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.
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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)
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The play-in games will take place between next Tuesday and Friday, with the first round beginning a day later.
The Bucks removed the last bit of uncertainty in the Eastern Conference playoff field. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
(Stacy Revere via Getty Images)
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.
Of the six, only the Los Angeles Lakers are guaranteed a playoff spot. We’ll be updating this article later Friday to cover how much has changed after the buzzer sounds in the final games. For now, here’s where everyone was before tip-off Friday.
Western Conference standings entering April 11
1. Oklahoma City Thunder, 66-14
2. Houston Rockets, 52-28 (14 games back)
3. Los Angeles Lakers, 49-31 (17 GB)
4. Denver Nuggets, 48-32 (18 GB)
5. Los Angeles Clippers, 48-32 (18 GB)
6. Golden State Warriors, 47-33 (19 GB)
7. Memphis Grizzlies, 47-33 (19 GB)
8. Minnesota Timberwolves, 47-33 (19 GB)
9. Sacramento Kings, 39-41 (27 GB)
10. Dallas Mavericks, 38-42 (28 GB)
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