NBA Play‑In set-up
The NBA's Play‑In Tournament is underway with eight teams fighting for four playoff spots under the familiar format where No. 7 vs No. 8 play for the seventh seed and the loser has a second chance against the 9‑vs‑10 winner for the eighth seed. (High-profile clubs still needing to qualify include Miami, Philadelphia and Golden State, and the Clippers will host the Warriors on Wednesday.) (nbcsportsphiladelphia.com) (sports.yahoo.com)
The National Basketball Association play-in field is set, with Philadelphia, Orlando, Charlotte, Miami, Phoenix, Portland, the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State playing for the last four playoff berths this week. (nba.com) The games run from Tuesday, April 14, through Friday, April 17, and the full playoffs begin Saturday, April 18. Tuesday’s matchups are Charlotte Hornets vs. Miami Heat at 7:30 p.m. Eastern and Phoenix Suns vs. Portland Trail Blazers at 10 p.m. Eastern. (nba.com) (sportingnews.com) Wednesday’s games are Philadelphia 76ers vs. Orlando Magic at 7:30 p.m. Eastern and Los Angeles Clippers vs. Golden State Warriors at 10 p.m. Eastern. Golden State said the Clippers-Warriors game will be played at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, with Prime Video carrying the national broadcast. (sportingnews.com) (nba.com) The format keeps the No. 7 and No. 8 finishers one win from the playoffs and forces the No. 9 and No. 10 teams to survive elimination games. The 7-vs.-8 winners claim the seventh seeds, and the losers get one more game against the 9-vs.-10 winners for the eighth seeds. (nba.com) That structure was adopted after the league tested a play-in in the 2020 Orlando bubble and then made the event permanent for seasons after 2021. The tournament now decides four of the 16 playoff spots every spring without changing the seven-game first round that follows. (nba.com) (wikipedia.org) The final regular-season standings locked in Detroit at 60-22 and Boston at 56-26 atop the Eastern Conference, while Oklahoma City finished first in the West at 64-18 and San Antonio second at 62-20. Those top seeds now wait for the play-in winners to fill out the bracket. (nba.com) In the East, Philadelphia and Orlando both finished 45-37, with the 76ers listed seventh and the Magic eighth, while Charlotte went 44-38 and Miami 43-39. In the West, Phoenix finished 45-37, Portland and the Clippers both went 42-40, and Golden State slid in at 37-45. (nba.com) The immediate stakes are clear in the bracket already posted by the league: the East’s No. 7 seed will open against the Boston Celtics, and the West’s No. 7 seed will face the San Antonio Spurs. The No. 8 seeds will draw the Detroit Pistons in the East and the Oklahoma City Thunder in the West. (nba.com) By Friday night, the postseason field will be complete. Until then, every team in the play-in is one win from safety or one loss from going home. (nba.com)
