Every year, the NBA uses a seeding system to decide which teams they will play in their opening round of the playoffs. This is done by assigning each team a number that corresponds with where it was ranked at the end of the regular season. The first seed gets home court advantage and plays Game 1 on their floor while all other series are played best-of-seven games between two different opponents.
The “play-in tournament nba 2021” is a new tournament that will be introduced in the NBA. The tournament will have the 16 worst teams compete for one spot, and the winner of the play-in game will qualify for the NBA playoffs.
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ESPN’s Tim Bontemps
The NBA regular season’s last weekend has here, and all we know is that we’re in for 48 hours of insanity.
Only a few seeds are chosen in both leagues due to a muddled seeding picture. Here’s a short review of everything, starting with the packed Eastern Conference standings at the top.
MORE: NBA standings | Weekend schedule | Play-in system
In the East, who will finish 2-3-4?
Thursday night, the Miami Heat secured the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, and Philadelphia 76ers, who are three games behind them, may still finish in any order.
The Bucks are in charge of their own fate after defeating the Detroit Pistons on Friday night. Milwaukee would clinch the second seed with a victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday — more on them below — or a defeat by the Celtics to the Grizzlies in Memphis.
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A defeat to Cleveland, on the other hand, would allow the Celtics to move up to No. 2 with a win over Memphis. With that combination, Boston would get the second seed based on the sixth tiebreaker: having a superior record versus other East playoff teams than Milwaukee.
To finish higher than fourth, Philadelphia must win both of its final games — against Indiana on Saturday and Detroit on Sunday — and Milwaukee or Boston must lose one of their remaining games.
The 76ers, on the other hand, are unable to finish higher than third place since they have lost the head-to-head tiebreaker with Milwaukee (who won the season series) and can now only tie them in wins. In addition, Philadelphia loses the tiebreaker to Boston (which has a better division record).
With a victory against the Houston Rockets on Friday night, the Toronto Raptors won the fifth spot, putting the Chicago Bulls in sixth place. The 76ers may be hampered by the need to be completely immunized in order to play in Toronto. (Matisse Thybulle, who has not publicly said whether or not he is COVID-19-vaccinated, was designated as “ineligible to participate” un Thursday’s defeat.)
Play-in craziness in the East
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The Warriors can do so if they win their last two games. Otherwise, Golden State will need Dallas to lose at San Antonio on Sunday.
The Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets are tied for fifth and sixth place with identical 48-33 records coming into the last day of the season. Utah will receive the fifth seed if they win Portland on Sunday or if Denver loses to the Los Angeles Lakers, despite having swept the season series.
To finish fifth, the Nuggets would need both a Utah defeat and a victory against the Lakers.
The New Orleans Pelicans are now in ninth place and need just one victory in their next two games — or one defeat in the final two games of the San Antonio Spurs — to finish ninth and host the first play-in game.
The “nba playoffs standings” is a website that provides information on the current NBA seeding and play. The site also has a news section, which provides updated information on the most recent games.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do the NBA playoffs Work 2022?
How does the NBA playoff play-in work?
A: Teams are seeded 1-8, with the four first seeds receiving a bye. The top two second-round winners then face off in single elimination for the final spot in each conference. Winner advances to play against number one seed from other conference
What does seed mean in NBA playoffs?
A: A seed is the ranking of a team in their respective league as it stands at the start of each playoff tournament. The top 16 teams are seeded 1-16, while 8 more spots go to wild card teams.
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