The stage is nearly set for the NBA Playoffs.
With the play-in tournament’s start on Tuesday and the playoffs themselves set to begin May 22, it took the league until the very last day of its compressed regular season to define its seedings.
The end result? The defending champion Los Angeles Lakers will have to fight for their chance to make the playoffs against the Golden State Warriors.
Here’s a look at the playoff picture in the Eastern and Western Conferences, from the winner-take-all play-in games and beyond.
Western Conference
Play-in tournament
No. 7 Los Angeles Lakers vs. No. 8 Golden State Warriors
No. 9 Memphis Grizzlies vs. No. 10 San Antonio Spurs
The Lakers-Warriors winner goes straight to the playoffs as the West’s No. 7 seed; the loser of that game will play host to the Grizzlies-Spurs winner to determine the West’s No. 8 seed and who will face top-seeded Utah in Round 1.
The loser of Grizzlies-Spurs will be instantly eliminated from post-season contention.
Round 1
No. 1 Utah Jazz vs. No. 8, the final West play-in qualifier winner
No. 2 Phoenix Suns vs. No. 7, the play-in winner of Lakers-Warriors
No. 3 Denver Nuggets vs. No. 6 Portland Trail Blazers
No. 4 Los Angeles Clippers vs. No. 5 Dallas Mavericks
Eastern Conference
Play-in tournament
No. 7 Boston Celtics vs. No. 8 Washington Wizards
No. 9 Indiana Pacers vs. No. 10 Charlotte Hornets
The Boston-Washington winner goes straight to the playoffs as the East’s No. 7 seed; the loser of that game will play host to the Indiana-Charlotte winner on Thursday to determine the East’s No. 8 seed and who will face top-seeded Philadelphia in Round 1.
The loser of Pacers-Hornets will be instantly eliminated from post-season contention.
Round 1
No. 1 Philadelphia 76ers vs. No. 8, the final East play-in qualifier winner
No. 2 Brooklyn Nets vs. No. 7, the play-in winner of Boston-Washington
No. 3 Milwaukee Bucks vs. No. 6 Miami Heat
No. 4 New York Knicks vs. No. 5 Atlanta Hawks
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