Phoenix Suns’ Cameron Johnson (23) passes the ball to the Indiana Pacers in the first half of an NBA basketball game on Thursday, August 6, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Kevin C. Cox / Pool Photo via AP)
The Phoenix Suns remained the hottest team in the NBA bubble with a win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday.
They entered Orlando with eight games to make it 2.5 games on the ninth seed to earn a play-in spot, but Phoenix needed to beat the Blazers, Spurs, Pelicans and Kings. The Suns would have to be within 4.0 games of the eighth seed to earn a play-in chance, and the Memphis Grizzlies sat 6.0 games ahead of them when play began in the Disney World bubble.
Six games after their trip, the Suns find themselves right in the thick of things.
Memphis lost its first four games and starting power-forward Jaren Jackson Jr. before grabbing a huge win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday. The Grizzlies lost Sunday 108-99 to the Toronto Raptors.
If Memphis wins one of their last two games, Phoenix cannot beat them in the standings.
The Suns jumped the Spurs by 0.002% to take 10th place with the win over the Thunder and are one game behind the Grizzlies and 0.5 games behind the Blazers.
Because teams played an odd number of games before the coronavirus stopped the season, the first tiebreakers for teams will win percentage.
Four teams remain in the hunt for the final playoff spot with Sacramento and New Orleans out of the running. They all play on Tuesday and will play two games over the next three days.
From there, the regular NBA tiebreakers listed on this article will be maintained below the standings.
If the Suns can win the No. 9 seed, they would have to beat the No. 8 seed twice in two games to earn the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, and then earn them a chance to win the Los Angeles Lakers, who locked up the top seed.
NBA Western Conference No. 8 seedstandings
| Place | Team | Take up | Winning percentage | Games Back |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 |
Memphis Grizzlies |
33-38 | .465 | – |
| 9 |
Portland Trail Blazers |
33-39 | .458 | 0.5 |
| 10 |
Phoenix Suns |
32-39 | .451 | 1.0 |
| 11 |
San Antonio Spurs |
31-38 | .449 | 1.0 |
NBA tiebreaker guidelines
Via NBA.com:
in. Two teams tied. In the event of a tie in regular season records with only two teams, the following criteria will be used in the following order:
(1) Better winning percentage in games against each other.
(2) Winner of division (this criterion is applied regardless of whether the tied teams are in the same division).
(3) Better winning percentage against teams in own division (only if league teams are in the same division).
(4) Better winning percentage against teams in own conference.
(5) Better winning percentage against teams eligible for playoffs at their own conference (including teams that have finished the regular season tied for a playoff spot).
(6) Better winning percentage against teams eligible for playoffs in opposing conference (including teams that have closed the regular season bans for a playoff position).
(7) Better net result of total points scored less total points allowed against all opponents (“point difference”).
b. More than two teams tied. In the event of a tie in regular season records with more than two teams, the following criteria will be used in the following order:
(1) Division winner (this criterion is applied regardless of whether the league teams are in the same division).
(2) Better winning percentage in all games among the tied teams.
(3) Better winning percentage against teams in own division (only if all tied teams are in the same division).
(4) Better winning percentage against teams in own conference.
(5) Better winning percentage against teams eligible for playoffs at their own conference (including teams that have finished the regular season tied for a playoff spot).
(6) Better net result of total points scored less total points allowed against all opponents (“point difference”).
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