The NBA playoffs are approaching. With less than a month left in the regular season, the postseason is scheduled to begin with a play-in tournament on April 16th. Playoffs begin on April 20th. The 20 NBA teams that will qualify for the postseason are likely known, 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 Indiana Pacers defeated the Warriors on Friday, clinching at least a play-in berth. For Golden State, the loss puts them just two behind the Rockets in the loss column for the final West play-in spot.
The Celtics defeated Detroit on Friday to earn the top two seeds in the East, and the magic number for the No. 1 seed is three.
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 Wednesday, March 20th.
If the season ended today, the playoff bracket…
West
(1) Thunder vs. (8) Suns/Kings/Lakers/Warriors
(2) Nuggets vs. (7) Suns/Kings
(3) Timberwolves vs. (6) Mavericks
(4) Clippers vs. (5) Pelicans
east
(1) Celtics vs. (8) Heat/76ers/Bulls/Hawks
(2) Bucks vs. (7) Heat/76ers
(3) Cavaliers vs. (6) Pacers
(4) Magic vs. (5) Knicks
western conference standings
- clinch: play-in spot
- Magic number: Playoff spots (4)
- Tiebreaker vs. Denver: OKC won
- Tiebreak vs. Minnesota: OKC is now the division leader
- clinch: play-in spot
- Magic number: Playoff spots (4)
- Tiebreak vs OKC: OKC won
- Tiebreak vs. Minnesota: 1-1 draw with 2 players playing
- Magic number: Play-in slot (1), Play-off slot (6)
- Tiebreaker vs. Denver: 1-1 draw with 2 players playing
- Tiebreak vs OKC: OKC is now the division leader
- Magic number: Play-in spot (4)
- Tiebreaker vs. New Orleans: the pelicans won
5. New Orleans Pelicans (43-27)
- Magic number: Play-in spot (5)
- Tiebreaker vs. Clippers: the pelicans won
- Tiebreak vs. Sacramento: the pelicans won
- Magic number: Play-in spot (7)
- Tiebreak vs. Sacramento: Kings lead 2-0 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 (7)
- 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
8. Sacramento Kings (40-29)
- Magic number: Play-in spot (8)
- Tiebreaker vs. New Orleans: the pelicans won
- Tiebreaker vs. Dallas: Kings lead 2-0 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 (38-32)
- Magic number: Play-in spot (10)
- 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
- Magic number: Play-in spot (11)
- 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
in the hunt
- Tiebreaker vs. Lakers: Rockets lead conference record
- Tiebreaker vs. Warriors: Warriors win
eastern conference standings
1. Boston Celtics (55-14)
- clinch: top 2 seeds
- Magic number: 1st seed (3)
2. Milwaukee Bucks (45-25)
- clinch: play-in spot
- Magic number: Playoff spot (6)
- Tiebreaker vs. Cleveland: Bucks lead the division
- clinch: play-in spot
- Magic number: Playoff slot (9)
- Tiebreak vs. Milwaukee: Bucks lead the division
- Tiebreak vs. New York: Cavs get
4. Orlando Magic (42-28)
- clinch: play-in spot
- Magic number: Playoff slot (9)
- Tiebreak vs. New York: Magic has been decided
- Tiebreaker vs. Indiana: Magic has been decided
- clinch: play-in spot
- Magic number: Playoff spots (10)
- Tiebreaker vs. Cleveland: Cavs get
- Tiebreaker vs. Orlando: Magic has been decided
6. Indiana Pacers (40-31)
- clinch: play-in spot
- Magic number: Playoff spots (11)
- Tiebreaker vs. Orlando: Magic has been decided
- Tiebreaker vs. Miami: Draw 1-1, 1 game remaining
- Tiebreaker vs. Philadelphia: Pacers decided
play-in tournament
- Magic number: Play-in spot (1)
- Tiebreaker vs. Indiana: Draw 1-1, 1 game remaining
- Tiebreaker vs. Philadelphia: Miami leads 2-1 with one game remaining
- Magic number: Play-in spot (1)
- Tiebreaker vs. Indiana: Pacers decided
- Tiebreaker vs. Miami: Miami leads 2-1 with one game remaining
- Magic number: Play-in spot (5)
- Tiebreak vs. Atlanta: bulls win
- Magic number: Play-in spot (9)
- Tiebreaker vs. Chicago: bulls win
Want more NBA coverage? Jon Gonzalez, Bill Reiter, Ashley Nicole Moss and special guests take a deep dive into the league's biggest stories every day. Beyond the Arc Podcast.
