Warriors-Lakers are the top 10 must-watch games between NBA playoff contenders

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Ten teams times two conferences, that's all clear. But there's still so much more to decide in the final week of the 2023-24 NBA regular season: Who will finish first in the West? Who will secure the coveted No. 6 spot and allow themselves a well-deserved breather before things get serious? And who will play against whom and in what order in the fight for survival, the SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament?

That's a lot of drama crammed into six matchdays. Of the 57 remaining matchups — that's just 4.63% of the schedule, if you're interested in analytics — here are 10 pit teams in the same conference, with positioning and postseason implications hanging in the balance the most.

Tuesday, April 9th

1. Celtics vs. Bucks (7:30 p.m., ET, TNT)

Just because Boston is considered the top seed in the East and the league, securing home-field advantage in every series played, doesn't mean its remaining schedule lacks significance. This trip to Milwaukee will be the Celtics' final road game – they won't travel again until Game 3 of the first round. The Bucks have lost four straight and six of their last seven, the opposite of “high point for the playoffs.”

Why it matters: That concludes the season series – there will be more to come in May in a series that many fans have been imagining since the maneuvers between Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday heated up the rivalry. Boston, perhaps not sweating this game, already leads 2-1. The Bucks, who are 15-17 since signing Doc Rivers, are desperate to stop the bleeding.

2. Kings vs. Thunder (8 p.m. ET, NBA League Pass)

Sacramento's next three games are against playoff contenders, starting with Oklahoma City. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (quad) and Jalen Williams (ankle) have been out for OKC recently, as have Malik Monk (MCL sprain) and Kevin Huerter (shoulder surgery) from Sacramento.

Why it matters: In the West everything is fluid. It's conceivable that the defending champion Nuggets slip to fourth place or the eighth-place Kings move up to fifth place. Oklahoma City is confident of its best record in eight years (55-27 in the 2015-2016 season) but can't keep up with the conference's top seed, which is still up for grabs.

3. Warriors vs. Lakers (10 p.m. ET, TNT)

It wasn't long ago that an early April game pitting the Nos. 9 and 10 seeds from a conference was yawn-inducing. Golden State has a 2-1 lead in the series and, remember, has been more successful away from home (23-16) than at home (20-19).

Why it matters: Sure, the Warriors can even drag the Lakers into the loss column and secure the possible direct tiebreaker, while LA can get closer to being eliminated from the play-in pot. But these veteran-dominated teams can't be sure which of the lower teams will give them the best first-round matchup given how the West is pushing at the top. Golden State is 1-10 against the current top three, while the Lakers are 3-1 against OKC and 1-6 against the others.

4. Clippers vs. Suns (10 p.m. ET, NBA League Pass)

A busy final week for both teams: they play in Phoenix on Tuesday and in LA on Wednesday. With so much at stake, will the Stars play both ends back to back? Through the Clippers' two wins so far, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard and James Harden have combined for 73 points per game. Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal? Overall 75.5.

Why it matters: The Suns woke up clinging to sixth place (by tiebreaker against New Orleans) after losing to the Pelicans on Sunday. But they could easily slip back into the play-in; After two games against the Clippers, they land in Sacramento and Minnesota. LA is highly coveted, but could opt to settle in the 4-5 spot and lighten the workload from here.

Wednesday, April 10th

The Magic have a chance to capture the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.

5. Magic vs. Bucks (8 p.m. ET, NBA League Pass)

Don't look now, but Orlando has a chance to clinch the East's No. 2 seed thanks to facing Milwaukee twice in the last five days. Both teams will play at the end of a back-to-back game (Bucks are 9-4, Magic 5-9 in such games).

Why it matters: Imagine the excitement in game No. 82 if Orlando can beat seeded Milwaukee. If the Bucks don't stop swooning, a team that started out with championship aspirations could be playing from down under just to get out of the first round.

6. Timberwolves vs. Nuggets (10 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Arguably the most intriguing and crucial match of the week, with the West's No. 1 team up for grabs. It's the only remaining game for both teams that's guaranteed to get their attention. Minnesota has won two of three, by 21 (on November 1) and 13 points (on March 29), respectively.

Why it matters: The Timberwolves are one of six teams to win in Denver this season, although Jamal Murray missed that one. The Nuggets learned how valuable that No. 1 pick can be when they rode it to the championship last June. Don't forget that all teams in the play-in competition are waiting for their possible first round matchups.

Thursday, April 11th

7. Knicks vs. Celtics (7:30 p.m. ET, TNT)

These teams will be competing against each other for the fifth time as tournaments were postponed during the season. Normally that wouldn't be good news for New York — it's 0-4 so far and three of its top four scorers are injured (Julius Randle) or subbed (RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley). They have only met once since December 8th.

Why it matters: The Knicks want to secure a place in the top four and definitely avoid slipping into the second division. But they're banged up, relying too much on Jalen Brunson and trying to figure out how much they can count on Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks in coach Tom Thibodeau's tight playoff rotation. This is the Celtics' last real opponent before they host non-playoff teams Charlotte and Washington.

8. Pelicans vs. Kings (10 p.m. ET, TNT)

Finishing Kick or Finishing Gauntlet? The Pelicans snapped a 5-1 loss with a win against Phoenix on Sunday, but still have a difficult final week ahead of them in the West and on the road before a home finale against the Lakers. It's worth noting that entering the week, New Orleans' away record (25-14) was better than the Kings' home record (23-15).

Why it matters: Counting these guys, six of their last eight games are against teams ranked sixth through tenth in the West. Any result could throw scheduled play-in matches and first-round series into the mixer. With so many rivals playing Twister, Dallas could be the big beneficiary, escaping this situation by playing three of its last four against East teams.

Friday, April 12th

9. Pelicans vs. Warriors (10 p.m. ET, NBA League Pass)

New Orleans ends its late-season West Coast trip with a game against Golden State 24 hours after its game against Sacramento. The teams split two games and have not met since January 10th.

Why it matters: If nothing is clear for these teams by now, a Pelicans win would keep Golden State in the rearview mirror. The Warriors held Zion Williamson in check (19.0 ppg) in their first two meetings, but they haven't seen him recently; The space forward has been at full speed since March 8th, averaging 25.8 ppg on 59% shooting.

10. Suns vs. Kings (10:30 p.m. ET, NBA TV)

This is another one of those season series that goes into a fifth game thanks to the in-season tournament. It's tied 2-2 with 936 points so far and the Kings scoring at least 114 points every night.

Why it matters: High momentum offense is generally not the key to great postseason success, but none of these clubs will be inclined to go defensive at this point. De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis have outscored Durant and Booker with 57.3 ppg to 51.0 so far, and the Kings have four other players who have outscored Beal (9.0 in two appearances).

Sunday April 14th

We should know a lot by matinee Sunday, assuming all the glasses fall one way in the previous games. However, if they fall the other way, we may know little or nothing about the final seeding, the play-in opponents, or the first-round series. With Detroit at San Antonio being the only cross-conference clash on the 15-game slate, several others will count double when it comes to raising, lowering or otherwise defining the East and West standings.

Commissioner Adam Silver, the league's other executives and their broadcast partners couldn't have planned it better.

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Steve Aschburner has been writing about the NBA since 1980. You can email him here, his archive can be found here and Follow him on X.

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