth: 68.75
Most likely seed possibility: No. 6 seed (43.75%)

Lakers

No. 5 seed: None
No. 6 seed: 3 scenarios
No. 7 seed: 4 scenarios
No. 8 seed: 9 scenarios
No. 9 seed: None

% chance automatic playoff berth: 18.75
Most likely seed possibility: No. 8 seed (56.25%)

Clippers

No. 5 seed: 10 scenarios
No. 6 seed: 3 scenarios
No. 7 seed: 3 scenarios
No. 8 seed: None
No. 9 seed: None

% chance automatic playoff berth: 81.25
Most likely seed possibility: No. 5 seed (62.5%)

Timberwolves

No. 5 seed: None
No. 6 seed: None
No. 7 seed: 4 scenarios
No. 8 seed: 4 scenarios
No. 9 seed: 8 scenarios

% chance automatic playoff berth: 0
Most likely seed possibility: No. 9 seed (50%)

Pelicans

No. 5 seed: 2 scenarios
No. 6 seed: 3 scenarios
No. 7 seed: 2 scenarios
No. 8 seed: 1 scenario
No. 9 seed: 8 scenarios

% chance automatic playoff berth: 31.25
Most likely seed possibility: No. 9 seed (50%)

If we take the most likely scenarios, the Clippers and Warriors would round out the automatic berths with LA taking the No. 5 seed and Golden State holding down the No. 6 seed. The Timberwolves are locked into a play-in spot. The Lakers and Pelicans are most likely set for the play-in tournament but do have some shots at the automatic playoff spots.