After the always-long regular season, the NBA playoffs are here.
It’s all starting this week with the play-in tournament that will determine the Nos. 7 and 8 seeds in both the East and West, which will provide us with extra playoff excitement.
But we’ll break down the whole first round, including how the play-in winners could slot in to face the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds in each conference (that would be the Phoenix Suns and Memphis Grizzlies in the West and the Miami Heaet and Boston Celtics in the East).
So, here it is: The NBA postseason matchups we’ve been waiting to see:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
No. 1 Miami Heat vs. No. 8 play-in winner
The winner of the Hawks-Hornets play-in will face the loser of Nets-Cavaliers in order to figure out the No. 8 seed.
No. 2 Boston Celtics vs. No. 7 play-in winner
The winner of Nets-Cavaliers will face the Celts.
No. 3 Milwaukee Bucks vs. No. 6 Chicago Bulls
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The Bucks beat the Bulls in every regular-season matchup they had this season.
No. 4 Philadelphia 76ers vs. No. 5 Toronto Raptors
This is significant for a few reasons, most notably for the fact that Mathias Thybulle will miss Games 3 and 4 in Canada because he’s not fully vaccinated.
No. 7 Brooklyn Nets vs. No. 8 Cleveland Cavaliers (play-in game)
The winner gets the No. 7 seed and a series against the Celtics.
No. 9 Atlanta Hawks vs. No. 10 Charlotte Hornets
Winner moves on to play the loser of Nets-Cavs, loser goes home.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
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No. 1 Phoenix Suns vs. No. 8 play-in winner
The winner of the Pelicans-Spurs play-in will face the loser of Timberwolves-Clippers in order to figure out the No. 8 seed.
No. 2 Memphis Grizzlies vs. No. 7 play-in winner
The winner of the Timberwolves and Clippers will face the Grizzlies.
No. 3 Golden State Warriors vs. No. 6 Denver Nuggets
Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
This should be a FANTASTIC series between two teams full of MVPs and All-Stars.
No. 4 Dallas Mavericks vs. No. 5 Utah Jazz
These teams split their regular-season matchups … and what if the Jazz can’t get it done in the postseason yet again?
Schedule
This is helpful:
The matchups are set.
Update for next week's Meta Quest NBA Play-In Tournament schedule ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/eWMV1ESPTf
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 10, 2022
Mark that calendar 🗓️
Game 1 dates for the First Round of the 2022 NBA Playoffs presented by Google Pixel ⬇️
More information will be provided as it is finalized. pic.twitter.com/qyqgbI2Bcl
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 11, 2022
