Play‑In opener set
The NBA play‑in tournament starts Tuesday with Heat vs. Hornets at 7:30 p.m. ET and Trail Blazers vs. Suns at 10 p.m. ET on Prime. ( ) Fans are already speculating about possible first‑round matchups like Cavaliers vs. Raptors as the bracket takes shape. (x.com)
The National Basketball Association play-in tournament opens Tuesday, April 14, with two games that will decide the first No. 7 seeds in each conference. (nba.com) In the Eastern Conference, the Charlotte Hornets host the Miami Heat at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time. In the Western Conference, the Phoenix Suns host the Portland Trail Blazers at 10 p.m. Eastern time. Both games are scheduled for Prime Video. (nba.com) The play-in uses the teams that finished seventh through 10th in each conference. The seventh-place team plays the eighth-place team for the No. 7 seed, while the ninth-place team plays the 10th-place team in an elimination game. (nba.com) That format puts different stakes on Tuesday’s two matchups. Phoenix and Portland can clinch a playoff berth immediately, while Charlotte and Miami are playing to stay alive for a second game later in the week. (nba.com; nbcsports.com) The rest of the bracket is already taking shape from the final 2025-26 regular-season standings. In the East, the Philadelphia 76ers finished seventh, the Orlando Magic finished eighth, the Hornets finished ninth, and the Heat finished 10th. (espn.com) In the West, the Suns finished seventh, the Trail Blazers finished eighth, the Los Angeles Clippers finished ninth, and the Golden State Warriors finished 10th. The Clippers and Warriors are set for the other Western Conference play-in game on Wednesday, April 15. (espn.com; nbcsports.com) The winners of the seventh-versus-eighth games move straight into the first round of the playoffs, which begin Saturday, April 18. The losers get one more chance against the winners of the ninth-versus-10th games for the No. 8 seeds on Friday, April 17. (nba.com) That is why fans are already mapping possible first-round series before the field is complete. The Cleveland Cavaliers finished fourth and the Toronto Raptors finished fifth in the East standings, while the top six seeds in each conference are already locked into the main playoff bracket. (espn.com; nba.com) By the end of Friday night, the National Basketball Association will have its full 16-team playoff field. Tuesday’s games are the first step, with one berth on the line in each conference. (nba.com)
