NBA seeds locked
The NBA regular season finished with the Denver Nuggets securing the No. 3 seed and the Los Angeles Lakers landing No. 4 in the Western Conference. (usatoday.com) The Toronto Raptors clinched a playoff spot outright, meaning they avoid the play‑in tournament as the postseason shifts into play‑in games starting Tuesday. (bleacherreport.com) (bleacherreport.com)
The National Basketball Association regular season ended Sunday with every playoff seed set except the eight spots still reserved for the play-in tournament. (nba.com) In the Western Conference, Denver finished No. 3 and Los Angeles finished No. 4, locking in the top six and sending Phoenix, Portland, the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State into the play-in field. (usatoday.com) (nba.com) In the Eastern Conference, Toronto grabbed the last guaranteed playoff berth and the No. 5 seed by beating Brooklyn while Atlanta lost to Miami on the final day. Atlanta dropped to No. 6, and Philadelphia, Orlando, Charlotte and Miami were pushed into the play-in bracket. (bleacherreport.com) (nba.com) The National Basketball Association uses a play-in tournament for teams that finish seventh through 10th in each conference. Those games decide the No. 7 and No. 8 playoff seeds after the top six teams in each conference qualify automatically. (nba.com) This year’s play-in tournament runs from Tuesday, April 14, through Friday, April 17, and the first round of the playoffs starts Saturday, April 18. National Basketball Association schedule pages list the Tuesday matchups as Charlotte vs. Miami and Phoenix vs. Portland, with the other two games set for Wednesday. (nba.com) The bracket now has firm first-round series for the teams that avoided the play-in. In the East, Detroit draws the No. 8 seed, Boston gets No. 7, New York faces Cleveland in the 3-6 matchup, and Toronto meets Atlanta in the 4-5 series. (bleacherreport.com) In the West, Oklahoma City waits for No. 8, San Antonio gets No. 7, Houston will face Los Angeles in the 3-6 slot, and Denver opens against the Los Angeles Lakers in the 4-5 series. (bleacherreport.com) The postseason calendar is now fixed even if four playoff matchups are not. The play-in ends Friday, and the 16-team bracket begins the next day. (nba.com)
