NBA: Seeds and shifts
The NBA regular season wrapped with the Denver Nuggets clinching the No. 3 seed in the West and the Los Angeles Lakers landing No. 4, reshaping first‑round matchups. (sports.yahoo.com) The Eastern picture also settled enough that the Toronto Raptors clinched a full playoff spot and will avoid the play‑in, while the Oklahoma City Thunder secured the No. 1 seed and are set to host Game 1 on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. CT. (bleacherreport.com) (newson6.com)
The National Basketball Association playoff bracket snapped into place Sunday night, with Denver taking the West’s No. 3 seed and Toronto climbing out of the play-in line in the East. (nba.com) The final Western matchups now show No. 3 Denver against No. 6 Minnesota and No. 4 Los Angeles against No. 5 Houston, while top-seeded Oklahoma City and No. 2 San Antonio wait for play-in winners. (nba.com) In the East, Toronto finished 46-36 and moved into the No. 5 seed, setting a first-round series with No. 4 Cleveland, while No. 6 Atlanta drew No. 3 New York. Detroit finished first at 60-22, and Boston took No. 2 at 56-26. (nba.com) The play-in tournament starts Tuesday, April 14, and the full playoffs open Saturday, April 18. Oklahoma City’s Game 1 is scheduled for Sunday, April 19, at 3:30 p.m. Eastern, which is 2:30 p.m. Central in Oklahoma City. (nba.com) The late movement changed who avoids the extra week of elimination games. Toronto’s move into the top six sent Orlando and Philadelphia into the 7-8 play-in game in the East, with Charlotte and Miami meeting in the 9-10 game. (nba.com) In the West, the bracket leaves Phoenix and Portland in the 7-8 play-in game and the Los Angeles Clippers against Golden State in the 9-10 game. Only the top six seeds in each conference skipped that round. (nba.com) Denver’s finish mattered beyond home court. By landing third at 54-28, the Nuggets avoided the Lakers’ side of the bracket for the first round and instead drew a Minnesota team that finished 49-33. (nba.com) Los Angeles still secured home court in the 4-5 series at 53-29, one game ahead of Houston at 52-30. That puts the Lakers in a first-round series that starts Saturday, April 18, at 8:30 p.m. Eastern on American Broadcasting Company. (nba.com) The bracket is set, but four spots are still open. By Friday night, the play-in round will fill the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds in both conferences and complete the field for the weekend’s first-round openers. (nba.com)
