The 2020-21 NBA regular season will end in less than a week and the league’s play-in tournament will kick off the postseason. Here’s everything you need to know about the NBA Play-In Tournament including dates, the format, and which teams are likely to make it.
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NBA Play-In Dates
The play-in tournament will begin on May 18, two days after the end of the NBA regular season. The tournament concludes on Friday, May 21. The NBA playoffs will then start the day after on Saturday, May.
How It Works
The top six teams in each conference automatically qualify for the NBA playoffs. Teams that finish in seventh- through tenth-place in each conference will take part in the play-in tournament. The way it works is like this:
The No. 7 team will host the No. 8 team. The winner of that game becomes the No. 7 seed in its conference. The loser will play another game.
The No. 9 team will host the No. 10 team. The loser of that game is eliminated and the winner of the game will play the loser of the No. 7-No. 8 game.
The winner of that third and final game will become the No. 8 seed. Essentially, the No. 7 and No. 8 teams will have two chances to win one game. The No. 9 and No. 10 teams must win two games to qualify for the playoffs.
2021 NBA Eastern Conference Play-In Preview
As it stands currently in the Eastern Conference standings, Boston, Charlotte, Indiana, and Washington sit in places seven through ten. Just three games separate seventh-place Boston from tenth-place Washington.
With just three games remaining for each team, it is unlikely that Chicago, currently 11th , overtakes Washington for the final spot. The Bulls trail the Wizards by three games.
What is more likely to happen is some shifting among the No. 7 through No. 10 teams. Washington trails ninth-place Indiana by just one game and finishes the season against Atlanta, Cleveland, and Charlotte. The Pacers have the Bucks, Lakers, and Raptors.
If the Wizards overtake the Pacers, they would become the host of the No. 9-No. 10 game. Charlotte also has a difficult schedule remaining. They’ll play the Clippers and the Knicks before closing the season at Washington. That game could decide whether the Wizards end up in eighth and have a chance at winning just one game to get to the playoffs.
2021 NBA Western Conference Play-In Preview
It’s a similar situation in the West though the seventh-place Los Angeles Lakers have three very winnable games – Houston, Indiana, and New Orleans – compared to sixth-place Portland which must finish with three of the top four teams in the West (Utah, Phoenix, and Denver).
The Lakers trail Portland by one games. Golden State is eighth, Memphis ninth, and San Antonio tenth. Like the East, 11th -place New Orleans isn’t likely to make up 3.5 games on the Spurs.
Also like the East, some shifting among the four teams in the play-in tournament could happen. No. 8 Golden State finishes the season at home against No. 9 Memphis. That game could determine eighth- and ninth-place in the West. The Grizzlies are currently just a half-game behind the Warriors. Memphis has two games with Sacramento before traveling to Golden State.
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