Two results of note on Wednesday night in the Association. First, the tanking Grizzlies upset the Nuggets, who thus dropped to the West’s No. 6 seed, one game back of Minnesota. Second, the Rockets, who lost to the Lakers for the second consequential result of the night.
With the win, the Lakers not only maintained their two-game cushion on the West’s No. 3 seed, but they also secured the season tiebreaker with the Rockets by virtue of their 2-1 head-to-head advantage. Being that the Lakers also own the tiebreaker over the Timberwolves, their cushion on the 3-seed is effectively three games.
Had Houston won that game, they would be tied with the Lakers with the tiebreaker in their favor, waking up on Thursday with the West’s No. 3 seed. Instead, they’re No. 5. Major swing, obviously.
This is but one of many seeding races across both conferences that look to be headed for a photo finish, as we are less than a month out from the close of the 2025-26 NBA regular season. The final day of games will be on Sunday, April 12. Between now and then, we will be updating this playoff picture each day to keep you up to date on the standings, important magic numbers, all relevant tiebreakers, and our SportsLine projections.
Here is where we stand entering play on Thursday, March 19.
*Tiebreaker Note: All tiebreakers are included for teams currently within one game (or one seed) of each other, but will only be listed under the current higher seed’s section.
2026 NBA Playoff Picture
If the season ended today…
Play-In Tournament
East: No. 7 Heat vs. No. 8 Hawks , No. 9 76ers vs. No. 10 Hornets
West: No. 7 Suns vs. No. 8 Clippers, No. 9 Trail Blazers vs. No. 10 Warriors
East first round
No. 1 Pistons vs. No. 8 76ers/Heat/Hawks/Hornets
No. 2 Celtics vs. No. 7 Heat/76ers
No. 3 Knicks vs. No. 6 Magic
No. 4 Cavaliers vs. No. 5 Raptors
West first round
No. 1 Thunder vs. No. 8 Clippers/Suns/Blazers/Warriors
No. 2 Spurs vs. No. 7 Suns/Clippers
No. 3 Lakers vs. No. 6 Nuggets
No. 4 Timberwolves vs. No. 5 Rockets
Western Conference standings
At the top of the West, No. 2 San Antonio still has an outside shot to catch the No. 1 Thunder (the first team to clinch a playoff spot), but one way or another those are going to be the top two teams. After that, just three games separate the 3-6 seeds, and just one game separates 4-6.
1. Oklahoma City Thunder (55-15)
- Tiebreaker vs. Spurs: Spurs clinched
- SportsLine projection: No. 1 seed
2. San Antonio Spurs (51-18)
- Tiebreaker vs. Thunder: Spurs clinched
- SportsLine projection: No. 2 seed
3. Los Angeles Lakers (44-25)
- Tiebreaker vs. Wolves: Lakers own
- Tiebreaker vs. Rockets: Lakers own
- SportsLine projection: No. 3 seed
4. Minnesota Timberwolves (43-27)
- Tiebreaker vs. Rockets: Rockets lead 1-0
- Tiebreaker vs. Nuggets: Nuggets own
- SportsLine projection: No. 6 seed
5. Houston Rockets (41-27)
- Tiebreaker vs. Nuggets: Nuggets own
- SportsLine projection: No. 4 seed
6. Denver Nuggets (42-28)
- Tiebreaker vs. Suns: Nuggets own
- SportsLine projection: No. 5 seed
7. Phoenix Suns (39-30)
- Tiebreaker vs. Clippers: Suns own
- SportsLine projection: No. 7 seed
8. L.A. Clippers (34-35)
- Tiebreaker vs. Warriors: Clippers lead 2-1
- SportsLine projection: No. 8 seed
9. Portland Trail Blazers (34-36)
- Tiebreaker vs. Warriors: Blazers own
- SportsLine projection: No. 10 seed
10. Golden State Warriors (33-36)
- SportsLine projection: No. 9 seed
Eastern Conference standings
In the East, Detroit has a firm hold on the top spot over Boston and the tiebreaker already clinched. The Celtics are focused on holding their two-game lead on the No. 3 Knicks, who are trying to hold their own two-game lead on the No. 4 Cavs, who are trying to hold their two-game on the No. 5 Raptors, who are one game up on the No. 6 Magic. So yeah, it’s tight.
1. Detroit Pistons (49-19)
- Tiebreaker vs. Celtics: Pistons own
- SportsLine projection: No. 1 seed
2. Boston Celtics (46-23)
- Tiebreaker vs. Knicks: Knicks lead 2-1
- SportsLine projection: No. 2 seed
3. New York Knicks (45-25)
- Tiebreaker vs. Cavaliers: Knicks own
- SportsLine projection: No. 3 seed
4. Cleveland Cavaliers (42-27)
- Tiebreaker vs. Magic: Cavs lead 2-1
- SportsLine projection: No. 4 seed
5. Toronto Raptors (39-29)
- Tiebreaker vs. Heat: Raptors lead 2-0
- SportsLine projection: No. 5 seed
6. Orlando Magic (38-30)
- Tiebreaker vs. Raptors: Series tied 1-1
- Tiebreaker vs. Heat: Miami owns
- SportsLine projection: No. 7 seed
7. Miami Heat (38-31)
- Tiebreaker vs. Sixers: Series tied 1-1
- Tiebreaker vs. Hawks: Heat lead 2-1
- SportsLine projection: No. 6 seed
8. Atlanta Hawks (38-31)
- Tiebreaker vs. Hornets: Hornets own
- SportsLine projection: No. 8 seed
9. Philadelphia 76ers (37-32)
- Tiebreaker vs. Hawks: 76ers own
- SportsLine projection: No. 9 seed
10. Charlotte Hornets (35-34)
- Tiebreaker vs. Hawks: Hornets own
- SportsLine projection: No. 10 seed
Notable magic numbers
- OKC’s magic number to clinch West’s No. 1 seed: 11
- Detroit’s magic number to clinch East’s No. 1 seed: 10
