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2024 NBA Playoffs: Bracket, standings and latest playoff picture ahead of final month – USA TODAY
There’s just one month left in the 2023-24 NBA regular season but only one team has clinched a playoff spot: the Boston Celtics. The other 19 playoff positions are still available down the final stretch of the regular season as teams jockey for position.
After the league-leading Celtics, the Eastern Conference is a tight group with just 6.5 games separating the current No. 2 and No. 8 seeds. Teams could go from the NBA Play-In Tournament to hosting a first-round series in a week or less.
The Western Conference is close from top to bottom. The current No. 1 and No. 10 seeds are separated by 12 games with a month of action to go before the Play-In Tournament kicks off on April 16th.
Here’s the latest standings and what to know ahead of the postseason.
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Current after March 13 games. The top 10 teams in each conference will make the playoffs with seeds 7-10 playing in the play-in tournament.
Here’s how the matchups look with the current standings in the Eastern Conference.
Here’s how the matchups look with the current standings in the Western Conference.
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The NBA Play-In Tournament is a four-day tournament starting April 16 that offers more teams a chance at a playoff spot in each conference.
The format is simple. Using the final regular season standings, the No. 7 seed in each conference hosts the No. 8 seed. The winner of that game secures the No. 7 seed in the playoffs.
The No. 9 seed in each conference hosts the No. 10 seed. The winner of that game will play the loser of the No. 7 vs. No. 8 matchup to determine who takes the final spot in their respective conference for the NBA playoffs.
Once the play-in tournament wraps up on April 19, the NBA playoffs will begin Saturday, April 20.
Here’s how things currently look for the play-in in the East:
Here’s how things currently look for the play-in in the West:
The first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs will begin on April 20 and is expected to continue until the first weekend of May. The only other set date for the playoffs is the NBA Finals which is slated to begin Thursday, June 6. The second round and conference finals are subject to change based on how long the first round of the NBA playoffs takes.