Play‑In starts tonight
The NBA Play‑In Tournament kicks off Tuesday, April 14 with the No. 7 vs. No. 8 games deciding immediate berths and the consolation losers facing the No. 9 vs. No. 10 winners for the final seeds. (CBS Sports reports the full 20‑team field is locked and the format remains: 7v8 for the 7‑seed, loser gets a second chance vs. the 9/10 winner.) (cbssports.com) (Yahoo Sports highlights marquee matchups, including the Clippers hosting the Warriors midweek.) (sports.yahoo.com)
The National Basketball Association Play-In Tournament opens Tuesday, April 14, with Miami at Charlotte and Portland at Phoenix. (nba.com) Miami Heat at Charlotte Hornets starts at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time, and Portland Trail Blazers at Phoenix Suns follows at 10 p.m. Eastern time. The Hornets-Heat game is a No. 9 versus No. 10 elimination game, while Suns-Trail Blazers is a No. 7 versus No. 8 game for the Western Conference’s No. 7 seed. (nba.com) Wednesday, April 15 brings the other two openers: Orlando Magic at Philadelphia 76ers at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time and Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Clippers at 10 p.m. Eastern time. Philadelphia-Orlando decides the Eastern Conference’s No. 7 seed, and Clippers-Warriors is the West’s No. 9 versus No. 10 elimination game. (sports.yahoo.com) The format gives the No. 7 and No. 8 teams two chances to reach the playoffs. The 7-8 winner takes the No. 7 seed, and the loser hosts the winner of the 9-10 game for the No. 8 seed. (nba.com) The No. 9 and No. 10 teams get one path only. The 9 seed hosts the 10 seed, and the loser is out of the postseason that night. (nba.com) All 20 postseason spots are now locked, so the play-in is about seeding rather than qualification into the broader field. CBS Sports reported Tuesday that the regular season settled the final top-six berths and left four playoff seeds in each conference to be decided this week. (cbssports.com) The play-in runs through Friday, April 17, and the first round of the playoffs starts Saturday, April 18. The National Basketball Association said all play-in games will stream on Prime Video. (nba.com) This tournament format has been in place since the 2020-21 season, when the league expanded the old race for eight spots into a four-team bracket for seeds seven through 10. The result is a four-day sprint in which two teams in each conference survive and two are eliminated before the first playoff series begins. (nba.com)
