East seeding set
Eastern Conference seeding settled with the Pistons at No.1, the Celtics at No.2, the Knicks at No.3, the Cavs No.4 and the Raptors taking the No.5 seed while the Hawks secured No.6. (x.com)(usatoday.com) Orlando dropped to No.8 after a loss to Boston and was pushed into the play‑in, which reshapes who the Celtics and other top seeds will prepare for. (usatoday.com)(x.com)
The Eastern Conference bracket is set at the top, but the bottom of it is still moving after Orlando fell into the play-in on the season’s final day. (nba.com) Detroit finished first in the East at 59-22, followed by Boston at 55-26, New York at 53-28 and Cleveland at 51-30. Toronto landed the fifth seed at 46-35, and Atlanta took sixth at 45-36. (espn.com) Orlando’s 113-108 loss in Boston on Sunday dropped the Magic to 45-37 and into the No. 8 spot. Philadelphia beat Milwaukee 126-106 later Sunday to finish 45-37 as well and moved into No. 7. (espn.com 1) (espn.com 2) That means the East’s locked first-round series are Knicks-Raptors at No. 3 versus No. 6 and Cavaliers-Hawks at No. 4 versus No. 5. Detroit and Boston, the top two seeds, still have to wait for the play-in to decide their opponents. (nba.com) The play-in is the National Basketball Association’s four-team mini-bracket for seeds seven and eight. Teams that finish seventh and eighth play for the No. 7 seed, while ninth and tenth play an elimination game for the right to face the loser for No. 8. (nba.com) In the East, Philadelphia will host Orlando on Wednesday, April 15, for the No. 7 seed. Charlotte, the No. 9 team at 43-38, will host Miami, the No. 10 team at 42-39, on Tuesday, April 14. (nba.com) (espn.com) The winner of 76ers-Magic will open against Boston as the East’s No. 7 seed. The loser will get one more chance on Friday, April 17, against the winner of Hornets-Heat for the right to face Detroit. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) Boston’s regular-season finale changed that path directly. The Celtics beat Orlando with reserves, and the Associated Press recap on ESPN said Baylor Scheierman scored 30 points and Luka Garza added 27 in the five-point win. (espn.com) The calendar turns quickly now: playoff rosters were due Monday, April 13, the play-in runs April 14 through April 17, and the first round starts April 18. By the end of this week, the Celtics and Pistons will finally know who survived the East’s last scramble. (nba.com)
