The NBA playoffs are approaching. There are three weeks left in the regular season, and the postseason is scheduled to begin on April 16th with a play-in tournament. Playoffs begin on April 20th. Most teams seem to know who will qualify for the postseason, but there are a lot of decisions to be made in the final weeks of the regular season. Between now and April 14th, seeding, home court advantage and a chance to avoid a play-in tournament are all at stake.
So, what's the latest on the NBA playoffs? The New York Knicks moved into the East's No. 3 seed with a win over the Raptors on Wednesday and the Cavs' loss to Charlotte. In the West, the Wolves beat Detroit and OKC becomes the new No. 2 seed (behind Golden State for the final play-in spot) after losing to Houston.
As a reminder, the NBA play-in tournament will determine the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds in both conferences. Four teams from each conference (seeds 7-10) will participate in a play-in tournament, with the top six seeds automatically qualifying for a playoff spot. The 7th and 8th place teams will compete for the 7th seed. The 9th and 10th place teams will play in separate matches, followed by the 7th/10th place losers. The 8th game will be against the winner of No. 9/No.1. 10th game for the 8th seed.
For the rest of the season, this will be your one-stop-shop playoff picture. We've got everything from the current standings to tiebreaker scenarios to the magic numbers for both play-in spots and top-six seeds.
This is the situation at the start of the game on Thursday, March 28th.
If the season ended today, the playoff bracket…
West
(1) Nuggets vs. (8) Suns/Kings/Lakers/Warriors
(2) Timberwolves vs. (7) Suns/Kings
(3) Thunder vs. (6) Mavericks
(4) Clippers vs. (5) Pelicans
east
(1) Celtics vs. (8) Heat/76ers/Bulls/Hawks
(2) Bucks vs. (7) Heat/76ers
(3) Knicks vs. (6) Pacers
(4) Cavaliers vs. (5) Magic
western conference standings
- clinch: play-in spot
- Magic number: Playoff spots (2)
- Tiebreak vs OKC: OKC won
- Tiebreak vs. Minnesota: 1-1 draw with 2 players playing
- clinch: play-in spot
- Magic number: Playoff spots (2)
- Tiebreaker vs. Denver: 1-1 draw with 2 players playing
- Tiebreak vs OKC: The Wolves currently own through division records
- clinch: play-in spot
- Magic number: Playoff spot (3)
- Tiebreaker vs. Denver: OKC won
- Tiebreak vs. Minnesota: The Wolves currently own through division records
- Magic number: Play-in spot (3)
- Tiebreaker vs. New Orleans: the pelicans won
- Tiebreaker vs. Phoenix: Clippers lead 2-0 with two games remaining
5. New Orleans Pelicans (44-28)
- Magic number: Play-in spot (4)
- Tiebreaker vs. Clippers: the pelicans won
- Tiebreak vs. Sacramento: the pelicans won
- Tiebreaker vs. Phoenix: Suns lead 1-0 with 2 games remaining
- Magic number: Play-in spot (5)
- Tiebreak vs. Sacramento: Kings lead 2-1 with two games remaining
- Tiebreaker vs. Phoenix: Mavs confirmed
- Tiebreaker vs. Golden State: Mavs lead 2-0, 2 games remaining
- Tiebreaker vs. Lakers: Mavs confirmed
play-in tournament
- Magic number: Play-in spot (6)
- Tiebreaker vs. New Orleans: Suns lead 1-0 with 2 games remaining
- Tiebreaker vs. Clippers: Clippers lead 2-0 with two games remaining
- Tiebreak vs. Sacramento: Draw 2-2, 1 game remaining
- Tiebreaker vs. Dallas: Mavs confirmed
- Tiebreaker vs. Golden State: suns win
- Tiebreaker vs. Lakers: Lakers decided
- Magic number: Play-in spot (6)
- Tiebreaker vs. New Orleans: the pelicans won
- Tiebreaker vs. Dallas: Kings lead 2-1 with two games remaining
- Tiebreaker vs. Phoenix: Draw 2-2, 1 game remaining
- Tiebreaker vs. Golden State: Kings lead in district records
- Tiebreaker vs. Lakers: the kings won
9. Los Angeles Lakers (41-32)
- Magic number: Play-in spot (7)
- Tiebreaker vs. Golden State: Warriors lead 2-1 with one game left
- Tiebreaker vs. Phoenix: Lakers decided
- Tiebreaker vs. Dallas: Mavs confirmed
- Tiebreak vs. Sacramento: Kings decided
- Tiebreaker vs. Houston: Rockets lead conference record
- Magic number: Play-in spot (10)
- Tiebreak vs. Sacramento: Kings lead in district records
- Tiebreaker vs. Dallas: Mavs lead 2-0, 2 games remaining
- Tiebreaker vs. Phoenix: suns win
- Tiebreaker vs. Lakers: Warriors lead 2-1 with one game left
- Tiebreaker vs. Rockets: Warriors win
in the hunt
- Tiebreaker vs. Lakers: Rockets lead conference record
- Tiebreaker vs. Warriors: Warriors win
eastern conference standings
1. Boston Celtics (57-15)
- clinch: 1st seed
- Magic number: Overall best record (5)
2. Milwaukee Bucks (46-26)
- clinch: play-in spot
- Magic number: Playoff spot (3)
- Tiebreaker vs. Cleveland: Bucks lead the division
- clinch: play-in spot
- Magic number: Playoff spots (5)
- Tiebreaker vs. Cleveland: Knicks clinched
- Tiebreaker vs. Orlando: Magic has been decided
- Tiebreaker vs. Miami: Knicks clinched
- Tiebreaker vs. Philadelphia: Knicks clinched
- clinch: play-in spot
- Magic number: Playoff spots (5)
- Tiebreak vs. Milwaukee: Bucks lead the division
- Tiebreak vs. New York: Knicks clinched
- Tiebreaker vs. Orlando: Magic currently owned via Division Leader
5. Orlando Magic (42-30)
- clinch: play-in spot
- Magic number: Playoff spot (7)
- Tiebreaker vs. Cleveland: Magic currently owned via Division Leader
- Tiebreak vs. New York: Magic has been decided
- Tiebreaker vs. Indiana: Magic has been decided
6. Indiana Pacers (41-33)
- clinch: play-in spot
- Magic number: Playoff spots (8)
- Tiebreaker vs. Orlando: Magic has been decided
- Tiebreaker vs. Miami: Draw 1-1, 1 game remaining
- Tiebreaker vs. Philadelphia: Pacers decided
play-in tournament
- clinch: play-in spot
- Tiebreaker vs. Indiana: Draw 1-1, 1 game remaining
- Tiebreaker vs. Philadelphia: Miami leads 2-1 with one game remaining
- clinch: play-in spot
- Tiebreaker vs. Indiana: Pacers decided
- Tiebreaker vs. Miami: Miami leads 2-1 with one game remaining
- Magic number: Play-in spot (3)
- Tiebreak vs. Atlanta: bulls win
- Magic number: Play-in spot (5)
- Tiebreaker vs. Chicago: bulls win
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