West’s play-in tourney set: Suns’ 1st-round playoff opponent 1 of 4 teams
Apr 9, 2022, 9:09 PM | Updated: 9:54 pm
Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns warms up before a game against the Utah Jazz at Vivint Smart Home Arena on April 08, 2022 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
(Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
The Phoenix Suns’ 2022 playoff path is starting to become clearer.
With the Golden State Warriors defeating the Spurs on Saturday night, San Antonio is locked in as the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference and the New Orleans Pelicans finish ninth.
That means that the Western Conference seedings are set and the play-in tournament — which will decide the Suns’ first-round playoff opponent — is ready to commence.
If you need a quick refresher, the play-in tournament works likes this:
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The No. 7 seed Minnesota Timberwolves will play the No. 8 seed Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. Arizona time on TNT.
The winner of that game will clinch the No. 7 seed and play the No. 2 seed Memphis Grizzlies in the first round. However, the loser of Tuesday night’s contest is not eliminated.
That’s because the No. 9 seed Pelicans tip off against the No. 10 seed Spurs on Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. Arizona time on ESPN, with the winner playing the loser of the Clippers-Timberwolves game. However, the loser of the New Orleans-San Antonio matchup will be eliminated.
Finally, the loser of the Los Angeles-Minnesota contest and winner of the Pelicans-Spurs matchup will play each other on Friday.
The winner of that game will clinch the No. 8 seed and earn the right to play the Suns in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
Phoenix hosts the Sacramento Kings in the regular-season final at Footprint Center on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station.
