The NBA Play-in tournament explained: Format, teams, games, who qualifies for the playoffs...
The 2023 NBA Play-In Tournament will include teams with the 7th through 10th-highest winning percentages in each conference.
The 2023 NBA Play-In Tournament concludes the regular season, and before the start of the first playoff round, we will be eager to see some exciting game action that will decide the last contestants of the NBA Playoffs.
NBA:
The tournament will start tonight and complete on April 14. It will determine the teams that fill the seventh and eighth playoff seeds in each conference for the 2023 NBA Playoffs. This means that four teams in each conference will compete in the Play-In Tournament. The participating teams will have the seventh-highest through the 10th-highest winning percentages in each conference. There will be six games- three games in each conference.
How can teams in the Play-In Tournament earn a spot in the NBA Playoffs?
Since 2021, a play-in tournament has decided each conference’s final two playoff spots. The teams with the seventh-highest and eighth-highest winning percentages will have two opportunities to win one game to earn a place in the playoffs, which start April 15 and end June 18. The ones with the ninth-highest and 10th-highest winning percentages in each conference must win two consecutive games to earn a playoff spot.
The Play-In Tournament structure
Here is an overview of the games in each conference:
APRIL 11
- GAME 1: (8) Atlanta Hawks at (7) Miami Heat (7:30 p.m. ET)
- GAME 2: (8) Minnesota Timberwolves at (7) Los Angeles Lakers, (10 p.m. ET)
The team with the seventh-highest winning percentage in its conference hosts the team with the eighth-highest winning percentage in the same conference. The team that wins will be the seventh-seed team in the Playoffs. The team that loses will still be able to earn the eighth seed in the NBA Playoffs for its conference.
APRIL 12
- GAME 3: (10) Chicago Bulls at (9) Toronto Raptors, (7:30 p.m. ET)
- GAME 4: (10) Oklahoma City at (9) New Orleans Pelicans, (10 p.m. ET)
The team with the ninth-highest winning percentage in its conference hosts the team with the 10th-highest winning percentage in the same conference. The winning team will continue to battle to earn the eighth seed in the Playoffs for its conference, while the losing team will be eliminated.
APRIL 14
GAME 5: EAST LOSER 7/8 VS. EAST WINNER 9/10 (10 p.m. ET)
GAME 6: WEST LOSER 7/8 VS. WEST WINNER 9/10 (10 p.m. ET)
The teams losing on April 11 will host the winning teams from April 12. This goes for every conference. The winning team of this game will be the eighth seed in the NBA Playoffs for its conference, and the losing team will be eliminated.