As the playoffs approach, many fans are probably wondering: What does my team need to happen to qualify for the Big Dance? Well, below is a team-by-team playoff scenario analysis.

76ers (5-0)
With their demolishment of the Heat last Sunday, Philly has locked up the number one overall seed and will play the winner of the play-in game (4-seed vs 5-seed) in a 3-game playoff series with the winner advancing the 2017 BGBL Finals. The 76ers look to complete the second perfect regular season in league history with a win over the winless Celtics in the regular season finale (The defending champion Spurs went 5-0 last year).

Warriors (3-1)
The Warriors have clinched a playoff berth. However, they still need to win at least one of their final two games if they want to avoid the dreaded play-in game against the Miami Heat. Although the Warriors and Spurs have a fierce rivalry going on that moment, with the final nine minutes of their matchup scheduled to take place Sunday night, their more important game is actually against the Thunder. Since there is a very minimal difference between the 2 and 3 seed (home team simply gets to pick the ball), the Warriors should focus more on putting the Thunder away as that would ensure the Warriors would finish in the top 3 teams in the league and not have to worry about the play-in game. If the Warriors beat the Spurs but lose to the Thunder, Oklahoma City then goes on to beat Houston, and the Spurs rebound to beat Miami, all three teams would be tied at 4-2 and it would come down to a point differential tiebreaker. The Warriors would still likely make the cut for the 2 vs 3 seed playoff series as they currently have the highest point differential of the three teams. Assuming they hold that tiebreaker, Golden State simply needs to get one more win to qualify for the 2 vs 3 seed playoff series.

Spurs (3-1)
Similar to the Warriors, the Spurs have clinched the playoffs, but still need to focus on avoiding the play-in game. The Spurs’ big game would have to be their matchup against the Warriors. San Antonio would clinch the number 2 overall seed with a win. As explained in the Warriors’ scenarios above, if the Spurs lose to the Warriors but rebound to beat the Heat, and the Thunder win out, the result will be a three-way point differential tiebreaker that will not be as favorable towards the Spurs as it is to the Warriors. In that case, San Antonio could potentially find itself in the play-in game. If the Spurs lose their final two games, they will almost surely find themselves in the play-in game. If both the Thunder and Spurs lose out, the Spurs will unfortunately be a guaranteed contestant in the play-in game.

Thunder (2-2)
The Thunder need one more win, either against the Warriors or Rockets, to clinch the playoffs. If they lose out, they can still make the playoffs as long as the Heat lose to the Spurs. If the Thunder win out, they could potentially qualify for the 2 vs 3 seed playoff series, depending on the point differential tiebreaker. OKC will not even need to worry about its game versus the Rockets though if both them and the Spurs can defeat the Warriors on Sunday night. This would result in a Spurs-Thunder playoff series rematch from last year. If the Thunder fail to beat the offensive driven Warriors on Sunday night and the Heat clinch a playoff spot with a victory over the Spurs the following night, then the Thunder and Rockets will face off in a play-in game for the play-in game to determine the fifth and final playoff spot.

Heat (2-3)
Similar to the Thunder, Miami's fate could end up drastically different depending on how these last few games play out. The Heat could go from playing in the 2 vs 3 seed playoff series, but could also find themselves not even qualifying for the play-in game. In short, the Heat need to avoid a three-way tiebreaker with the Rockets and the Thunder. This is because it would come down to a point differential tiebreaker and, after their 30+ point defeat at the hands of the 76ers, Miami would surely find itself on the outside looking in.

That being said, Miami can clinch a spot in the playoffs a couple of different ways. First of all, if the Thunder come away with a win over the Spurs on Sunday night, the Heat clinch a spot in the play-in game, as this would eliminate any possibility of a three-way tiebreaker with the Thunder and Rockets. If that doesn’t happen, the Heat can take care of business themselves with a victory over the Spurs. If the Heat fail to take care of business themselves, they simply have to hope that the Thunder can put away the Rockets on Monday night. All these scenarios would qualify the Heat for a spot in the play-in game.

On the other hand, the Heat could make the 2 vs 3 seed playoff series against the Warriors if Golden State beats the Spurs & Thunder on Sunday, and the Rockets beat the Thunder on Monday night. However, Miami would also need to win its game versus the Spurs or it would be completely eliminated from playoff contention.

Rockets (1-4)
Despite their 1-4 record, the Rockets’ playoff hopes are actually still very alive. They need a little help from the Warriors to beat the Thunder on Sunday night. However, as long as that happens, Monday night’s matchup versus the Thunder would essentially be Houston’s play-in game to qualify for the play-in game.

Celtics (0-5)
Boston has been eliminated from playoff contention after their overtime loss to the Spurs on Monday night. The Celtics have competed well but experienced some serious heartbreak, with two of their five losses coming in overtime. The Celtics have a tough test to conclude the season, playing the undefeated 76ers.