Play‑In bracket locked
The NBA Play‑In Tournament starts tonight with the 7‑through‑10 seeds fighting for the final playoff spots — the 7‑vs‑8 winner takes the No. 7 seed while the 9‑vs‑10 loser is eliminated immediately. (The Western matchups are No. 7 Golden State vs. No. 8 Memphis and No. 9 Dallas vs. No. 10 Sacramento; the East pairs No. 7 Orlando vs. No. 8 Philadelphia and No. 9 Miami vs. No. 10 Chicago.) (cbssports.com) (sports.yahoo.com) (The play‑in runs April 14 onward and the NBA first‑round starts April 18.) (cbssports.com)
The National Basketball Association play-in field is set, and four teams in each conference open a four-day race for the last two playoff spots. (nba.com) The play-in runs from Tuesday, April 14, through Friday, April 17, and the first round of the playoffs starts Saturday, April 18. The league says the tournament fills the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds in each conference. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) The format gives the No. 7 and No. 8 finishers two chances to qualify. The No. 7-No. 8 game sends the winner straight into the bracket as the No. 7 seed, while the No. 9-No. 10 loser is eliminated on the spot. (nba.com) The losers of the No. 7-No. 8 games do not go home immediately. They host the winners of the No. 9-No. 10 games for the No. 8 seed in their conference. (nba.com) The official bracket shows the Eastern Conference play-in with the Philadelphia 76ers at No. 7, the Orlando Magic at No. 8, the Charlotte Hornets at No. 9 and the Miami Heat at No. 10. The Western Conference bracket lists the Phoenix Suns at No. 7, the Portland Trail Blazers at No. 8, the Los Angeles Clippers at No. 9 and the Golden State Warriors at No. 10. (nba.com) The schedule page slots two games on Tuesday, April 14, two on Wednesday, April 15, and the two final win-and-in games on Friday, April 17. The Tuesday West game is the No. 7-versus-No. 8 matchup, and the Wednesday West game is the No. 9-versus-No. 10 elimination game. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) Once the play-in ends, the bracket is already waiting at the top. The No. 1 seeds are the Detroit Pistons in the East at 60-22 and the Oklahoma City Thunder in the West at 64-18, and both will open against the No. 8 seeds that emerge this week. (nba.com) The play-in was built to keep more teams alive after the regular season, but by Friday night it turns back into a standard 16-team bracket. By then, the only thing left from April 14 is who grabbed the East and West tickets still on the table. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2)
