National Basketball Association
A look at the NBA playoff picture
National Basketball Association

A look at the NBA playoff picture

Published Apr. 16, 2014 3:12 a.m. ET

A look at where things stand in the NBA playoff picture, with one day remaining in the regular season:

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EAST UPDATE

How is New York not in the playoffs? Even without Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks beat Brooklyn on Tuesday night - their third double-digit win over the Nets this season.

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And that means five seedings will be decided on the season's final night.

Indiana is No. 1, Miami is No. 2 and Atlanta is No. 8. Brooklyn could have wrapped up No. 5 on Tuesday.

Toronto controls its destiny for No. 3, Brooklyn can still win to get No. 5 and Washington can ensure it finishes no worse than No. 6 with a victory.

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WEST UPDATE

More end-of-season madness awaits: Four seedings are undecided.

San Antonio is No. 1, Houston is No. 4, Portland is No. 5 and Golden State is No. 6.

The Clippers could have settled two more seeds if they had lost Tuesday night, but their win over Denver kept them alive in the race with Oklahoma City for No. 2.

Those controlling their fates on the season's final night: Oklahoma City in the race for No. 2, and Dallas and Memphis in the race for No. 7 - which works out nicely, since they play one another.

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WEDNESDAY'S GAMES

Indiana at Orlando: Pacers could finish 21-20 on road.

Chicago at Charlotte: Bulls would be No. 3 with win and Toronto loss. Would be seeded No. 4 with loss or Toronto win. Charlotte would be No. 6 with a win and a Wizards loss; 7th otherwise.

Washington at Boston: Wizards would be No. 5 with a win and a Nets loss; No. 6 with a win and Nets win; No. 7 with a loss and a Charlotte win.

Houston at New Orleans: No playoff relevance. Read: Lots of backups.

Brooklyn at Cleveland: Nets would be No. 5 with win, though they don't seem overly concerned.

Philadelphia at Miami: LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh all expected to rest for Miami.

Atlanta at Milwaukee: This year's No. 8 seed plays last year's No. 8 seed.

Utah at Minnesota: Could it be Rick Adelman's finale?

Toronto at New York: Raptors will be No. 3 with a win or a Bulls loss. If neither happens, they're No. 4.

L.A. Lakers at San Antonio: The Lakers' season, mercifully, comes to an end.

Detroit at Oklahoma City: Thunder finally wrap up No. 2 with win; otherwise, door opens for Clippers.

Dallas at Memphis: Game of the night. Winner gets No. 7 in West. Loser goes to San Antonio for Game 1.

Golden State at Denver: Warriors locked into No. 6.

L.A. Clippers at Portland: Will Blake Griffin play? Got his 16th technical of season Tuesday, so if it's not rescinded, he serves one-game league-mandated suspension.

Phoenix at Sacramento: Suns could become first team since 2008 Warriors to win 48 and miss playoffs.

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CURRENT BRACKET

First-round matchups if the season ended Tuesday...

East: Indiana-Atlanta, Miami-Charlotte, Toronto-Washington, Chicago-Brooklyn.

West: San Antonio-Memphis, Oklahoma City-Dallas, L.A. Clippers-Golden State, Houston-Portland.

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NOTE OF THE DAY

Barring some historically low-scoring games on the final night, this NBA season will see more total points than ever before. The current mark is 247,100 set in 2009-10; this season's pace is for around 248,000 points to be scored.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

''Tonight was an example of how not to take a step forward.'' - Brooklyn's Paul Pierce after the loss to the Knicks.

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Follow Tim Reynolds on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ByTimReynolds

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