Throughout the entire NBA reboot in the bubble, we at NBC Sports NW have conducted a series called Eye on the Eight: a series that tracks and stops the race for eighth seed in the Western Conference.
Play-in matches are a guarantee for eighth-seeded in the West as the nine-seeded will surely finish within four games of eighth-seeded. The eighth and ninth seeded West will face off Saturday at 11:30 PT. If the eighth seeded wins, they will advance to the first round of the playoffs to face the Los Angeles Lakers. If the ninth seed wins on Saturday, the two teams will have a rematch on Sunday at 1:30 PM PT, where the winner will advance to the postseason.
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Here is the updated ranking after Portland’s victory over Dallas, San Antonio’s victory over Houston, Phoenix’s victory over Philadelphia and Memphis’s defeat to Boston on Tuesday 11 August.
8. Portland Trail Blazers Remaining Program: Brooklyn (Win Rate: 0.465)
9. Memphis Grizzlies Remaining program: Milwaukee (Win rate: 0.458)
10. Phoenix Suns Remaining Schedule: Dallas (0.458 Win Rate)
11. San Antonio Spurs Remaining Schedule: Utah (Win Rate: 0.457)
Due to the seasonal suspension, not all teams have played the same number of games, so the first tiebreaker is the win rate Portland favors in each match.
Then, it will go to the head-to-head record, followed by the division record if in the same division, then conference record, then conference record against playoff teams, then record against playoff teams in the east, and then the net score .
scenarios:
Portland wins the eighth seed:
–Portland goes 1-0
-Portland goes 0-1, Memphis 0-1, San Antonio 0-1, Phoenix 0-1
Portland wins the ninth seed:
-Portland goes 0-1, two from Memphis, Phoenix and San Antonio go 0-1
Portland falls under the ninth seed:
–Portland goes 0-1, two of Memphis, San Antonio and Phoenix goes 1-0
Portland plays Memphis as the eighth suit:
-Portland goes 1-0, Memphis goes 1-0
Portland plays Memphis as the ninth seed:
-Portland goes 0-1, Memphis goes 1-0, Suns 0-1, Spurs 0-1
Portland plays Phoenix as the eighth seed:
-Portland goes 1-0, Memphis goes 0-1, Phoenix goes 1-0
Portland plays Phoenix as the ninth seed:
-Portland goes 0-1, Phoenix goes 1-0, Memphis goes 0-1, San Antonio goes 0-1
Portland plays San Antonio as the eighth seed:
-Portland goes 1-0, San Antonio goes 1-0, Memphis goes 0-1, Phoenix goes 0-1
Portland plays San Antonio as the ninth seed:
-Portland goes 0-1, San Antonio goes 1-0, Memphis goes 0-1, Phoenix goes 0-1
Memphis plays Phoenix as the eighth seed:
-Memphis goes 1-0, Phoenix goes 1-0, Portland 0-1
Memphis plays San Antonio as the eighth seed:
-Memphis goes 1-0, San Antonio goes 1-0, Portland goes 0-1 and Phoenix goes 0-1
Phoenix plays San Antonio as the eighth seed:
-Phoenix goes 1-0, San Antonio goes 1-0, Portland goes 0-1, Memphis goes 0-1
Match schedule:
Game 1: Saturday, Aug.15 at 11:30 am PT
Game 2 (if needed): Sunday August 16 at 1:30 PM PT
