NBA PLAYOFFS
NBA 2023 Play-In tournament schedule: game dates and times
The National Basketball Association Play-In Tournament is the league’s preliminary postseason tournament to decide the last participants for the playoffs.
The need for the first NBA play-in tournament occurred during the COVID-stricken season of 2019-2020 when the organization decided to play preliminary games as part of their plans for the “bubble” conditions. The additional games allowed more TV time and enhanced competitiveness among the teams fighting to enter the playoffs.
Play-in tournament format
After the successful experiment in November 2020, the NBA confirmed continuing the play-in tournament with a new format that included the teams that ranked 7th through 10th in each conference. The NBA will determine the play-in and playoff standings and which teams have earned the highest winning percentages in each conference.
In that new format, the teams are seeded using a round-robin tournament. The top four play a mix of a single-elimination and double-elimination tournament to determine the winner. The 9th-place team hosts the 10th-place team in an elimination game.
NBA:
The 7th hosts the 8th-place team in the double-chance match, with the winner advancing as the 7th seed. The loser of this game then hosts the winner of the elimination game between the 9th and 10th place teams to determine the 8-seed.
Explanation
Here is the simplified explanation behind the matches in the play-in tournament:
Eastern Conference
East 7 vs. East 8: The winner gets the No. 7 overall seed
East 9 vs. East 10: The loser is eliminated
Loser 7/8 vs. Winner 9/10: Winner gets No. 8 overall seed
Western Conference
West 7 vs. West 8: The winner gets the No. 7 overall seed
West 9 vs. West 10: The loser is eliminated
Loser 7/8 vs. Winner 9/10: Winner gets No. 8 overall seed
Dates and game-times
The 2023 NBA play-in tournament will start on Tuesday, April 11, and end on Friday, April 14, two days after the regular season closes.
APRIL 11
- GAME 1: (8) Atlanta Hawks at (7) Miami Heat, 7:30 p.m. ET, TNT - Winner earns 7th seed and advances to NBA Playoffs
- GAME 2: (8) Minnesota Timberwolves at (7) Los Angeles Lakers, 10 p.m. ET, ESPN - Winner earns 7th seed and advances to NBA Playoffs
APRIL 12
- GAME 3: (10) Chicago Bulls at (9) Toronto Raptors, 7:30 p.m. ET, TNT - The winner plays the loser of the East 7/8 game
- GAME 4: (10) Oklahoma City at (9) New Orleans Pelicans, 10 p.m. ET, ESPN - The winner plays the loser of the West 7/8 game
APRIL 14
- GAME 5: EAST LOSER 7/8 VS. EAST WINNER 9/10, 10 p.m. ET, TNT - The winner earns 8th seed and advances to NBA playoffs
- GAME 6: WEST LOSER 7/8 VS. WEST WINNER 9/10, 10 p.m. ET, ESPN - The winner earns 8th seed and advances to NBA playoffs
The most prominent American sports content networks, TNT and ESPN, will double up to broadcast all six games of the Play-In Tournament.