How to watch NBA play-in games when the postseason starts on Tuesday

The NBA Playoffs begin Tuesday with the fifth play-in tournament, featuring a series of games to determine the final two qualifiers in the Eastern and Western Conferences.

And yes, both play-in participants Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State are in the running for another title.

Due to congestion at the top of the Eastern Conference and Western Conference, as well as the bottom of the Western Conference, the brackets were not finalized until Sunday's final regular-season game.

The top six teams in each conference automatically advance to the postseason, and the teams ranked 7th through 10th in each conference will compete for the final two playoff spots.

play-in schedule

western conference

April 16th

Los Angeles Lakers vs. New Orleans, 7:30 p.m. ET, TNT

Golden State at Sacramento, 10pm ET, TNT

April 19th

Sacramento/Golden State Winner vs. New Orleans/LA Lakers Loser, TBA, TNT

eastern conference

April 17th

Miami vs. Philadelphia, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN

Atlanta vs. Chicago, 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

April 19th

Chicago/Atlanta Winner, Philadelphia/Miami Loser, TBA, ESPN

Play-in history

The NBA Board of Governors adopted a play-in format for the 2020 COVID-19 season, when scheduling irregularities created by the pandemic prevented teams from playing the same amount of games. It wasn't an immediate hit.

“Anyone who came up with that (expletive) should be fired,” Lakers forward LeBron James said in May 2021.

When the NBA returns to normalcy in 2021, the Board of Governors has decided to adjust the play-in system to its current form. The board made it a permanent fixture in July 2022.

Play-in games followed a certain format, but there were some exceptions. All No. 7 seeds in the play-in round are in good position to make the playoffs, but three No. 9 seeds advance with two wins.

Memphis, 9th in the West, will beat San Antonio and Golden State in 2021, New Orleans, 9th in the West, will beat San Antonio and the Los Angeles Clippers in 2022, and Atlanta, 9th in the East, will beat Charlotte and Cleveland, also in 2022. broke.

No. 8 seed Miami won a play-in game last season en route to the NBA Finals.

Overview of each conference

eastern conference

In the East Division play-in matchup, Orlando, Indiana, and Philadelphia were played on a tiebreaker rule, and they were tied for fifth place with a tie score of 47 wins and 35 losses.

The first tiebreaker in any scenario requires the district champion to be seeded higher than other teams with the same record, so the Southeastern champion Magic earned the No. 5 seed.

Indiana won the season series against the 76ers, 2-1, giving the Pacers the No. 6 seed.

This demoted the Sixers to the No. 7 seed and the play-in round, with a home game against Miami in the first round on Tuesday. The winner of this game will face the second-place New York Knicks in a best-of-seven playoff series.

If the Sixers lose, they will play another home game against the winner of the Chicago-Atlanta game for the final playoff spot.

On Sunday, the Knicks defeated Chicago in overtime, and the Bucks lost to Orlando, finishing one game ahead of second-seeded Milwaukee. The Bucks played without Giannis Antetokounmpo.

western conference

Phoenix avoided the play-in by defeating Minnesota on Sunday, but the loss also denied the Timberwolves the No. 1 seed in the West. Oklahoma City took first place, defending NBA champion Denver took second place, and the Timberwolves fell to third place.

The Suns won the season series against New Orleans, clinching the No. 6 seed and dropping the Pelicans to a play-in game against the Los Angeles Lakers. Sacramento won the season series against Golden State, so the Kings will host the Warriors in a play-in game.

Both the 2020 champion Lakers and Warriors still have a ways to go moving forward. Golden State will win in 2022, winning four championships since 2015 and reaching the NBA Finals six times since then.