Play‑In bracket set
The NBA’s Play‑In bracket and schedule are locked: the Nos. 7–10 teams per conference will play this week, with the 7‑vs‑8 winner clinching the No. 7 seed while the loser gets one more shot against the 9‑vs‑10 winner for the No. 8 spot. (sports.yahoo.com) The Clippers will host the Warriors on Wednesday (after a 115‑110 Clippers win on Sunday) and Phoenix meets Portland on Tuesday at the Mortgage Matchup Center, while Oklahoma City — the West’s No. 1 seed — will host Game 1 of the first round on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. CT. ( )
The National Basketball Association’s 2026 Play-In field is set, with eight teams opening a four-day scramble for the last two playoff spots in each conference. (nba.com) In the Western Conference, the Phoenix Suns finished seventh at 45-37 and host the eighth-place Portland Trail Blazers, who finished 42-40, on Tuesday, April 14. The Los Angeles Clippers, also 42-40, finished ninth and host the 10th-place Golden State Warriors, who closed at 37-45, on Wednesday, April 15. (nba.com) In the Eastern Conference, the Philadelphia 76ers and Orlando Magic both finished 45-37 and drew the 7-versus-8 game, while the Charlotte Hornets at 44-38 host the Miami Heat at 43-39 in the 9-versus-10 matchup. (nba.com) The format gives the seventh- and eighth-place teams two chances to win one game. The 7-versus-8 winner takes the No. 7 seed, and the loser plays again for the No. 8 seed against the winner of the 9-versus-10 game. (nba.com) That setup leaves the top six seeds in each conference already through to the first round, while seeds seven and eight stay unsettled until Friday, April 17. The National Basketball Association playoffs then begin Saturday, April 18. (nba.com) The Western bracket above the Play-In is already fixed: the Oklahoma City Thunder earned the No. 1 seed at 64-18, the San Antonio Spurs took No. 2 at 62-20, the Denver Nuggets finished No. 3 at 54-28, the Los Angeles Lakers are No. 4 at 53-29, the Houston Rockets are No. 5 at 52-30, and the Minnesota Timberwolves are No. 6 at 49-33. (nba.com) Oklahoma City will not know its opponent until the West Play-In ends, but the Thunder already have a start time. The team’s schedule lists Game 1 of the first round at home for Sunday, April 19, and local Oklahoma outlets reported a 2:30 p.m. Central Time tip. (nba.com, news9.com) The Clippers reached this week’s game after beating Golden State 115-110 on Sunday, a result that locked Los Angeles into the ninth seed and kept the Warriors in 10th. Phoenix’s matchup with Portland was also finalized Sunday when the regular season ended. (sports.yahoo.com, sports.yahoo.com) By Friday night, the bracket will be complete at both No. 7 and No. 8 in each conference. By Sunday afternoon in Oklahoma City, one of those teams will be on the floor against the Thunder. (nba.com, nba.com)
