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NBA playoffs 2024: When does Play-In Tournament start? Schedule, odds – NorthJersey.com
The 2023-24 NBA regular season is dwindling down and the postseason is about to get underway.
Even with a handful of games left, there’s still plenty of jockeying for playoff seeding. In the Eastern Conference, the difference between the No. 3 seed (New York Knicks) and the No. 6 seed (Indiana Pacers) was only 1.5 games entering Thursday night.
In the Western Conference, it’s a battle for the top spot and home-court advantage leading up to the NBA Finals between the Denver Nuggets, Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves.
With the postseason inching closer, here are all the key dates and information you need to know for the play-in tournament, first round, odds to win the title and more for the playoffs:
It’s a series of games between the 7th and 10th-place teams that determines the final two playoff spots in each conference.
The last day of the regular season in the NBA is Sunday with all 30 teams in action for the final time. This year, the play-in tourney starts April 16 and wraps up April 19.
As of Thursday, the play-in tournament in the East would feature the No. 7 seed Philadelphia 76ers vs. No. 8 seed Miami Heat and No. 9 seed Chicago Bulls vs. No. 10 seed Atlanta Hawks.
The winner of the 76ers-Heat matchup would officially be the No. 7 seed in the playoffs and the loser would play the winner of the Bulls-Hawks contest. The loser of Chicago vs. Atlanta would be eliminated from the postseason.
In the Western Conference, it’s No. 7 seed Phoenix Suns vs. No. 8 seed Sacramento Kings and No. 9 seed Los Angeles Lakers vs. No. 10 seed Golden State Warriors.
The same scenario applies as in the West, with the winner of Suns-Kings clinching the No. 7 seed and the loser awaiting the winner of Lakers-Warriors. The loser of Los Angeles vs. Golden State is eliminated from playoff contention.
After the play-in tournament concludes April 19, the first round begins April 20. Depending on how long the first round takes, the second round (conference semifinals), will get underway sometime between May 4-7.
The conference finals can start anywhere from May 19-22.
The start date for the NBA Finals has already been announced as it will officially begin on June 6.
Here are the postseason matchups heading into Thursday night’s action:
No. 1 Boston Celtics vs. No. 8 seed (winner of play-in tournament)
No. 2 Milwaukee Bucks vs. No. 7 seed (winner of play-in tournament)
No. 3 New York Knicks vs. No. 6 Indiana Pacers
No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. No. 5 Orlando Magic
No. 1 Denver Nuggets vs. No. 8 seed (winner of play-in tournament)
No. 2 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. No. 7 seed (winner of play-in tournament)
No. 3 Minnesota Timberwolves vs. No. 6 New Orleans Pelicans
No. 4 Los Angeles Clippers vs. No. 5 Dallas Mavericks
Boston Celtics: +200 (Bet $100 to win $200)
Denver Nuggets: +320 (Bet $100 to win $320)
Los Angeles Clippers: +900 (Bet $100 to win $900)
Milwaukee Bucks and Oklahoma City Thunder: +1700 (Bet $100 to win $1,700)
Phoenix Suns: +2400 (Bet $100 to win $2,400)
Philadelphia 76ers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Dallas Mavericks: +3000 (Bet $100 to win $3,000)
Miami Heat: +4000 (Bet $100 to win $4,000)
Cleveland Cavaliers: +5000 (Bet $100 to win $5,000)
New York Knicks: +6000 (Bet $100 to win $6,000)
Golden State Warriors: +6600 (Bet $100 to win $6,600)
New Orleans Pelicans: +10000 (Bet $100 to win $10,000)
Indiana Pacers and Sacramento Kings: +20000 (Bet $100 to win $20,000)
Orlando Magic: +25000 (Bet $100 to win $25,000)
Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks: +100000 (Bet $100 to win $100,000)
