Play‑In kicks off Tuesday
The NBA Play‑In Tournament starts Tuesday, April 14 and runs through April 17, with eight teams competing for the four final playoff spots ( ). The format keeps the 7‑vs‑8 and 9‑vs‑10 pairings in each conference — the 7/8 winner becomes the No.7 seed while the loser gets one more chance against the 9/10 winner for the No.8 seed (sports.yahoo.com).
The National Basketball Association’s Play-In Tournament opens Tuesday, April 14, with six games over four days to decide the last four playoff spots. (nba.com) Eight teams made the field by finishing seventh through 10th in their conferences after the regular season ended Sunday, April 12. The Eastern Conference entrants are the Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic, Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat; the Western Conference entrants are the Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers, Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors. (nba.com, espn.com) The format gives the seventh-place and eighth-place teams two chances to win one game. The winner of each 7-versus-8 matchup takes the No. 7 seed, while the loser gets a final home game against the winner of the 9-versus-10 matchup for the No. 8 seed. (nba.com) The ninth-place and 10th-place teams do not get that cushion. They play a straight elimination game, and the loser’s season ends that night. (nba.com) This year’s bracket is split across Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Charlotte hosts Miami at 7:30 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday, April 14, and Phoenix hosts Portland at 10 p.m.; Philadelphia hosts Orlando at 7:30 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, April 15, and the Clippers host Golden State at 10 p.m. (nba.com) The two final play-in games are set for Friday, April 17, with the Eastern Conference game at 7:30 p.m. Eastern and the Western Conference game at 10 p.m. Eastern. Both winners become No. 8 seeds and move into first-round series that begin Saturday, April 18. (nba.com, nba.com) All six play-in games will stream exclusively on Prime Video, a change from recent years when the event was split across cable and broadcast partners. The National Basketball Association lists Prime Video as the exclusive home for the tournament. (nba.com) The bracket also locks in who is already waiting. Detroit and Boston finished first and second in the East, while Oklahoma City and San Antonio took the top two seeds in the West. (nba.com, espn.com) That leaves four teams one win from the playoffs, four teams one loss from elimination, and a postseason schedule that starts in full the day after the play-in ends. (nba.com, nba.com)
