Play‑In opener set
The NBA’s SoFi Play‑In Tournament kicks off Tuesday with Heat vs. Hornets at 7:30 p.m. ET and Trail Blazers vs. Suns at 10:00 p.m. ET. (x.com) Those matchups are the first step in filling the 7th and 8th seeds in each conference now that the regular-season bracket is finalized. (x.com)
The National Basketball Association’s play-in round starts Tuesday, April 14, with Miami at Charlotte in the East and Portland at Phoenix in the West. (nba.com) The Miami Heat finished 10th in the Eastern Conference at 43-39, and the Charlotte Hornets finished ninth at 44-38. The Portland Trail Blazers finished eighth in the Western Conference at 42-40, while the Phoenix Suns finished seventh at 45-37. (nba.com) Tuesday’s early game is Heat-Hornets at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time, and the late game is Trail Blazers-Suns at 10:00 p.m. Eastern time. The SoFi National Basketball Association Play-In Tournament runs from April 14 through April 17, with the full playoffs opening April 18. (nba.com) The play-in is the National Basketball Association’s four-team race for the last two postseason spots in each conference. Teams that finish seventh through 10th do not get an automatic berth; they play extra games to decide the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds. (nba.com) The No. 9 team hosts the No. 10 team in a single elimination game, so the loser of Heat-Hornets is done for the season Tuesday night. The No. 7 team hosts the No. 8 team with less risk, because the loser gets one more game for the final playoff spot. (nba.com) That means Phoenix can clinch the Western Conference’s No. 7 seed Tuesday by beating Portland, and Portland can do the same with a road win. The loser of Suns-Trail Blazers will stay alive and host the winner of Clippers-Warriors for the West’s No. 8 seed on Friday, April 17. (nba.com) In the East, the winner of Wednesday’s Philadelphia 76ers-Orlando Magic game takes the No. 7 seed, and the loser will host the Heat-Hornets winner for the No. 8 seed. Detroit already holds the East’s No. 1 seed, and Boston is locked into No. 2. (nba.com) The bracket around the play-in is already set. Oklahoma City is the West’s No. 1 seed and San Antonio is No. 2, while New York is No. 3, Cleveland is No. 4, Toronto is No. 5 and Atlanta is No. 6 in the East. (nba.com) The regular season ended Sunday, April 12, when all 30 teams played, and the league set postseason rosters Monday at 3:00 p.m. Eastern time. By Friday night, the eight-team playoff fields in both conferences will be complete. (nba.com)
