Play‑In tournament begins

The National Basketball Association play-in tournament opens Tuesday, April 14, with four teams trying to survive the first two elimination games. (nba.com) The Eastern Conference starts with the Charlotte Hornets, the No. 9 seed, hosting the Miami Heat, the No. 10 seed, at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time. The loser is out of the postseason. (nba.com) The Western Conference game Tuesday is different: the Phoenix Suns, the No. 7 seed, host the Portland Trail Blazers, the No. 8 seed, at 10 p.m. Eastern time. The winner takes the West’s No. 7 playoff seed, and the loser gets one more game to try for No. 8. (nba.com) The play-in is a four-day bracket for the teams that finished seventh through 10th in each conference. It decides the final two playoff spots in the East and West before the first round begins Saturday, April 18. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) The format gives the seventh- and eighth-place teams a cushion that the ninth- and 10th-place teams do not get. A No. 7 or No. 8 team can lose once and still reach the playoffs, while a No. 9 or No. 10 team must win twice. (nba.com) (nbcnewyork.com) Wednesday’s games complete the opening round: the Philadelphia 76ers, the No. 7 seed, host the Orlando Magic, the No. 8 seed, in the East, and the Los Angeles Clippers, the No. 9 seed, host the Golden State Warriors, the No. 10 seed, in the West. Friday’s games then decide the No. 8 seeds in both conferences. (nba.com) This year also marks a media shift: every play-in game is streaming on Prime Video. Prime Video said Monday that it has exclusive coverage of the entire SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament as part of its new National Basketball Association package. (thefutoncritic.com) (si.com) The winners move quickly into the main bracket. The National Basketball Association says the 2026 playoffs start April 18, and Game 1 of the 2026 Finals is scheduled for June 3. (nba.com)