Playoff picture set
The NBA regular season closed with the Denver Nuggets clinching the West's No. 3 seed and the Los Angeles Lakers finishing No. 4. The Toronto Raptors secured a direct Eastern playoff berth, the Miami Heat go to the Eastern play‑in, and the play‑in tournament begins Tuesday as postseason action starts ( ).
The National Basketball Association playoff field is mostly locked, and the play-in tournament opens Tuesday, April 14, with four win-or-go-home games shaping the last four seeds. (nba.com; nba.com) Denver finished 54-28 to take the Western Conference’s No. 3 seed, while the Los Angeles Lakers went 53-29 for No. 4 and Houston finished 52-30 at No. 5. Minnesota claimed No. 6 at 49-33, leaving Phoenix, Portland, the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State in the West play-in. (foxsports.com; nba.com) In the East, Toronto ended 46-36 and grabbed the No. 5 seed, Atlanta also finished 46-36 and slotted in at No. 6, and Miami landed in the play-in at 43-39. Detroit finished first at 60-22, Boston second at 56-26, New York third at 53-29 and Cleveland fourth at 52-30. (foxsports.com; nba.com) The play-in is the National Basketball Association’s four-team race for the last two playoff spots in each conference. Teams seeded seventh and eighth play for the No. 7 seed, and teams seeded ninth and 10th play an elimination game before one more matchup decides the No. 8 seed. (nba.com; nba.com) That format means six teams in each conference already have direct first-round berths, while seeds seven through 10 still have to survive this week. The first round starts Saturday, April 18, after the play-in ends on Friday, April 17. (nba.com; nba.com) Tuesday’s Eastern Conference games are Charlotte at Miami at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time and Philadelphia at Orlando at 10 p.m. Eastern time. Wednesday’s Western Conference games are the Clippers at Golden State at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time and Phoenix at Portland at 10 p.m. Eastern time. (nba.com) The bracket already shows several first-round matchups: Toronto will face Cleveland in the East, and the Lakers will meet Houston in the West. New York will draw Atlanta, while Denver will open against Minnesota. (nba.com; nba.com) Oklahoma City finished 64-18 for the West’s top seed, and San Antonio took No. 2 at 62-20. Detroit’s 60-22 record gave the Pistons the East’s top seed, with Boston next at 56-26. (foxsports.com; nba.com) By Friday night, all 16 playoff seeds will be set. By Saturday, April 18, the postseason shifts from scoreboard watching to best-of-seven series. (nba.com; nba.com)
