Once the 82 games of the regular phase have concluded, the NBA heads to the playoffs that will decide the champion, but not before defining the play-in matches. The Oklahoma City Thunder have finished in first place in the Western Conference, while the Boston Celtics lead the Eastern Conference.
The Los Angeles Lakers finished eighth in the West after beating the New Orleans Pelicans on the last day, seventh ranked and who will be the rivals of the Angelenos in the play-in that will define the rival of the Denver Nuggets, current champions and second in the regular season. The loser of this tie will still have one last chance to get into the fight for the ring as eighth against the winner of the duel between the Sacramento Kings (9th) and the Golden State Warriors (10th). The Thunder's rival will come from here.
In the East, the Philadelphia 76ers (7th) and the Miami Heat (8th) will face each other in a play-in eliminator from which the opponent of the New York Knicks, second in the East, will emerge. The loser will play for eighth place against the winner of the cross between the Chicago Bulls (9th) and the Atlanta Hawks (10th). Whoever wins will face the Celtics.
The first two games of the West play-in will be played this Tuesday and the East ones on Wednesday. The fight for the final eighth place in both Conferences will be held on Thursday, April 18 and Friday, April 19.
In the absence of knowing the last qualifiers for the playoffs, several eliminatory rounds with many incentives have already been defined. In the West, the Phoenix Suns (3rd) of Kevin Durant and Devin Booker will face the Minnesota Timberwolves (6th) in the first round. No less interesting will be the duel between the Los Angeles Clippers (4th) of Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and James Harden against the Dallas Mavericks (5th) of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
For its part, in the East, Giannis Antetokounmpo's Milwaukee Bucks (3rd) will begin the playoffs against the Indiana Pacers (6th) and the Cleveland Cavaliers (4th) will begin their journey against the Orlando Magic (5th).
