Because the California teams are playing fewer games than the rest of the league this year, playoff positions are determined by points percentage. The top 4 teams in the Pacific Division will make the playoffs, however, the 5th place team in the Central can cross over if they have a better record than 4th in the Pacific.
Right now, Stockton has 60 points after 59 games played (0.508 pts%). They have 9 games remaining. If they win all their remaining games, they'd have 78 points in 68 games (0.574 pts%).
Currently, the 4th place team in the Pacific is San Jose with a 0.559 pts%. The 5th place team in the Central is Charlotte with a 0.560 pts%.
Here's what Stockton's percentage will be with different totals...
- 78 points = 0.574
- 77 points = 0.566
- 76 points = 0.559
- 75 points = 0.551
- 74 points = 0.544
Because they're primarily fighting with San Jose and Bakersfield for the final playoff spot, you can still do a traditional points comparison. Stockton is 6 points behind San Jose and 2 behind Bakersfield. All three teams have 9 games remaining. No matter what, they need to make up those 6 points on San Jose if they want to have a hope of making the playoffs.
One thing working in Stockton's favour is that 6 of their final 9 games are in Stockton, and they have one of the best home records in the league. San Jose has 6 on the road and 3 at home. Bakersfield has 5 on the road and 4 at home.