With minimal shuffling at the conclusion of the NBA regular season on Sunday, the final seedings were determined and some less-frequent qualifiers are continuing their seasons.
We're looking at you, Charlotte Hornets and Portland Trail Blazers.
While the top six seeds in the Eastern and Western conferences advanced to the playoffs starting next weekend, four other teams on each side face a gauntlet of individual games in the play-in tournament.
Charlotte, which went 44-38 to earn the No. 9 seed in the East,
will try to win two play-in games and advance to the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Portland went 42-40 to slot as the eighth seed in the West and will play beyond the regular season for the first time since the 2020-21 campaign.
The play-in tournament tips off Tuesday, with the Hornets playing host to the No. 10 Miami Heat in an elimination game. The winner plays Friday against the loser of the game Wednesday between the No. 7 Philadelphia 76ers and No. 8 Orlando Magic.
Miami, by the way, was the No. 10 seed last season and won both play-in games to reach the playoffs.
The winner of the 7/8 game becomes the seventh seed, matching up with the No. 2 Boston Celtics.
The winner of the contest between the 9/10 winner and the 7/8 loser on Friday becomes the eighth seed and takes on top seed Detroit.
On the Western side, the No. 7 Phoenix Suns host Portland on Tuesday. The winner becomes the seventh seed and takes on the No. 2 San Antonio Spurs.
On Wednesday, the No. 10 Golden State Warriors visit the No. 9 Los Angeles Clippers in an elimination game. The teams played Sunday in their regular-season finale, with the host Clippers winning 115-110 without star Kawhi Leonard. The Clippers have captured nine straight against the Warriors in Los Angeles, going back to Golden State winning 105-90 on Nov. 28, 2021.
The winner of 9/10 plays the loser of 7/8 on Friday, with the winner becoming the eight seed and facing top seed Oklahoma City.
As a point of accuracy, the actual playoffs begin next Saturday and Sunday with first-round matchups. All series are best-of-seven.
In the Eastern Conference, the top-seeded Pistons will face the eighth seed (to be determined), beginning on Sunday in Detroit.
The second-seeded Celtics open at home Sunday against the seventh seed (to be determined).
The No. 3 New York Knicks and No. 6 Atlanta Hawks tip off on Saturday.
The No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers host the No. 5 Toronto Raptors on Saturday. While the Cavs are the higher seed and have home-court advantage, the Raptors won all three games during the season -- all played before Nov. 25.
In the Western Conference, the top-seeded Thunder wait on the No. 8 seed, beginning on Sunday, when the No. 2 Spurs open their series against the No. 7 seed in San Antonio.
The No. 3 Nuggets face off with the Minnesota Timberwolves, beginning Saturday in Denver.
The No. 4 Los Angeles Lakers play host to the No. 5 Houston Rockets on Saturday to open their series.
--Field Level Media
