NBA Playoff Picture 2017: Who's In And Who's Out? Tiebreaker Scenarios, Seeds For Postseason

The final day of the 2016-2017 NBA regular season promises to be an exciting one with three teams fighting to make the playoffs. The Indiana Pacers, Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat are all in contention as the Eastern Conference’s No.7 and No.8 seeds remain up for grabs.

All three teams were victorious Monday night, putting themselves in virtual “must-win” situations when their seasons conclude Wednesday. If any of them lose, there’s a good chance they will finish outside of the playoff picture.

The Indiana Pacers and Chicago Bulls are both in control of their own destiny. Indiana will get the No.7 seed if they can defeat the Atlanta Hawks, while Chicago is in with a victory over the Brooklyn Nets.

Miami needs to beat the Washington Wizards, and they’ll also have to get a loss by either Indiana or Chicago to get into the 16-team field. Luckily for the Heat, Washington is already locked into the No.4 seed and has nothing to play for.

Chicago is hosting the NBA’s worst team, and they should cruise to a victory in game No.82. It might not be that simple for Indiana. They’ll host the Atlanta Hawks, who are still looking to secure the No.5 seed in the East. Atlanta can, however, clinch that seed with a win over the Charlotte Hornets Tuesday night.

Indiana would be out of the playoffs in a three-way tie with Chicago and Miami. The Bulls hold the tiebreaker over both the Pacers and Heat.

The other six playoff teams in the East have already been decided, though the seeding is still uncertain. The Boston Celtics are now in control of their own destiny for the No.1 seed as they sit a game ahead of the Cleveland Cavaliers with one game left on the schedule. Cleveland still owns the tiebreaker, and they'd clinch home-court advantage with a win over the Toronto Raptors and a Boston loss. The Raptors are the No.3 seed and Washington is No.4, while the Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks are battling for the No.5 and No.6 slots.

The Western Conference’s playoff picture is almost complete. All eight postseason teams have clinched, and the battle for the No.4 seed between the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers is the only uncertainty. L.A. holds the tiebreaker, and Utah will be the No.5 seed if the two teams share the same record.

The Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets have the top three seeds. The Oklahoma City Thunder, Memphis Grizzlies and Portland Trail Blazers are the bottom three playoff seeds.