Before the NBA playoffs officially begin, the No. 7 through No. 10 seeds in both the Eastern and Western Conference will compete in the league’s play-in tournament in hopes of advancing to a best-of-seven series. Fortunately for fans (but less fortunate for the competing teams) this year’s play-in includes some of the league’s biggest stars like Steph Curry, Ja Morant and Trae Young.
The play-in tournament begins Tuesday, April 15—tipping off two days after the regular season’s finale. It runs through Friday, which gives the No. 1 through No. 6 seeds in each conference the opportunity for some rest and to reset before the playoffs begin Saturday.
The first play-in game in each conference pits the No. 7 seed against the No. 8 seed. The winner of each game advances to the playoffs as the conference’s No. 7 seed. The loser has one more chance to make it into the playoffs, in a win-or-go-home match against the winner of the No. 9 seed vs. No. 10 seed game for the last playoff spot in each conference.
Here’s how fans can watch each game of the NBA play-in tournament, with the action tipping off Tuesday.
The NBA play-in tournament tips off on Tuesday, April 15 and runs through Friday, April 18 and includes three games in each conference to determine the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds in the playoffs, which begin Saturday.
The first two games, one in the Eastern Conference and another in the West, will determine the No. 7 seed. Then, the No. 9 and No. 10 seeds play an elimination game. The last game in each conference pits the winner of the first elimination game against the loser of the game between the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds for the final playoff spot.
Here are the stakes along the line in each game. And most importantly, how you can catch all the action.
|
Game |
Teams |
Stakes |
Time |
Channel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Eastern Conference No. 7 seed vs. No. 8 seed |
Atlanta Hawks (No. 8) vs. Orlando Magic (No. 7) |
Winner advances to playoffs as No. 7 seed |
Tuesday, April 15 at 7:30 p.m. ET |
TNT |
|
Western Conference No. 7 seed vs. No. 8 seed |
Memphis Grizzlies (No. 8) vs. Golden State Warriors (No. 7) |
Winner advances to playoffs as No. 7 seed |
Tuesday, April 15 at 10 p.m. ET |
TNT |
|
Eastern Conference No. 9 seed vs. No. 10 seed |
Miami Heat (No. 10) vs. Chicago Bulls (No. 9) |
Loser eliminated, winner playes loser of first game |
Wednesday, April 16 at 7:30 p.m. ET |
ESPN |
|
Western Conference No. 9 seed vs. No. 10 seed |
Dallas Mavericks (No. 10) vs. Sacramento Kings (No. 9) |
Loser eliminated, winner playes loser of first game |
Wednesday, April 16 at 10 p.m. ET |
ESPN |
|
Eastern Conference No. 9/No. 10 winner vs. No. 7/No. 8 loser |
TBD |
Winner receives final play-in spot as No. 8 seed |
Friday, April 18, time TBD |
TNT |
|
Western Conference No. 9/No. 10 winner vs. No. 7/No. 8 loser |
TBD |
Winner receives final play-in spot as No. 8 seed |
Friday, April 18, time TBD |
ESPN |
The play-in tournament games will be split between TNT and ESPN networks.
For the games on TNT, games can be streamed on the network’s website, TNTdrama.com, as well as the TNT app. Streamers can also watch the TNT broadcasted games on MAX.
For the ESPN play-in tournament games, ESPN.com will stream the action, as well as the ESPN app. Log in using your TV provider credentials to access that stream.
The first night of the NBA play-in tournament brings an incredible story line that pits Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler and the Golden State Warriors against Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies. The winner of Grizzlies-Warriors advances to the playoffs as the Western Conference’s No. 7 seed for a date with the Houston Rockets.
With the Dallas Mavericks in the No. 9 vs. No. 10 game, that could set up an intriguing final play-in game in the West between the Mavs and the loser of the Grizzlies-Warriors game. After Dallas traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for a package centered around Anthony Davis, they certainly hoped to avoid the play-in. Now, the Mavs have to win two games in a row to make it into the eight-team playoff field.
In the Eastern Conference, the first matchup pits Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks against Paolo Banchero and the Orlando Magic for the No. 7 seed and a series against the defending champion Boston Celtics.
The East’s No. 9 vs. No. 10 elimination game has the red hot Chicago Bulls who won seven of their final 10 regular-season games. The Miami Heat haven’t been bad either, winning six of their last 10 games. Bulls guard Coby White was named the Eastern Conference’s player of the month for March after he averaged 27.7 points per game over the month. Chicago is putting it together at the right time and could find a way to sneak into the playoffs.
