Playoffs bracket locked
The NBA’s first-round playoff bracket is fully set and games begin Saturday, April 18, with matchups scheduled through May 3. (cbssports.com) Game windows for series like Celtics vs. 76ers are already published — NESN lists Game 1 at 3:30 p.m. ET on April 18 and the early dates for Games 2–4 and potential Games 5–7. (nesn.com)
The National Basketball Association’s playoff bracket is now complete, with all eight first-round series set to start between Saturday, April 18, and Sunday, April 19. (nba.com, nba.com) In the Eastern Conference, the matchups are Detroit Pistons vs. a play-in qualifier, Boston Celtics vs. Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks vs. Atlanta Hawks, and Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Toronto Raptors. In the Western Conference, the pairings are Oklahoma City Thunder vs. a play-in qualifier, San Antonio Spurs vs. a play-in qualifier, Denver Nuggets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves, and Los Angeles Lakers vs. Houston Rockets. (nba.com, cbssports.com) The league’s official schedule says the SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament runs from April 14 through April 17, and the first round begins April 18. Game 1 dates already posted include Cavaliers-Raptors and Knicks-Hawks on April 18, with Celtics-76ers, Thunder vs. a play-in team, Pistons vs. a play-in team, and Spurs vs. a play-in team opening April 19. (nba.com, nba.com) Boston’s series is one of the first with a full game-by-game window already published. NESN lists 76ers-Celtics Game 1 for Sunday, April 19, at 1 p.m. Eastern, followed by Game 2 on April 21, Game 3 on April 24, Game 4 on April 26, and, if needed, Games 5 through 7 from April 28 to May 2. (nesn.com) The bracket locked only after the regular season ended and the play-in field sorted out the last four postseason spots. The play-in format decides the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds in each conference, which is why the top-seeded Pistons, Thunder, and second-seeded Spurs had to wait for final opponents. (nba.com, nba.com) That setup leaves several series carrying recent playoff history into the opening round. Denver and Minnesota are meeting in the postseason for the third time in four years, while Boston and Philadelphia are facing each other in the playoffs for the first time since 2023. (cbssports.com, nesn.com) The first round is scheduled to run through Sunday, May 3, if any series need seven games. The National Basketball Association has also set the conference finals to begin May 19 in the East and May 20 in the West, with Game 1 of the Finals scheduled for June 3. (cbssports.com, nba.com) So the postseason calendar is no longer hypothetical: the bracket is filled, the opening tip times are on the board, and the chase to June starts this weekend. (nba.com, nba.com)
