Play‑in bracket set
The NBA play‑in field is locked and includes several headline matchups, most notably Warriors vs. Clippers in the West and 76ers vs. Magic in the East for the 7‑vs‑8 games. (nbcsports.com) (x.com) Other scheduled play‑in games this week include Heat vs. Hornets and Trail Blazers vs. Suns, with the winners claiming seeding and the losers getting one more chance. (x.com)
The National Basketball Association play-in bracket is set, and four games from April 14 to April 17 will decide the final two playoff seeds in each conference. (nba.com) In the Western Conference, the Phoenix Suns are No. 7 and host the No. 8 Portland Trail Blazers, while the No. 9 Los Angeles Clippers host the No. 10 Golden State Warriors. In the Eastern Conference, the No. 7 Philadelphia 76ers host the No. 8 Orlando Magic, and the No. 9 Charlotte Hornets host the No. 10 Miami Heat. (nba.com) The format gives the No. 7 and No. 8 teams two chances to get in. The winner of each 7-versus-8 game becomes the No. 7 seed, and the loser gets one more game against the winner of the 9-versus-10 matchup for the No. 8 seed. (nba.com) That structure means the Clippers and Warriors, and the Hornets and Heat, are in elimination games immediately. The Suns, Trail Blazers, 76ers and Magic can lose once and still reach the first round. (nba.com) The play-in tournament starts Tuesday, April 14, and runs through Friday, April 17. The National Basketball Association playoffs begin Saturday, April 18. (nba.com) The bracket also locked in the teams already waiting in the first round. Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Denver, the Los Angeles Lakers, Houston and Minnesota are through in the West, while Detroit, Boston, New York, Cleveland, Toronto and Atlanta are through in the East. (nba.com) Detroit finished 60-22 to claim the top seed in the East, and Oklahoma City finished 64-18 to take No. 1 in the West. Boston is No. 2 in the East at 56-26, and San Antonio is No. 2 in the West at 62-20. (nba.com) The 7-seed winners will open against Detroit and Oklahoma City. The 8-seed winners will draw Boston and San Antonio in the first round. (nba.com) The play-in was created to keep more teams in the postseason race and to make the bottom of the bracket matter through the final weekend of the regular season. This year, it produced a field with veteran teams such as Golden State, Miami and Philadelphia still needing extra games just to reach a best-of-seven series. (nba.com) By Friday night, the bracket will be complete. By Saturday, the playoffs start with eight first-round series and no more second chances. (nba.com)
