The NBA playoffs are approaching. There are less than three weeks left in the regular season, and the postseason is scheduled to begin with a play-in tournament on April 16th. Playoffs begin on April 20th. Most of the teams that will qualify for the postseason are 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? On Friday night, the Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Denver Nuggets and the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Sacramento Kings for important wins in the Western Conference.The defending champion Nuggets are currently a half-game behind the Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder.
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 and the magic numbers for both play-in spots and top-six seeds.
This is the situation at the start of the game on Friday, March 29th.
If the season ended today, the playoff bracket…
West
(1) Timberwolves vs. (8) Suns/Kings/Lakers/Warriors
(2) Thunder vs. (7) Suns/Kings
(3) Nuggets 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) Knicks vs. (5) Magic
western conference standings
- clinch: play-in spot
- Magic number: Playoff spot (1)
- Tiebreaker vs. Nuggets: wolf wins
- Tiebreaker vs. Thunder: The Wolves currently own through division records
- clinch: play-in spot
- Magic number: Playoff spot (1)
- Tiebreaker vs. Nuggets: OKC won
- Tiebreaker vs. Wolves: The Wolves currently own through division records
- clinch: play-in spot
- Magic number: Playoff spot (1)
- Tiebreaker vs. Thunder: OKC won
- Tiebreaker vs. Wolves: wolf wins
- Magic number: Play-in spot (2)
- Tiebreaker vs. Pelicans: the pelicans won
- Tiebreak vs. Suns: Clippers lead 2-0 with two games remaining
5. New Orleans Pelicans (45-28)
- Magic number: Play-in spot (3)
- Tiebreaker vs. Clippers: the pelicans won
- Tiebreaker vs. Kings: the pelicans won
- Tiebreak vs. Suns: Suns lead 1-0 with 2 games remaining
- Magic number: Play-in spot (4)
- Tiebreaker vs. Kings: Mavs lead conference record
- Tiebreak vs. Suns: Mavs confirmed
- Tiebreaker vs. Warriors: Mavs lead 2-0, 2 games remaining
- Tiebreaker vs. Lakers: Mavs confirmed
play-in tournament
- Magic number: Play-in spot (5)
- Tiebreaker vs. Kings: Draw 2-2, 1 game remaining
- Tiebreaker vs. Dallas: Mavs confirmed
- Tiebreaker vs. Warriors: suns win
- Tiebreaker vs. Lakers: Lakers decided
- Magic number: Play-in spot (6)
- Tiebreaker vs. Mavericks: Mavs lead conference record
- Tiebreak vs. Suns: Draw 2-2, 1 game remaining
- Tiebreaker vs. Warriors: Kings lead in district records
- Tiebreaker vs. Lakers: the kings won
9. Los Angeles Lakers (41-33)
- Magic number: Play-in spot (7)
- Tiebreaker vs. Warriors: Warriors lead 2-1 with one game left
- Tiebreak vs. Suns: Lakers decided
- Tiebreaker vs. Mavs: Mavs confirmed
- Tiebreaker vs. Kings: Kings decided
- Tiebreaker vs. Rockets: Rockets lead conference record
- Magic number: Play-in spot (9)
- Tiebreaker vs. Kings: Kings lead in district records
- Tiebreaker vs. Mavs: Mavs lead 2-0, 2 games remaining
- Tiebreak vs. Suns: 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 (57-16)
- clinch: 1st seed
- Magic number: Overall best record (5)
2. Milwaukee Bucks (46-27)
- clinch: play-in spot
- Magic number: Playoff spot (3)
- Tiebreaker vs. Knicks: Bucks decided
- Tiebreaker vs. Cavs: Bucks lead the division
- clinch: play-in spot
- Magic number: Playoff spots (4)
- Tiebreaker vs. Bucks: Bucks lead the division
- Tiebreaker vs. Knicks: Knicks clinched
- Tiebreaker vs. Magic: Magic currently owned via Division Leader
- clinch: play-in spot
- Magic number: Playoff spots (5)
- Tiebreaker vs. Bucks: Bucks decided
- Tiebreaker vs. Cavs: Knicks clinched
- Tiebreaker vs. Magic: Magic has been decided
5. Orlando Magic (42-31)
- clinch: play-in spot
- Magic number: Playoff spot (7)
- Tiebreaker vs. Cavs: Magic currently owned via Division Leader
- Tiebreaker vs. Knicks: Magic has been decided
- Tiebreaker vs. Pacers: Magic has been decided
6. Indiana Pacers (41-33)
- clinch: play-in spot
- Magic number: Playoff spot (7)
- Tiebreaker vs. Magic: Magic has been decided
- Tiebreak vs. Heat: Draw 1-1, 1 game remaining
- Tiebreaker vs. 76ers: Pacers decided
play-in tournament
- clinch: play-in spot
- Tiebreaker vs. Pacers: Draw 1-1, 1 game remaining
- Tiebreaker vs. 76ers: Miami leads 2-1 with one game remaining
- clinch: play-in spot
- Tiebreaker vs. Pacers: Pacers decided
- Tiebreak vs. Heat: Miami leads 2-1 with one game remaining
- Magic number: Play-in spot (3)
- Tiebreaker vs. Hawks: bulls win
- Magic number: Play-in spot (4)
- Tiebreaker vs. Bulls: 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 on the Beyond the Arc podcast.
