Western Conference
Lakers Locked in as the No. 1 seed
Hornets Locked in as the No. 2 seed
Spurs No. 3 seed with win; No. 4 with loss and PHX loss; No. 5 with a loss, a HOU loss and PHX win: No. 6 with a loss, HOU win and PHX win
Jazz No. 3 seed with win; No. 4 seed with loss
Rockets No. 5 seed with win or PHX loss; No. 6 with a loss and PHX win
Suns No. 4 seed with win and SA loss; No. 5 with win, SA win and HOU loss, No. 6 with loss
Mavericks No. 7 seed with win or DEN loss; No. 8 with loss and DEN win
Nuggets No. 7 seed with a win and a DAL loss; No. 8 with loss or DAL win
Here's another way to look at it:
HOUSTON-PHOENIX-UTAH-SAN ANTONIO (Seeds 3 to 6)
(Higher Seeded team has homecourt in first round unless otherwise indicated)
If Houston and San Antonio win:
3-San Antonio
4-Utah
5-Houston (homecourt)
6-Phoenix
If Houston, Utah and Phoenix win:
3-Utah
4-Phoenix
5-Houston (homecourt)
6-San Antonio
If Utah wins and Phoenix loses:
3-Utah
4-San Antonio
5-Houston
6-Phoenix
If San Antonio and Phoenix win and Houston loses:
3-San Antonio
4-Utah
5-Phoenix (homecourt)
6-Houston
If San Antonio wins and Houston and Phoenix lose:
3-San Antonio
4-Utah
5-Houston
6-Phoenix
If Utah and Phoenix win and Houston loses:
3-Utah
4-Phoenix
5-San Antonio
6-Houston
DALLAS-DENVER (Seeds 7 to 8)
If Dallas wins or Denver loses:
7-Dallas
8-Denver
If Denver wins AND Dallas loses:
7-Denver
8-Dallas
Wednesday's Playoff Push Games Of Note
New Orleans at Dallas (ESPN, 7 ET) -- The Hornets come into this one with nothing to gain or lose, having locked up the No. 2 seed the night before. Look for major Ryan Bowen action and extended Hilton Armstrong face-time. The Hornets starters can rest up.
If you believe Dallas would rather face the Hornets than the Lakers, then the Mavs have a big incentive to win. If Dallas loses and Denver wins, then the Mavs would fall to the eight seed because the Nuggets hold the head-to-head tiebreaker. That would mean a first-round playoff series with Kobe Bryant for Dallas.
Memphis at Denver -- If the Mavs lose earlier in the evening, that opens the door for the Nuggets to pick their first-round opponent. In that scenario, look for a full-out effort by the Nuggets who probably would prefer the No. 7 seed and a date with No. 2 New Orleans.
LA Clippers at Houston -- The Rockets are likely rooting for their fellow Texans to knock off the Jazz, because that could diminish the chances of the Rockets ending up at home-court disadvantage in a possible Jazz matchup.
Portland at Phoenix -- The Suns will either play the Jazz, Rockets or Spurs in first round, and still have a crack at home-court advantage.