Play‑in TV schedule notes

The National Basketball Association play-in tournament is running from April 14 through April 17, and every game is streaming on Prime Video rather than on traditional national television. (nba.com) Wednesday’s schedule has Orlando at Philadelphia at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time for the Eastern Conference No. 7 seed, followed by Golden State at the Los Angeles Clippers at 10 p.m. Eastern time in a Western Conference elimination game. (nba.com) The format keeps the teams that finished seventh through 10th in each conference alive after the regular season. The No. 7 and No. 8 teams play for the No. 7 seed, while the No. 9 and No. 10 teams play an elimination game. (nba.com) Friday’s two games decide the No. 8 seeds. In the East, the loser of Magic-76ers will face Charlotte at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time after the Hornets beat Miami 127-126 in overtime on Tuesday; in the West, Phoenix will face the winner of Clippers-Warriors at 10 p.m. Eastern time after Portland beat the Suns 114-110 to take the No. 7 seed. (nba.com) The standings made the East bracket especially tight. Philadelphia and Orlando both finished 45-37, with the 76ers listed seventh and the Magic eighth under the league’s tiebreak procedures. (nba.com) The West bracket is less balanced on paper. The Clippers finished 42-40, the Warriors finished 37-45, and the loser on Wednesday is out before the first round begins on April 18. (nba.com) The play-in tournament was approved in June 2020 by the National Basketball Association Board of Governors and the players’ union, and CBS Sports noted this is the event’s sixth year. The league uses it to fill the final two playoff spots in each conference after the regular season ends. (cbssports.com) The winners move straight into the first-round bracket that starts this weekend. Boston is already waiting for the East No. 7 seed on Sunday, April 19, and Detroit is waiting for the East No. 8 seed later that day. (nba.com)