What seed will Pelicans be in NBA Playoffs? Lots of options remain

Now that the Pelicans have clinched a spot in the NBA Playoffs, the next questions are simple: Who will they play, when will they play and where will they be seeded?

Simple enough questions, but complex answers.

New Orleans enters Tuesday night’s only game of significance in the Western Conference playoff race – Golden State at Utah – with a chance to be seeded anywhere from No. 4 to No. 8.

A Jazz win over the Warriors takes away any chance New Orleans has of reaching the No. 4 seed and having home-court advantage in the opening round.

If the Pels want to get home court, it will take a combination of two Jazz losses (Tuesday to Golden State and Wednesday at Portland) and a New Orleans win Wednesday against San Antonio at Smoothie King Center. If that happens, the Pelicans would face the No. 5 seed, which would be either the Oklahoma City Thunder (if it defeats Memphis) or the winner of Wednesday’s playoff “play-in” between the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves (if OKC loses to Memphis).

If New Orleans can’t reach the fourth seed, a win over the Spurs would assure the Pelicans of either the No. 5 or No. 6 seed. It would be No. 6, and facing the Trail Blazers in the opening round, if the Jazz defeat Golden State but lose to Portland and the Thunder win. If the Pels are the fifth seed, they would meet the loser of the Utah-Portland game, who would be the No. 4 seed.

A loss to the Spurs means New Orleans is either the No. 7 or No. 8 seed and facing one of the West’s top two teams, the top-seeded Houston Rockets or the No. 2 seed Golden State Warriors, in the first round. The scenarios for the seventh seed all involve an OKC loss to Memphis, which in most scenarios would drop the Thunder behind the Pelicans as the No. 8 seed.

Below is the full rundown of 32 different situations in the West, as computed by the NBA’s communications department: