Playoff race: clutch final day
With the NBA regular season ending, 11 teams had already clinched playoff spots while a full 15‑game Sunday slate would decide multiple seedings and play‑in positions. (CBS reported the clinches and ESPN framed Sunday as decisive for postseason and lottery positioning, with the Play‑In Tournament set to begin Tuesday, April 14 and the playoffs on Saturday, April 18.) (cbssports.com) (espn.com) (northjersey.com)
The National Basketball Association’s regular season ends Sunday, April 12, with one playoff berth and multiple seeds still unsettled before the play-in begins Tuesday, April 14. (espn.com) Entering the day, 11 of the 12 top-six playoff spots were already clinched, and one playoff spot plus 10 postseason seeds were still in play across the league’s 15-game schedule. (cbssports.com) In the East, Detroit had locked up No. 1, Boston No. 2, New York No. 3 and Cleveland No. 4, while Atlanta had clinched a top-six finish and could secure No. 5 with a win over Miami. (espn.com) Toronto, Orlando and Philadelphia all entered Sunday fighting over the East’s last direct playoff place, with Charlotte and Miami already fixed in the 9-versus-10 play-in game. (cbssports.com) In the West, Oklahoma City had clinched No. 1 and San Antonio No. 2, while Denver sat third and the Los Angeles Lakers had already secured a top-four seed after Friday’s results. (cbssports.com) The Western play-in field was also unsettled: Phoenix and Portland held the 7 and 8 spots entering Sunday, with the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors in 9 and 10. (espn.com) The play-in tournament starts Tuesday, April 14, and runs three days, with the full playoffs opening Saturday, April 18. (espn.com) Sunday also carried draft stakes for teams already out of contention, because the final standings help set lottery odds ahead of a 2026 class ESPN highlighted with AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson and Cameron Boozer. (espn.com) Detroit’s rise added another layer to the bracket: ESPN said the Pistons clinched the East’s top seed for the first time since 2006-07, and Boston entered as the conference’s No. 2 seed after extending its playoff streak to 12 straight seasons. (espn.com) By Sunday night, the regular season will be over, the play-in matchups will be set, and teams still jockeying for position will know whether they earned six guaranteed games or a two-loss sprint to stay alive. (cbssports.com)
