Update

NBA Playoffs and Play-In: Who's in and who's out? How does it work? When are the games?

Check who is already in the playoffs, who can still qualify, who is going to be involved in the Play-In Tournament and who is eliminated

Wednesday 13 April 2022 06:40, UK

The NBA Play-In Tournament games are now locked in and the playoff seedings are too after a frantic final night in the NBA regular season.

The Miami Heat secured the first seed with the best record in the Eastern Conference while the Phoenix Suns had the best record in the league, going 64-18 for the season in the Western Conference.

The Memphis Grizzlies, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets will also be in the playoffs out West. In the East, the Milwaukee Bucks (2nd seed), Boston Celtics (3rd seed) and Philadelphia 76ers (4th seed) all finished 51-31 while the Toronto Raptors and Chicago Bulls are also seeded for the NBA Playoffs.

It's all been quite tricky to follow but here is your one-stop-shop with all of the key information.

Latest key updates:

ALL PLAY-IN GAMES became locked in, as per the list below.
BOSTON clinches division title with a win over Memphis on Sunday.
UTAH clinches division title with a win over Portland on Sunday.
DENVER did not clinch after its loss to the Lakers and Utah's win over Portland.
PHILADELPHIA did not clinch division title, despite a victory, due to Boston's win in Memphis.
DENVER qualifies for NBA Playoffs after Thursday's win over Memphis.
MIAMI clinches best record in the Eastern Conference after Thursday's losses by Boston and Philadelphia.
MINNESOTA is locked into a Play-In game with Thursday's victory for Denver.
ATLANTA is locked into a Play-In game after Tuesday's loss to Toronto.
CHICAGO clinches a playoff spot after Cleveland's loss to Orlando.
CLEVELAND is locked into a Play-In game after Tuesday's loss to Orlando AND Toronto's win over Atlanta.
LA LAKERS are eliminated with Tuesday's loss to Phoenix AND San Antonio's win over Denver.
MILWAUKEE clinches division title with Tuesday's win over Chicago.
NEW ORLEANS is locked into a Play-In game with Tuesday's win over Sacramento.
SAN ANTONIO is locked into a Play-In game with Tuesday's win over Denver AND the Lakers' loss to Phoenix.
TORONTO clinches a playoff spot with Tuesday's win over Atlanta AND Cleveland's loss to Orlando.
UTAH clinches a playoff spot with Tuesday's win over Memphis AND Minnesota's loss to Washington.

NBA Play-In Tournament – how it works and who is playing

The teams with the seventh-best and eighth-best records in each conference will play one game, with the winner becoming the No 7 seed in the playoffs.

The teams with the ninth and 10th-best records will play a game, with the winner of that contest then meeting the loser of the "7-8" game for the right to become the No 8 seed in the playoffs.

So, the teams seven and eight would need only to win one game in two tries while teams nine and 10 would have to win two in a row.

Here is how the Play-In Tournament will look

In the Eastern Conference, the Brooklyn Nets will host the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 7-8 Game at midnight overnight on Tuesday night. The Atlanta Hawks will host the Charlotte Hornets in the 9-10 Game at midnight overnight on Wednesday night.

Out West, the final reckoning means the Minnesota Timberwolves will host the Los Angeles Clippers in the 7-8 Game at 2.30am overnight on Tuesday night. The New Orleans Pelicans will host the San Antonio Spurs in the 9-10 Game at 2.30am overnight on Wednesday night.

(Reminder: The winner of the 7-8 Game will clinch the 7th seed. The loser will then play the winner of the 9-10 Game, and the winner of that game will clinch the 8th seed.)

TV Listings for Play-In Tournament games

Tuesday, April 12 (late night)

Live NBA: Cleveland Cavaliers @ Brooklyn Nets
Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Arena at 12am on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning - coverage starts at 11.30pm

Live NBA: LA Clippers @ Minnesota Timberwolves
Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Arena at 2.30am on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning

Wednesday, April 13 (late night)

Live NBA: Charlotte Hornets @ Atlanta Hawks
Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Arena at 12am on Wednesday night/Thursday morning

Live NBA: San Antonio Spurs @ New Orleans Pelicans
Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Arena at 2.30am on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning

NBA Playoffs – first games to start weekend of April 16 and 17

Already eliminated:

Eastern Conference: New York Knicks, Washington Wizards, Indiana Pacers, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic.

Western Conference: LA Lakers, Sacramento Kings, Portland Trail Blazers, OKC Thunder, Houston Rockets.

The rush of live NBA games continues on Sky Sports this week – see the list of games here and subscribe to watch the live action.

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