Kings playoff scenarios: Will Sacramento play Los Angeles or Golden State in first round?

The Kings have done their part to secure the franchise’s first playoff berth since 2006. Now, they can only watch and wait to find out which team they will face in the opening round.

The Kings will close out the regular season on the road against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday afternoon at Ball Arena. That game will have little meaning as the Nuggets have clinched the No. 1 seed and the Kings are locked in as the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, but elsewhere there is much to be decided.

The Kings will play the No. 6 seed in the first round of the playoffs. Their most likely opponents are the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers have two games remaining against the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday and Phoenix Suns on Sunday. The Warriors have one game remaining against the Blazers on Sunday.

The Suns will likely rest their starters because they are already locked into the No. 4 seed in the West. The Blazers are sitting theirs because they have been eliminated from playoff contention. The Clippers should win their last two games and the Warriors should win their last one. If that happens, they will finish with identical 44-38 records.

The Clippers hold the tiebreaker by virtue of their division record, meaning they would secure the No. 5 seed and a first-round matchup with the fourth-seeded Suns. The Warriors would fall to No. 6, setting up a first-ever Interstate 80 playoff series between Sacramento and Golden State. However, if the Clippers decide they would prefer to play the Kings instead of the Suns in the first round, they might be able to ensure that matchup for themselves with a loss to Phoenix in the final game of the regular season.

Let’s assume the Clippers beat the Blazers on Saturday. The Clippers and Warriors will both play at 12:30 p.m. Sunday. If the Warriors win and the Clippers lose, the Warriors would get the No. 5 seed and a first-round matchup with the Suns, a team no one wants to face with Chris Paul, Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Deandre Ayton.

The Clippers and Lakers would likely finish with identical records under that scenario, but the Clippers hold the tiebreaker after going 4-0 against the Lakers during the regular season. The Clippers would get the No. 6 seed and a first-round series against the Kings. The Lakers would likely go to the play-in tournament as the No. 7 seed.

There’s no telling how that will play out, but here’s what we do know as the Kings prepare for their long-awaited return to the playoffs.

Current seed: No. 3

First-round matchup: Los Angeles Clippers

If the playoffs started today, the Kings would play the No. 6 seed, the Clippers, in the first round. Sacramento went 3-1 against the Clippers this season. The Kings suffered a 111-109 loss in Sacramento on Oct. 22, but they took the next three games, winning 123-96 on Dec. 3; 1276-175 in double overtime in the second-highest scoring game in NBA history Feb. 24; and 128-127 on March 3.

Homecourt advantage: Yes.

The Kings have clinched homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs, which begin April 15. They will play Game 1 of their first-round series at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. The seven-game series will have a 2-2-1-1-1 format with the first two games being played in Sacramento, the next two games being played on the road and alternating sites for the last three games, if necessary.

Tickets: Are they available?

Tickets for Sacramento’s first-round playoff series will go on sale to the general public at noon Monday. Season ticket holders received priority access to playoff tickets. StubHub, a ticket exchange and resale company, has tickets listed for sale with prices ranging from $425 for the upper level to $7,312 for a second-row seat in the lower level.