NBA: One Day, Big Stakes
The NBA’s synchronized Sunday slate on April 12 included nine games that would directly affect playoff seeding and final bracket spots. Broad trackers warned there were live clinching scenarios and tiebreakers to settle, with Boston already locked into the No. 2 seed while Toronto was pushing to secure a direct Eastern Conference playoff berth (nbcsports.com) (sports.yahoo.com) (bostonherald.com) (sportpreferred.com).
The National Basketball Association closed its regular season Sunday, April 12, with 15 games and 10 postseason seeds still unsettled. (nba.com) The biggest Eastern Conference fight sat around the No. 6 seed, the last spot that skips the play-in tournament. Toronto could clinch it with a win over Brooklyn, or with losses by both Orlando and Philadelphia. (nba.com) Orlando entered the day at 45-36 and could rise to No. 6 only by beating Boston and getting a Toronto loss. Philadelphia, at 44-37, needed a win over Milwaukee plus losses by both Toronto and Orlando. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) Boston had no movement left: the Celtics were already locked into the No. 2 seed in the East at 55-26. Detroit had clinched No. 1, New York No. 3 and Cleveland No. 4 before Sunday’s games tipped. (nba.com) (cbssports.com) That left Boston waiting on the 7-versus-8 play-in path. The Celtics’ first-round opponent would come from Orlando, Philadelphia or Toronto, depending on how the final day and the April 14-17 play-in games broke. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) Atlanta had already secured a top-six berth and could lock up the No. 5 seed with a win at Miami. If Atlanta lost, Toronto won and Orlando lost, the Raptors would jump to No. 5 on the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Hawks. (nba.com) Further down the East bracket, Charlotte and Miami were already set for the 9-versus-10 play-in game, but home court was still open. Charlotte would host with a win over New York or a Miami loss to Atlanta; otherwise the game would move to Miami. (nba.com) (cbssports.com) The Western Conference had less chaos at the top, but Sunday still mattered. Denver and the Los Angeles Lakers were still sorting out Nos. 3 and 4, while Portland and the Los Angeles Clippers were fighting over Nos. 8 and 9. (nba.com) (cbssports.com) All 15 games were staggered into two windows, with the East-heavy slate at 3 p.m. Eastern time and the West-heavy slate at 5:30 p.m. Eastern time. Toronto hosted Brooklyn, Orlando visited Boston, Philadelphia hosted Milwaukee and Atlanta traveled to Miami in the early block. (espn.com) The next dates were already fixed even if the bracket was not. The SoFi National Basketball Association Play-In Tournament starts April 14, the playoffs open April 18, and Game 1 of the Finals is scheduled for June 3. (nba.com)
