All 5 of the Eastern Conference games tonight - which all affect who goes to the knockouts, only Indiana is already through - begin simultaneously, at 7:30pm ET. Scenarios are per
my previous post. We need a RedZone channel for this stuff. It's gonna rock.
7:30pm: Milwaukee @ Miami (TNT)
7:30pm:
Chicago @ Boston
7:30pm: Toronto @ Brooklyn
7:30pm: Atlanta @ Cleveland
7:30pm: Charlotte @ New York
In the western conference, there are only 3 games tonight. Group A is done playing (Lakers win group, Suns are 2nd at 3-1, +34). Group B has New Orleans (3-1, +33) in the lead right now, but
HOU @ DAL (8:30pm ET) will determine if the Rockets (2-1, beat NOP) jump over them. So Houston is effectively playing an elimination game tonight: win and you're in, lose and you're out, nothing else matters. If Houston does win, New Orleans would lose the wildcard tiebreaker by a single point of differential.
Group C has two games playing, and for some reason they will not happen at the same time, the way the Eastern Conference is doing it (and most such competitions do it):
8:00pm: OKC @ MIN: Timberwolves eliminated with a loss. With a win and a GSW win, we have a 3-way tiebreaker at the top; Minnesota is currently at -3 PD, so they very likely need to win by at least 21 to even have a chance to win that tiebreaker. Any less and their elimination with a 3-1 record is a mere footnote.
10:00pm: GSW @ SAC (TNT): Sacramento wins group (and GSW eliminated) with a win. If the Warriors win and Minnesota loses, the Dubs win the group. If the Warriors and Timberwolves both win, it comes down to point differential on a 3-way tie. GSW is currently +5 and SAC is +29, so GSW would need to win by at least 12 to overtake SAC, while not also being overtaken by MIN. The Kings, meanwhile, can likely advance even with a loss, as long as it's by fewer than 12.
Because the OKC/MIN game will be finishing right as GSW/SAC is starting, we'll know what each team has to do in order to advance, at or slightly after tipoff. If Minnesota loses, GSW/SAC becomes a straight-up elimination game, winner moves on.
And it would be so because barring some truly spectacular results, the Group C runner-up will also be eliminated. They would need to finish with better than the Suns' +34 PD, while also not winning their own group on point differential. That's only possible with some very outlier results, like SAC by 7, MIN by 40. So the Suns are
very likely to be the western conference wildcard.