Play‑In picture set
The NBA regular season finished with the Denver Nuggets locking the West No. 3 seed and the Los Angeles Lakers finishing No. 4, which finalizes direct playoff berths and moves the bubble teams into the Play‑In. (usatoday.com) The Play‑In keeps the No.7-vs-8 winner as the conference No.7, has a 9-vs-10 elimination game, and then the loser of 7/8 hosts the 9/10 winner for the No.8 spot — Play‑In games start this week ahead of full playoffs on April 19, and The Athletic reports first-round matchups include Nuggets vs. Timberwolves and Lakers vs. Rockets while also noting Doc Rivers has left the Bucks after a 32–50 season. ( )
The National Basketball Association regular season ended Sunday, and the Western Conference bracket is now set through the Play-In Tournament. Denver finished No. 3 in the West, Los Angeles finished No. 4, and the Play-In opens April 14. (nba.com) Denver closed at 53-28 and drew No. 6 Minnesota in the first round, while the Lakers finished 52-29 and will face No. 5 Houston. Oklahoma City locked up the No. 1 seed at 64-17, and San Antonio took No. 2 at 62-19. (nba.com) The four West Play-In teams are Phoenix at No. 7, Portland at No. 8, Los Angeles Clippers at No. 9 and Golden State at No. 10. On Tuesday, April 14, Phoenix hosts Portland for the No. 7 seed, and on Wednesday, April 15, the Clippers host Golden State in the elimination game. (nba.com) The format is simple: the No. 7 versus No. 8 winner becomes the conference’s No. 7 seed, the No. 9 versus No. 10 loser is out, and the No. 8 seed is decided Friday, April 17. That final game is hosted by the loser of the 7-8 matchup against the winner of the 9-10 game. (nba.com) The East is settled the same way, with Orlando at No. 7, Philadelphia at No. 8, Charlotte at No. 9 and Miami at No. 10. The East first-round field already includes Detroit as No. 1, Boston as No. 2, New York as No. 3, Cleveland as No. 4, Toronto as No. 5 and Atlanta as No. 6. (nba.com) The calendar is tight. The Play-In runs April 14 through April 17, the first round starts April 18, and Game 1 of the National Basketball Association Finals is scheduled for June 3. (nba.com) One side story from the season’s final day came in Milwaukee, where Doc Rivers is out after the Bucks finished 32-50 and missed the postseason field. ESPN reported Sunday that Rivers is departing as head coach and that Milwaukee is discussing whether he could move into an advisory role. (espn.com) So the bracket has reached its last stage of uncertainty: four Play-In games in each conference will decide the final four playoff spots. By Friday night, every first-round series will be locked in. (nba.com)
