NBA in-season tournament standings, tiebreakers, scenarios for Kings vs. Warriors game

Jason Anderson
·3 min read
16

There’s only one sure way for the Kings to advance to the next stage of the NBA’s new in-season tournament. They have to beat the Golden State Warriors.

The will Kings conclude group play in West Group C when they face the Warriors on Tuesday at Golden 1 Center. If the Kings win, they will advance to the knockout stage with a 4-0 record in group play. The Kings can also advance based on point differential in the event of a three-way tie with the Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves.

Six group winners and one wild card team from each conference will move on to the knockout phase with a chance to advance to the Final Four Dec. 7-9 in Las Vegas. The Los Angeles Lakers have already won West Group A with a 4-0 record. The Phoenix Suns finished second in that group with a 3-1 record and a plus-34 point differential, all but assuring them of the wild card spot in the West.

That leaves the Kings, Warriors and Timberwolves fighting for the top spot in West Group C. Let’s break down the standings, tiebreaker procedures and scenarios going into the last day of group play.

West Group C

Here’s a look at the West Group C standings with point differential in parentheses.

▪ Kings 3-0 (+29)

▪ Timberwolves 2-1 (-3)

▪ Warriors 2-1 (+5)

▪ Thunder 1-2 (+27)

▪ Spurs 0-4 (-58)

Tiebreakers

1. Head-to-head record in group stage

2. Point differential in group stage

3. Total points in group stage

4. 2022-23 regular season record

Scenarios

▪ Kings: The Kings will win West Group C with a win over the Warriors. They can also win the group with a loss to the Warriors if the Timberwolves beat Oklahoma City and the Kings win the three-way tiebreaker over Golden State and Minnesota based on point differential. The Warriors would have to beat the Kings by 12 points or more to finish group play with a higher point differential. The Kings cannot win the wild card in the West because with a loss to the Warriors it would be mathematically impossible to top the Suns’ plus-34 point differential.

▪ Warriors: The Warriors will win West Group C with a win over the Kings and a loss by the Timberwolves. The Warriors can also win the group with a win over the Kings and a Timberwolves victory if they win the tiebreaker over Sacramento and Minnesota. The Warriors can win the wild card if they beat the Kings, finish second in the group and win the tiebreaker over the other second-place teams in West groups A and B. The latter scenario is unlikely because the Warriors would have to beat the Kings by 28 or more to top Phoenix’s point differential, and in that case they would probably win the group.

▪ Timberwolves: The Timberwolves can win West Group C if they beat the Thunder, the Warriors beat the Kings and the Timberwolves win the tiebreaker over Sacramento and Golden State. The Timberwolves can win the wild card if they beat the Thunder, finish second in the group and win the tiebreaker over the other second-place teams in West groups A and B. The latter scenario is highly unlikely because the Timberwolves would have to beat Oklahoma City by 38 to top Phoenix’s point differential.