NBA Play-In Tournament: Format and schedule
With the regular season finishing on last Sunday, the next stage of NBA begins with the Play-In tournament scheduled to be held between April 12 and 15.
Published : Apr 12, 2022 17:07 IST
With the regular season finishing on last Sunday, the next stage of NBA begins with the Play-In tournament scheduled to be held between April 12 and 15.
In this tournament, teams that finished 7-10 in the standings will fight amongst themselves to join the top six for the remaining two play-off spots in their respective conferences.
The first round of the NBA Play-offs will begin from April 16.
How does the NBA Play-In tournament work?
Each conference's No. 7 and 8 teams will face off, with the winner earning the No. 7 seed in the playoffs. The losing side will still have one more chance to reach the playoffs.
Each conference's No. 9 and 10 teams will face off, with the winner advancing to play the loser of the No. 7-vs.-No. 8 game. The loser of the No. 9-vs.-No. 10 game will be eliminated from playoff contention.
The loser of the No. 7-vs.-No. 8 game and the winner of the No. 9-vs.-No. 10 game will then play against each other. The winner of that game will be the No. 8 seed in the playoffs. The loser will be eliminated from playoff contention.
Post the play-in tournament, the NBA Play-offs will follow the typical format, with full best-of-seven series all the way through the NBA Finals.
Schedule of Play-In tournament
April 12: Brooklyn Nets (7) vs Cleveland Cavaliers (8) - Eastern Conference
April 12: LA Clippers (8) vs Minnesota Timberwolves (7) - Western Conference
April 13: Charlotte Hornets (10) vs Atlanta Hawks (9) - Eastern Conference
April 13: San Antonio Spurs (10) vs New Orleans Pelicans (9) - Western Conference
April 15: Loser of 7-8 match vs Winner of 9-10 match - Eastern Conference
April 15: Loser of 7-8 match vs Winner of 9-10 match - Western Conference