The current state of the NBA playoff field is the Eastern Conference bracket is fully decided, while the Western Conference is about as set as a bowl of incompetently prepared Jell-O.
The NBA played its penultimate slate of games on Friday before its finale on Sunday, and the first wave of games locked in the East’s first-round matchups. The Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics will face play-in teams, while the other series will be the New York Knicks against the Detroit Pistons and the Indiana Pacers against the Milwaukee Bucks.
The first batch of play-in games will be the Orlando Magic against the Atlanta Hawks and the Chicago Bulls against the Miami Heat. The winner of the first game will face the Celtics, while its loser will face the winner of Bulls-Heat for a series against the Cavaliers.
The Bucks, still playing without Damian Lillard, locked in the fifth seed with a 125-119 win over the Detroit Pistons on Friday, behind 32 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds from Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Bulls also ensured they would host a play-in game with a 119-89 beatdown of the Washington Wizards.
NBA Eastern Conference playoff first round series
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1. Cleveland Cavaliers (64-17) vs. play-in team
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2. Boston Celtics (60-21) vs. play-in team
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3. New York Knicks (50-31) vs. 6. Detroit Pistons (44-37)
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4. Indiana Pacers (49-32) vs. 5. Milwaukee Bucks (47-34)
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Play-ins: No. 7 Orlando Magic (41-40) vs. No. 8 Atlanta Hawks (39-42), No. 9 Chicago Bulls (38-43) vs. No. 10 Miami Heat (36-44)
The play-in games will take place between next Tuesday and Friday, with the first round beginning a day later.
Meanwhile, the West entered Friday in a continued state of chaos, with two games separating six different teams ranging from third in the standings to eighth. Some of those teams will host a playoff series, while others will be facing each other in the play-in tournament.
The Lakers, the only team of those six already guaranteed a playoff spot, at least provided further clarity by locking down the No. 3 seed with a 140-109 win over the shorthanded Houston Rockets. Luka Dončić had a productive night.
The Denver Nuggets also defeated the Memphis Grizzlies behind another triple-double from Nikola Jokić, keeping them in control of their destiny for a guaranteed playoff spot and locking Memphis into the play-in tournament.
Western Conference standings after April 11
1. Oklahoma City Thunder, 67-14
2. Houston Rockets, 52-29 (15 games back)
3. Los Angeles Lakers, 50-31 (17 GB)
4. Denver Nuggets, 49-32 (18 GB)
5. Los Angeles Clippers, 49-32 (18 GB)
6. Minnesota Timberwolves, 48-33 (19 GB)
7. Golden State Warriors, 48-33 (19 GB)
8. Memphis Grizzlies, 47-34 (20 GB)
9. Sacramento Kings, 39-41 (27 GB)
10. Dallas Mavericks, 38-42 (28 GB)
As you can see, we’ve got ties for fourth place between the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers, sixth place between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors. The former teams in each pair hold the tiebreaker, but that can obviously change on Sunday, especially with the Clippers and Warriors playing each other.
The Nuggets will face the Rockets, the Timberwolves get the Utah Jazz (likely without Anthony Edwards) and the Grizzlies get the Dallas Mavericks. A four-way tie between 49-32 teams remains quite possible.
If you assume the Nuggets beat a Rockets team likely to be resting much its rotation and the Timberwolves manage to not stumble against the 17-64 Jazz, the West effectively comes down to that Clippers-Warriors game. Here are the standings if that happens:
West first-round matchups if Clippers win Sunday
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1. Oklahoma City Thunder vs. play-in team
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2. Houston Rockets vs. play-in team
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3. Los Angeles Lakers vs. 6. Minnesota Timberwolves
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4. Denver Nuggets vs. No. 5 Los Angeles Clippers
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Play-in: No. 7 Golden State Warriors vs. No. 8 Memphis Grizzlies, No. 9/10 Sacramento Kings vs. No. 9/10 Dallas Mavericks
West first-round matchups if Warriors win Sunday
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1. Oklahoma City Thunder vs. play-in team
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2. Houston Rockets vs. play-in team
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3. Los Angeles Lakers vs. No. 6 Golden State Warriors
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4. Denver Nuggets vs. No. 5 Minnesota Timberwolves
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Play-in: No. 7 Los Angeles Clippers vs. No. 8 Memphis Grizzlies, No. 9/10 Sacramento Kings vs. No. 9/10 Dallas Mavericks
Again, note how we’re assuming Nuggets and Timberwolves wins there. If either of those teams lose, it gets a lot more complicated.
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