After months of intense competition, the regular season of the NBA has concluded, and basketball enthusiasts everywhere are eagerly anticipating the commencement of the playoffs.
A total of twelve teams have already secured their spots in the playoffs, including prominent squads such as the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks, and Los Angeles Clippers. However, the final four spots are still up for grabs and will be determined by the play-in tournament, which is set to commence on Tuesday. Notably, this tournament will showcase marquee teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors, led by top-tier players LeBron James and Stephen Curry, respectively.
In the Eastern Conference, teams that have secured a playoff spot include the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, and Indiana Pacers. Meanwhile, in the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Clippers, Dallas Mavericks, and Phoenix Suns have all clinched their spots.
The play-in tournament, which will run from Tuesday to Friday, will feature teams that finished the regular season between seventh and tenth place. The winners of these games will claim the final two play-off spots in each conference. For example, the Miami Heat will go head-to-head with the Philadelphia 76ers, while the Atlanta Hawks will battle it out against the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference. In the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Lakers will take on the New Orleans Pelicans, and the Golden State Warriors will face off against the Sacramento Kings.
In the playoffs, each consecutive round will be determined by a best-of-seven series. The match-ups in each conference will be decided by the teams’ seedings, with the top-seeded team facing off against the eighth seed, the second seed facing the seventh, and so on. Following the first round, the playoffs will progress to the conference semi-finals, then the conference finals, before culminating in the NBA Finals series.
The NBA Finals are set to commence on 6 June, with subsequent games scheduled every three days. If necessary, the seventh and final game will be played on 23 June.
Notably, the Boston Celtics, who secured the best regular season record by winning 64 of their 82 games, will be aiming to win their first NBA title since 2008. They are eager to put an end to their title drought, with a win that would also propel them to the top of the NBA’s all-time titles list, surpassing the Los Angeles Lakers’ current record of 17 championships. On the other hand, the Denver Nuggets are striving to become the first team since the Golden State Warriors in 2018 to clinch back-to-back titles.
As the excitement for the playoffs continues to build, basketball enthusiasts around the world eagerly await the thrilling matchups and fierce competition that the NBA playoffs never fail to deliver.