Most top‑six seeds locked
As the regular season finishes, 11 of the 12 top‑six playoff spots are already secured and six of the eight Play‑In teams are known heading into Sunday’s final day ( ).
With one day left in the National Basketball Association regular season, 11 of the 12 automatic playoff spots are already spoken for and only one East berth remains unsettled. (cbssports.com) The teams already guaranteed a top-six finish are Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Denver, Los Angeles Lakers, Houston and Minnesota in the West, plus Detroit, Boston, New York, Cleveland and Atlanta in the East. Toronto, Orlando and Philadelphia entered Sunday chasing the East’s last direct playoff spot at No. 6. (nba.com) Ten seeds were still movable entering Sunday, but the biggest unresolved races were narrow: Denver and the Lakers for West No. 3, Portland and the Los Angeles Clippers for West No. 8, and East positions No. 5 through No. 10. The league’s play-in tournament starts April 14 and the first round starts April 18. (nba.com) The top six matter because those teams skip the play-in tournament entirely. Teams that finish seventh through 10th have to survive a short, two-win-or-you’re-in format for the last two playoff places in each conference. (nba.com) That setup left Sunday with very different stakes across the bracket. Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Houston, Minnesota, Detroit, Boston, New York and Cleveland already knew their seed lines or at least their guaranteed playoff status, while Toronto, Orlando and Philadelphia were still trying to avoid the extra round. (nba.com) In the East, Atlanta clinched a playoff berth Friday and could secure No. 5 with a win over Miami on Sunday. Charlotte and Miami were already locked into the 9-versus-10 play-in game, with Charlotte hosting if it beat New York or Miami lost to Atlanta. (cbssports.com) In the West, Phoenix had already locked up No. 7 and Golden State had already locked up No. 10. Portland moved into No. 8 by beating the Clippers on Friday and could keep that spot with a win over Sacramento or a Clippers loss to Golden State. (cbssports.com) The standings underscored how little separation remained in those races. Portland and the Clippers both reached Sunday at 41-40, while Toronto and Orlando were both 45-36 and Philadelphia was 44-37. (espn.com) The bracket was far more settled at the top. Detroit had the East’s best record at 59-22, Oklahoma City led the West at 64-17, and San Antonio had already clinched West No. 2 at 62-19. (espn.com) By Sunday night, the regular season was set to finish what most of the league had already decided: who goes straight to the bracket, and who has to take the longer road through the play-in. (nba.com)
