Only two playoff teams, the Los Angeles Clippers and Dallas Mavericks, know who they will play in the first round of the playoffs. Aside from the Western Conference's No. 4 and No. 5 seeds, the Eastern Conference's top seed Boston Celtics have secured one of the 12 playoff spots with known seeding. This is the only team that has. Additionally, the Chicago Bulls are locked in as the No. 9 seed and the Atlanta Hawks are set as the No. 10 seed in the East Regional play-in tournament.
Otherwise, all will be held on Sunday, with seven games played simultaneously starting at 1:00 PM ET, and eight games scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
The Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers are vying for the No. 2, 3 and 4 seeds as the Celtics make their way through the rest of the East. If the Bucks beat the Orlando Magic on Sunday, they will take the No. 2 spot. If not, the Knicks, who play the Bulls, and the Cavaliers, who play the Charlotte Hornets, could take advantage.
In the West, the Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Denver Nuggets are competing for the top three seeds. If the Thunder defeat the Dallas Mavericks, they will earn the No. 1 seed. The Timberwolves, who play the Phoenix Suns, and the Nuggets, who face the Memphis Grizzlies, have a chance to move up in the standings if the Thunder slump.
Further down the Western bracket, the Suns and New Orleans Pelicans are battling for the No. 6 seed. The Pelicans will host the Los Angeles Lakers for a chance to clinch the conference's final guaranteed playoff spot. The Suns can advance if they win on the road against the Timberwolves and lose to the Pelicans.
Meanwhile, play-in tournament frenzy reigns in both conferences, with major stars LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Joel Embiid in danger of being eliminated before the first round of the playoffs.
The play-in tournament, adopted in 2020 and expanded in 2021, was designed to include expanded incentives for higher-seeded teams to stimulate competition later in the season. In the expanded format, the top six seeds from each conference advance directly to the playoffs. The seventh seed must win one of his two play-in games (if required) to secure a playoff spot. The No. 8 seed gets two play-in chances to advance and the right to host the No. 2 seed (if needed). The No. 9 seed must win two play-in games to qualify, but can host the first game. The No. 10 seed needs to win two road play-in games to get into the bracket.
This structure largely accomplished its goal of encouraging teams to play harder throughout the regular season, creating a complex framework of potential outcomes based on Sunday's game.
In the East, the Magic, Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat could move up to fifth place or fall to eighth place. If all four teams win, Orlando and Indiana will secure a playoff berth, while Philadelphia and Indiana will earn a playoff berth. Miami will compete in the play-in tournament. However, the Magic will have to play the Bucks, and the other three teams will play uncontested teams.
In the West, the Lakers, Sacramento Kings, and Golden State Warriors are in a three-way battle for eighth, ninth, and 10th place in the play-in tournament. If the Lakers can upset the Pelicans on the road, they will earn the No. 8 seed. If the Lakers lose, they will likely fall to 10th place. The Kings and Warriors will play lottery opponents on Sunday with a chance to jump ahead of the Lakers.
Despite the seeding chaos, none of the 20 teams eligible for the postseason are in jeopardy of elimination Sunday. Play tournaments begin on Tuesday, with the playoffs beginning in earnest on Saturday.
