Tiebreakers are complicated. The West playoff picture is complicated. Let us help out.
The NBA playoff picture in the Western Conference is quite hazy beyond the Warriors at No. 1. In an effort to set the table for the stretch run, we've provided this Guide to the West Tiebreakers. It lays out the tiebreakers that will be used if two teams in the playoff picture finish the season with identical records, and explains who is currently in a preferred position in each.
We will update this each morning to reflect the current situation. This guide does not include current NBA standings, however. For those, see NBA.com's standings page.
Last updated: After games played 3/12/2015. One change to in-conference standings.
First tiebreaker: Division winners
Division winners earn the tiebreaker over non-division winners in playoff seeding and home court advantage determinations. Here are the current West division leaders.
NORTHWEST: Portland | SOUTHWEST: Memphis | PACIFIC: Golden State
Portland is very likely to win its division. That gives the Blazers an advantage over any non-division winner, which could include the No. 2 and possibly No. 3 teams in the Southwest (any of Memphis, Houston, San Antonio and Dallas) and the No. 2 team in the Pacific (the Clippers).
Also note that while it is not a tiebreaker issue, division winners seeded No. 3 or No. 4 who have worse records that their first-round opponents do not receive home court advantage.
Second tiebreaker: Head-to-head records
If both or neither teams in a tiebreak situation are division winners, the tie is broken by head-to-head record.
The most relevant head-to-head tiebreaks already clinched are:
Memphis over Portland
Portland over Houston
Portland over San Antonio
Los Angeles over Dallas
Dallas over New Orleans
New Orleans over Oklahoma City
The most relevant head-to-head tiebreaks that have already ended in ties are:
Houston and Memphis
San Antonio and Los Angeles
The following table shows each playoff contender's record against other playoff contenders. Records in BOLD indicate that one of the teams has already clinched the head-to-head tiebreaker for the season. Records in ITALICS indicate a season series tie, in which case the next tiebreak comes into play. An asterisk indicates the teams will play only three times this season. Otherwise, the teams play each other four times.
| X | GSW | MEM | HOU | POR | LAC | DAL | SAS | OKC | NOP | PHX |
| GSW | -- | MEM 1-0* | GSW 4-0 | GSW 1-0* | GSW 2-1 | GSW 3-0 | 1-1* | GSW 3-1 | GSW 2-0 | GSW 2-1 |
| MEM | MEM 1-0* | -- | 2-2 | MEM 3-0 | MEM 2-1 | MEM 2-1 | MEM 2-1 | MEM 2-1 | NOP 2-1 | MEM 3-0 |
| HOU | GSW 4-0 | 2-2 | -- | POR 2-1* | LAC 2-1 | HOU 2-1 | 1-1 | HOU 2-0* | NOP 2-0 | HOU 3-0 |
| POR | GSW 1-0* | MEM 3-0 | POR 2-1* | -- | LAC 2-1 | POR 2-1 | POR 3-1 | POR 3-0 | POR 2-0* | 1-1 |
| LAC | GSW 2-1 | MEM 2-1 | LAC 2-1 | LAC 2-1 | -- | LAC 2-0* | 2-2 | LAC 2-1* | 1-1* | LAC 3-0 |
| DAL | GSW 3-0 | MEM 2-1 | HOU 2-1 | POR 2-1 | LAC 2-0* | -- | 1-1 | 1-1 | DAL 3-1 | PHX 2-0 |
| SAS | 1-1* | MEM 2-1 | 1-1 | POR 3-1 | 2-2 | 1-1 | -- | OKC 1-0* | NOP 2-1 | SAS 2-1 |
| OKC | GSW 3-1 | MEM 2-1 | HOU 2-0* | POR 3-0 | LAC 2-1* | 1-1 | OKC 1-0* | -- | NOP 3-1 | OKC 2-1 |
| NOP | GSW 2-0 | NOP 2-1 | NOP 2-0 | POR 2-0* | 1-1* | DAL 3-1 | NOP 2-1 | NOP 3-1 | -- | NOP 1-0* |
| PHX | GSW 2-1 | MEM 3-0 | HOU 3-0 | 1-1 | LAC 3-0 | PHX 2-0 | SAS 2-1 | OKC 2-1 | NOP 1-0* | -- |
Third tiebreaker: In-conference record
If two teams are tied in the standings and neither of the first two tiebreakers can solve the problem, the team with the better in-conference record wins the tie. Here's the current situation for the relevant pairings whose head-to-head season series have ended in ties.
Memphis has a 3.5-game lead on Houston in-conference
L.A. has a 6-game lead on San Antonio in-conference
Here are the current in-conference records for each team.
| Team | Record | W% |
| Warriors | 30-7 | .811 |
| Clippers | 28-12 | .700 |
| Grizzlies | 28-13 | .683 |
| Blazers | 24-14 | .632 |
| Rockets | 24-16 | .600 |
| Pelicans | 21-15 | .583 |
| Mavericks | 21-17 | .553 |
| Spurs | 22-18 | .550 |
| Thunder | 19-20 | .487 |
| Suns | 17-22 | .436 |
Additional tiebreakers
If matters are still not resolved -- which is unlikely but possible -- the team with the better record against other playoff teams in the West will earn the tiebreak. If that does not resolve the issue, the team with the better record against the East playoff teams will earn the tiebreak. If that does not resolve the issue, the tiebreaker will be settled by the teams' net total points (total points scored minus total points allowed). If that does not resolve the issue, both team are ejected and the Lakers and Knicks take their spots.*
* We think this is a joke.
Source SBNation.com - All Posts http://ift.tt/1Mt4Cpv
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