NBA playoff picture 2023: How Kings' first-round opponent to be decided
How Kings' first-round playoff opponent will be decided Sunday originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
It all comes down to the final day of the 2022-23 NBA regular season.
The Kings, locked in the Western Conference's No. 3 playoff seed, will learn their first-round opponent Sunday when the No. 6 seed is earned based on the results of four games.
Entering Sunday's slate, four teams still are in the mix to land the No. 6 seed: the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, New Orleans Pelicans and Los Angeles Lakers.
The Warriors play on the road against the woeful Portland Trail Blazers, while the Clippers face the fourth-place Phoenix Suns. The Pelicans will battle the play-in-tournament-bound Timberwolves, and the Lakers will host the already-eliminated Utah Jazz.
Per Basketball Reference, the Warriors are most likely to land the No. 6 spot (44 percent), followed by the Clippers (25.4 percent), Pelicans (21.1 percent) and Lakers (9.5 percent).
The Blazers and Suns both will rest key players Sunday, which makes wins for the Warriors and Clippers, respectively, highly likely. If that happens, Golden State would play Sacramento in the first round as the No. 6 seed, and LA would earn the No. 5 seed and face Phoenix.
If not, things get a bit messy.
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The Kings (48-33) likely will rest most of their playoff rotation Sunday against the Denver Nuggets (52-29), who already have secured the No. 1 seed in the West.
The game is scheduled to tip off at 12:30 p.m. PT. Tune in to NBC Sports California or visit the NBC Sports app at noon PT for "Kings Pregame Live," followed by the game broadcast.
