Raptors avoid play‑in

Toronto is in the Eastern Conference playoffs without a detour through the play-in tournament, finishing in the top six after the regular season ended on April 12. (nba.com) The National Basketball Association’s playoff bracket now lists the Raptors as the No. 5 seed in the East at 46-36, with a first-round series against the No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers starting April 18. (nba.com) That top-six finish matters because the play-in only covers seeds seven through 10 in each conference. In the East, the Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic, Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat are the four teams still fighting for the final two spots. (nba.com, cbssports.com) The format gives the No. 7 and No. 8 teams one game for the seventh seed, while the No. 9 and No. 10 teams play an elimination game; the loser of 7-versus-8 then faces the winner of 9-versus-10 for the No. 8 seed. Toronto avoided that route entirely. (cbssports.com) The East bracket above Toronto is now set as well: the Detroit Pistons are No. 1, the Boston Celtics No. 2 and the New York Knicks No. 3. Atlanta took the No. 6 seed, one line below Toronto and one line above the play-in field. (nba.com, basketball-reference.com) Toronto’s finish put a full game between the Raptors and the first play-in team. Basketball-Reference’s season table shows Toronto at 44-35 and Orlando at 44-36 before the final update, while the finalized National Basketball Association bracket moved Toronto to 46-36 and Orlando to 45-37 after Sunday’s results were entered. (basketball-reference.com, nba.com) The play-in was added in 2020 after approval from the league’s Board of Governors and the National Basketball Players Association, with the stated aim of keeping more teams competing for postseason spots deeper into the schedule. Six seasons later, finishing sixth still carries a simple reward: four days to prepare instead of a sudden-death week. (cbssports.com) Now Toronto gets the cleaner path every team in the middle of the standings wants — a locked bracket, a set opponent and a Game 1 date, with no extra round in between. (nba.com)