NBA Play‑In kicks off
The NBA’s Play‑In Tournament begins Tuesday, April 14, with the regular season’s final bracket locked and the first playoff round scheduled for April 18 (CBS Sports). All 20 postseason seeds were finalized on the regular‑season’s closing day, and the Play‑In will decide the last guaranteed berths and matchups heading into the first round (CBS Sports, (espn.com)). One concrete result from Sunday: the Toronto Raptors clinched the final top‑six seed in the Eastern Conference and avoided the Play‑In (CBS Sports).
The National Basketball Association Play-In Tournament starts Tuesday, April 14, with four first-round playoff spots still unsettled. (nba.com) The play-in runs from April 14 through April 17, and the full playoffs open Saturday, April 18. The league’s bracket now has 16 teams locked into either first-round series or play-in games. (nba.com) In the Eastern Conference, the Philadelphia 76ers are the No. 7 seed and the Orlando Magic are No. 8, with the winner taking the seventh playoff spot. The Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat meet in the 9-versus-10 game, and the loser is eliminated. (nba.com) In the Western Conference, the Phoenix Suns and Portland Trail Blazers open in the 7-versus-8 game, while the Los Angeles Clippers face the Golden State Warriors in the 9-versus-10 game. The 7-versus-8 winner gets the conference’s seventh seed, and the 9-versus-10 loser is out. (nba.com) The format gives teams that finish seventh or eighth two chances to reach the playoffs, while ninth- and 10th-place teams must win twice. The last two playoff berths in each conference are decided by those four games. (nba.com) Sunday’s regular-season finale locked every postseason seed in place. CBS Sports reported that Toronto claimed the East’s final top-six spot and avoided the play-in entirely. (cbssports.com) That result set two East first-round series before the play-in even began: the New York Knicks will face the Atlanta Hawks, and the Cleveland Cavaliers will face the Raptors. The Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics are waiting on play-in winners. (espn.com) In the West, three first-round matchups are already set: the San Antonio Spurs will play the winner of the seventh-seed game, the Oklahoma City Thunder will face the eighth seed, and the Los Angeles Lakers will meet the Houston Rockets while the Denver Nuggets draw the Minnesota Timberwolves. (nba.com) All play-in games this year are scheduled for Prime Video, according to the league’s postseason schedule page. By Friday night, the bracket that opened on April 14 will be filled in for the playoff weekend that starts April 18. (nba.com)
