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SALT LAKE CITY — Welcome to the end of the NBA season — where playoff seed jockeying happens.
On Sunday, Denver, who currently sits as a No. 2 seed in the Western Conference standings, appeared to purposely throw its game against Portland. The Nuggets rested Nikola Jokic, Paul Millsap and Jamal Murray. They also didn’t go back to Gary Harris — who helped spark a run that helped the Nuggets take a fourth-quarter lead — late in the game.
The Nuggets wanted to lose, and they were going to make sure it happened. The reason: Denver wanted to keep their preferred playoff path alive.
If the Trail Blazers win out — games against the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings — the Rockets lose Tuesday at Oklahoma City, and the Nuggets finish off the year with at least one more victory, Denver would be the No. 2 seed; the Trail Blazers would be the No. 3 seed, and the Rockets would be the No. 4 seed.
That blatant tank job hurt Utah’s run at home-court advantage in the first round — although, the Jazz didn’t help themselves out by losing to the Lakers on Sunday. But, much like it did for Denver, it opened up a scenario that would also make Utah’s playoff path seemingly easier.
If Denver’s dream scenario becomes a reality and Utah also loses both of its remaining games, the Jazz will have a matchup with the Trail Blazers in the first round that's followed by a potential matchup with the Nuggets. That seems just a bit easier than facing off against the Rockets or the Golden State Warriors.
But there are a lot of scenarios still in play. After Sunday’s results, the Jazz can finish anywhere from No. 4 to No. 6.
Here is a breakdown of what needs to happen for Utah to get each seed and who they would be playing if it did.
The Jazz finish in fourth
How the Jazz get there: The Jazz win out — a home game against Denver and one on the road against the Los Angeles Clippers — while the Trail Blazers lose both of their remaining games.
Who would the Jazz play: If the Jazz end up at No. 4, the Blazers would be the No. 5 seed.
The Jazz finish in fifth
How the Jazz get there: The Jazz win out and the Trail Blazers get at least one more victory; or the Jazz win just one of their remaining games; or the Jazz lose out and the Thunder lose one of their remaining games.
Who would the Jazz play? If the Jazz are the fifth seed, they would either see the Trail Blazers or Rockets in the first round.
It will be the Trail Blazers if … the Rockets win their final game at OKC, or if the Rockets lose and the Trail Blazers drop one of their remaining games.
It will be the Rockets if ... the Rockets lose their final game and the Trail Blazers win out.
Note: If the Rockets beat OKC on Tuesday, it’ll lock in a Trail Blazers-Jazz first-round matchup.
The Jazz finish in sixth
How the Jazz get there: The Jazz lose both of their remaining games and the Thunder win out — a home game against Houston and a road game against the league-best Milwaukee Bucks.
Who would the Jazz play? If the Jazz finish at No. 6, they would play the Trail Blazers or Rockets
It will be the Blazers if ... Portland wins out.
It will be the Rockets if ... the Trail Blazers lose at least one of their last two games.
Note: The Thunder will lose a three-team tiebreaker between themselves, the San Antonio Spurs and the Clippers. If both the Spurs (at home against the Dallas Mavericks) and the Clippers (at home against what might be a less-than-motivated Jazz team) both win their final games, OKC would have to finish the year 2-0 to avoid the No. 8 spot and a first-round matchup with the Warriors.
