NBA Play‑In kicks off
The NBA postseason began today with the Play‑In Tournament running April 14–17, where seeds 7–10 in each conference play for the final two playoff spots (nbc.com). CBS reports the full 20‑team postseason bracket is locked after the regular season finish, with the Thunder holding the West No. 1 seed and the NBA Finals slated to start June 3 on ABC (cbssports.com) (espn.com).
The National Basketball Association postseason opens Tuesday, April 14, with eight teams entering the Play-In Tournament for the last four spots in the playoff bracket. (nba.com) The format is simple: the teams that finished seventh through 10th in each conference play for the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds, and the first round of the playoffs begins Saturday, April 18. (nba.com) Tuesday’s games are Charlotte Hornets at Miami Heat at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time in the East 9-versus-10 elimination game, and Portland Trail Blazers at Phoenix Suns at 10 p.m. Eastern time in the West 7-versus-8 game. Wednesday brings Orlando Magic at Philadelphia 76ers and Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Clippers. (nba.com) The stakes change by matchup. The winner of each 7-versus-8 game clinches the conference’s No. 7 seed, while the loser gets one more game against the winner of the 9-versus-10 matchup for the No. 8 seed. (nba.com) That system has been part of the league’s postseason since 2021, extending the race beyond the top six seeds in each conference and keeping 20 of the league’s 30 teams alive after the regular season. (nba.com) (cbssports.com) The bracket above the play-in is already set. In the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder finished No. 1, and in the Eastern Conference the Cleveland Cavaliers took the top seed after the regular season ended Sunday, April 12. (cbssports.com) (espn.com) The six teams in each conference that avoided the play-in do not play again until the first round starts April 18. The conference semifinals are scheduled to begin May 4, the conference finals on May 19 and May 20, and the National Basketball Association Finals on Wednesday, June 3. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) Every play-in game this year is scheduled to stream exclusively on Prime Video, a distribution change from past seasons when the event was split across cable networks and broadcast television. (nba.com) (sports.yahoo.com) By Friday night, the bracket will be complete. On Saturday, the play-in survivors move straight into seven-game series against the conference favorites waiting at the top. (nba.com)
