How Warriors, Kings can declare West No. 8 seed going into last video game initially appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
They do not call it the “wild, wild West” for absolutely nothing.
Even heading into the last day of the 2023-24 NBA routine season, and after both groups lost Friday night, the Warriors (45-36) and Kings (45-36) still are defending postseason placing
If the season ended today, both groups would fight it out in a win-or-go-home match in between the No. 9 and 10 seeds on Tuesday, April 16 at Golden 1. The Kings hold the tiebreaker over the Warriors and would declare the greater seed due to their much better Pacific Division record.
Luckily for both groups, they are not locked into either of the bottom 2 seeds and still have an opportunity to leapfrog the No. 8 seed Los Angeles Lakers and prevent the possible one-and-done match. Here's how:
If the Lakers beat the New Orleans Pelicans (49-32) on Sunday, the Warriors and Kings will be locked into the No. 9 and 10 seed match, with Sacramento still holding the tiebreaker and greater seed even if both groups win their last video games on Sunday.
If the Lakers lose to the Pelicans, the Kings will be the No. 8 seed with a win over the Portland Trail Blazers (21-60) on Sunday at Golden 1. If the Lakers and Kings both lose, the Warriors will be the No. 8 seed with a win over the Utah Jazz (31-50) on Sunday at Chase.
Put simply, the Kings are rooting for a Sacramento win and a Lakers loss. While the Warriors are rooting for a Golden State win and losses from the Kings and Lakers.
According to a news release sent by the NBA on Saturday, the West's 7-8 match and the 9-10 matches will be on Tuesday just if the Philadelphia 76ers are the Eastern Conference's No. 7 seed, likely due to the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers playing a home video game at Wells Fargo Center, which they show the 76ers, on Tuesday.
If the 76ers are not the East's seventh seed, the West's 7-8 video game will be used Tuesday, with the 9-10 video game used Wednesday, April 17.
There still is a great deal of moving parts, however we're practically to the goal.
How will the Western Conference clean? And where will the Warriors and Kings end up? Tune in to NBC Sports Bay Area and NBC Sports California's protection of Sunday's regular-season endings, with Warriors Pregame Live starting at 11:30 a.m. and Kings Pregame Live starting at 12:00 p.m.
