NBA tiebreakers are simple if one team wins the season series.
But if two teams play four games, and split, the tiebreaker procedure can get complicated.
Over the past decade, playoff teams have finished in a tie 21 times, an average of one tie per season in each conference.
How important are tiebreakers? It would be pivotal if the Oklahoma City Thunder and Utah Jazz tied for the No. 4 and 5 spots in the West. The tiebreaker would determine home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
The Thunder has a chance to own the tiebreaker over the Trail Blazers, Suns, Spurs and Jazz, the four teams Oklahoma City is competing with for the Nos. 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 seeds.
That could be huge when the regular season ends April 14.
If division rivals split four regular-season games, the tiebreaker is which team finishes with the best division record. Oklahoma City owns a huge lead on its Northwest Division rivals. The Thunder is 7-2 in division games. The next closest team is Denver (7-4).
Having lost twice to the Timberwolves and Thunder, and three times to the Nuggets, Utah is 6-7 within the division.
Portland, losing all four games to Utah, is 5-6 within the division.
The Thunder is 2-0 against the Jazz and can clinch the tiebreaker by simply winning one of the final two meetings. Even if Utah wins the final two games, the Thunder probably still wins the tiebreaker.
If Oklahoma City splits the final two games with Portland, the Thunder should win the tiebreaker with the Trail Blazers.
San Antonio is one tiebreaker that simply has too many games left to be played to determine which team has the edge. OKC must win the final meeting with the Spurs March 22 to have a shot at winning the tiebreaker.
If the Spurs and Thunder split their four-game series, and finish with identical records, the tiebreaker will be Western Conference records. The Spurs (18-17) have a slight edge, but the Thunder (17-17) has the easier schedule.
It's doubtful the Thunder can catch the Nuggets or Mavericks for higher stakes. If OKC does get on a roll, the Mavericks probably win the tiebreaker. But the Thunder most likely would win the tiebreaker over Denver if the Thunder and Nuggets split the final two head-to-head meetings.
Oklahoma City has lost only one tiebreaker (Houston). Since the Rockets are fading, that shouldn't be a factor.
Whether the Thunder finishes in a tie won't be determined for another 45 days. But if it becomes a factor, OKC has put itself in position to win most tiebreakers.
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