Who could Suns face in the playoffs? Play-in field could clear up Tuesday

The Phoenix Suns locked down the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, but the list of teams they could face in the first round as of Tuesday morning was seven.

By Tuesday night, there is the possibility that could reduce down to five before it eventually reaches the four teams that would take the NBA into the play-in rounds of the postseason.

Phoenix fans are probably aware of the first piece to this puzzle: The 11th-place Los Angeles Lakers will be eliminated from play-in contention if they fall to the Suns and the 10th-place San Antonio Spurs defeat the Denver Nuggets.

But if San Antonio loses, the top-end of the play-in teams in the 7-10 seeds could lock in on Tuesday night.

The fifth-place Nuggets and sixth-place Utah Jazz can avoid the play-in tournament with individual wins plus a loss by the No. 7 Minnesota Timberwolves. If Denver and Utah both win and the T-Wolves lose to the Washington Wizards, then Minnesota will be out of chances to avoid the play-in round.

The Clippers, who are on an island in eighth place, have already secured that No. 8 seed.

In ninth place, the New Orleans Pelicans face the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday and will secure a play-in berth with either a win or a Lakers loss.

NBA standings – Only potential first-round opponents for the Phoenix Suns

TEAM	W	L	WIN%	GB	CONF	DIV	HOME	ROAD	OT	LAST 10	STREAK
5 Denver Nuggets	47	32	.595	15.5	28-21	6-10	22-16	25-16	3-1	6-4	W 1
6 Utah Jazz	46	32	.590	16	30-18	13-1	27-11	19-21	1-0	4-6	L 1
7 Minnesota Timberwolves	45	34	.570	17.5	31-20	12-4	25-13	20-21	2-1	6-4	W 2
8 LA Clippers	39	40	.494	23.5	23-26	7-7	22-16	17-24	0-4	4-6	W 2
9 New Orleans Pelicans	34	44	.436	28	23-25	6-9	18-21	16-23	1-2	6-4	L 1
10 San Antonio Spurs	33	45	.423	29	23-25	6-9	16-24	17-21	1-3	7-3	W 2
11 Los Angeles Lakers	31	47	.397	31	16-32	3-11	20-20	11-27	7-2	2-8	L 6

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