Western Conference Playoff Scenarios: How Rockets Can Finish as No. 2 Seed

Getty Houston Rockets guard James Harden

The Houston Rockets were a last-second Paul George miss away from being on their way to the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. Instead, they now find themselves in a position to potentially fall down to No. 4 depending on how two Wednesday night games play out.

The loss leaves the Rockets with a 53-29 record to wrap up the season. Paired with the Portland Trail Blazers using a buzzer-beater to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers, it leaves a muddied playoff picture out West. Houston will now sit back and watch as both the Denver Nuggets and Blazers play on the final night of the regular season, and the two teams will determine their fate.

We’re going to take a look at the Rockets’ playoff outlook and also how they can still finish as the No. 2 seed in the playoffs.

Western Conference Playoff Scenarios for Rockets,  Nuggets, Blazers

Here’s a look at the updated standings atop the West heading into the final day of action, as the Golden State Warriors are already locked into the No. 1 seed.

1. 1. *Golden State Warriors 57-24
2. 2. Denver Nuggets 53-28
3. 3. Houston Rockets 53-29
4. 4. Portland Trail Blazers 52-29

The Nuggets, Blazers and Rockets can all jump around a bit, and Denver faces the Minnesota Timberwolves while Portland draws the Sacramento Kings. According to PlayoffStatus.com, a few things to point out include the following:

– Nuggets can’t finish lower than No.  3
– Rockets can finish anywhere from 2-4
– Trail Blazers can finish with either the three or four seed

So, we’ll look at the “what if” scenarios for each of these teams, starting with the Rockets and how they can finish in any of the three spots.

Houston Rockets Will Finish …

• No. 2 with Nuggets, Blazers losses
• No. 3 with Nuggets win, Blazers loss
• No. 4 with Nuggets, Blazers wins

Trail Blazers Will Finish …

• **No. 3 with win and Nuggets win
• No. 4 with loss

Nuggets Will Finish …

• No. 2 with win
• No. 3 with loss

**The Blazers will need a win as well as a Denver Nuggets win to move into the No. 3 spot due to tiebreakers. If the Blazers, Nuggets and Rockets are all tied, the multi-way tiebreaker rules point to the division leaders holding the first advantage, which would mean Denver and Houston.

Western Conference Playoff Scenarios for Thunder,  Spurs, Clippers

Here’s how the bottom of the Western Conference playoff standings look, and all four teams have already clinched a spot in the postseason.

1. 5. *Utah Jazz 50-31
2. 6. Oklahoma City Thunder 48-33
3. 7. San Antonio Spurs 47-34
4. 8. Los Angeles Clippers 47-34

*Jazz have locked in No. 5 seed

The final three seeds in the West are similar to what we saw above, as a number of teams can move around. We’ll start there with what can happen for the Thunder, Spurs and Clippers.

– Thunder can’t finish lower than No.  7
– Spurs can finish anywhere from 6-8
– Clippers can finish with either the seven or eight seed

As far as the “what if” outlook goes, courtesy of Playoff Status, it’s an interesting spot considering the fact that the Thunder draws the East-leading Milwaukee Bucks. Unfortunately for the Spurs, the Bucks have nothing to play for at this point.

Oklahoma City Thunder Will Finish …

• No. 6 with win over Bucks
• No. 7 with loss and Spurs win

San Antonio Spurs Will Finish …

• No. 6 with win over Mavericks and Thunder loss
• No. 7 with win OR Clippers loss
• No. 8 with loss and Clippers win

Los Angeles Clippers Will Finish …

• No. 7 with win and Spurs loss to Mavericks
• No. 8 with loss OR win and Spurs win

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