Last season marked the debut of the NBA’s Play-In Tournament, where the seventh and eighth seeds in each conference compete for the No. 7 playoff spot, and the ninth and tenth seeds compete to play the loser of the seven/eight match up, with the winner earning the No. 8 spot.
In other words: seven vs. eight — winner advances to playoffs as seventh seed, loser plays the winner of the nine vs. ten matchup. Nine/ten winner vs. seven/eight loser — winner advances to playoffs as eighth seed. So the ninth and tenth seeds need to win two consecutive games in order to advance.
In the West last season, the Lakers defeated the Warriors in the No. 7/8 matchup, advancing as the seventh seed, while the Grizzlies defeated the Spurs in the No. 9/10 matchup and then beat the Warriors to advance as the eighth seed.
In the East last season, the Celtics defeated the Wizards to advance as the seventh seed, while the Pacers defeated the Hornets in the No. 9/10 matchup but then lost to the Wizards, so Washington was the eighth seed. Ultimately, all of the seventh and eighth seeds fell in the first round of the playoffs last season.
This season, the current Nos. 7-10 seeds in the West are the Lakers (23-23), Timberwolves (22-23), Clippers (23-25) and Trail Blazers (19-26). Only two games (four losses) separate the No. 9 Clippers from the No. 6 Nuggets (23-21). The No. 5 Mavericks (26-20) are also within reach, but the top four seeds have separated from the pack.
At the bottom-end of Western play-in contention, less than three games separate the No. 10 Blazers from the No. 11-13 seeds, the Pelicans (17-28), Kings (18-30) and Spurs (17-29).
The East is extremely competitive this season, as the No. 7 seed Hornets (26-20) are only three-and-a-half games out of first place, so the top end of the standings are very much in flux. The Nos. 1-6 seeds all have between 26 and 30 wins and 16 and 19 losses, a separation of just three games.
There’s another distinct cluster in the standings, with the current Nos. 8-12 seeds all within three games of each other. Those teams are the Raptors (22-21), Wizards (23-23), Celtics (23-24), Knicks (23-24) and Hawks (20-25). (The Celtics lead the Wizards 91-69 on Sunday at the time of this release.)
We want to know what you think. Who will make the Play-In Tournament this season in both conferences? Are there any clear-cut favorites? Who will advance as the seventh and eighth seeds? Will any teams currently in the top six in either conference drop down?
Head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!
Lakers enjoy play in tourament
They can prove they can succeed
Celtics and 76ers enjoy play in tourament?
Sixers arent a play-in team lol
As of now only NYK in the EC is chasing the play in, ATL, IND, DET & ORL are out of the race.
As of now no one in the WC is chasing the play in as NOP, SAS, SAC, OKC & HOU are out of the race.
LAL are still chasing DEN for a place in the playoffs proper, but… LAC, MIN & POR are out of the race for a top 6 spot.
In the EC only CHA is chasing PHI for the #6, TOR, WAS & BOS aren’t really running for a top 6.
All that can change, but is how it is just now!
I’m really not sure because it’s a little early for the final seedingsfor me to guess but I will say this. I LOVE the system !!
I think it’s awesome. Gives more teams more cities a chance to route and stay alive for a playoff spot longer. Then the winner go home games are super exciting as well. Instant game 7. LOVE IT !!
According to defensive stats, LeBron and Westbrook are below average defenders
The rest of Lakers need to play Top tier defense, otherwise Lakers will fall into play in tournament
Nuggets and Mavs are getting better
Heat play without Herro and Lowry, Lakers allow 69 points at half time
Its really wild to think 2 years ago Lebron and the lakers were lifting the trophy and everyone was asking how long their dynasty would last and if they would be challenged by Kawhi/PG, Doncic or the Murray/Jokic duo.
The Suns hadn’t been to the playoffs in a decade, the Warriors were a lottery team looking ready to fall apart,the Grizzlies were in a full rebuild handing the keys over to a rookie PG, and the Jazz hadn’t sniffed any real playoff success in years. So much has changed and just goes to show any team can change their outlook with the right moves
Like the system and more incentive for higher seeding, don’t like the fact that a team ranked 10 out of 15 could actually make the playoffs even with the “burden” of having to win two games in a row, especially since the lower-seeded teams would stand zero chance.
I’ve always been a proponent of trimming playoff spots, so it’s a blessing and a curse in a sense.
I can’t say it isn’t interesting, but I also can’t say I like it, either. Playing an entire season only to see the 10th seed potentially leapfrog the a 7th or 8th seed based on two games devalues the season even more in my eyes. Anything can happen in 1 game- a star has a cold shooting night, minor injury taking someone out a game, etc, etc…
I’m more about trying to properly reward teams who put in months of work beforehand.
100% agree. The general trend of sports devaluing the regular season while simultaneously diluting the playoffs has been frustrating to watch.