When do the NBA playoffs start? Play-in tournament, NBA postseason dates, what to know
The NBA playoffs are drawing near.
Very near.
Here's what you need to know about the end of the NBA's regular season and the beginning of the NBA's postseason, including dates for the league's play-in tournament and NBA playoffs series.
When does the NBA play-in tournament start?
The NBA regular season concludes on April 9 and it doesn't take much time for the NBA play-in tournament to begin after that, with the first two play-in tourney games scheduled for April 11.
In those first two play-in games, each conference's No. 7 seed will play their conference's No. 8 seed, with the winner earning the No. 7 seed in the NBA Playoffs.
April 12 will have the next two play-in games with the No. 9 and No. 10 seeds from each conference facing off on that day.
The winner of those games will face the loser of the April 11 No. 7 vs. No. 8 games on April 14 in the final two games of the play-in tournaments, with the winners of those two games earning the No. 8 and final seed in the Eastern Conference and Western Conference playoffs.
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When do the NBA playoffs start?
The first round of the NBA playoffs is scheduled to begin on April 15.
The No. 8 seed from each conference will take on the No. 1 seed in the first round, with the No. 7 seed facing the No. 2 seed, the No. 6 seed facing the No. 3 seed and the No. 5 seed facing the No. 4 seed in the first round.
The winners of each round advance to the NBA Conference semifinals, where the winner of the No. 8 vs. No. 1 series will play the winner of the No. 5 vs. No. 4 series for a berth in the conference finals.
The No. 7 vs. No. 2 and No. 6 vs. No. 3 series winners will face off in the other semifinal, with the NBA Conference semifinals slated to begin May 1-2.
The winners of the Eastern Conference semifinals and Western Conference semifinals will face off in their conference's finals, which are scheduled to being on May 16-17.
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When is the NBA Finals?
The winners of each conference will play each other in the NBA Finals, which are scheduled to begin on June 1 with Game 1 at whichever team had the better regular season record.
Game 2 of the finals is scheduled for June 4, with Game 3 on June 7 and Game 4 on June 9. If necessary games are scheduled for June 12 (Game 5), June 15 (Game 6) and June 18 (Game 7).
What are the current NBA standings?
To see the current NBA standings, as well as the current matchups for the NBA postseason, check out this NBA playoff picture, which takes a look at how the play-in tournament and NBA playoffs would look if the NBA postseason were to begin today.
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What games are left on the NBA schedule?
There are just six days left in the NBA regular season, starting Tuesday. To see each day's games, check out this NBA schedule, with the last day of games slated for April 9.
Who is favored to win the NBA title?
The Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets are currently the favorites to win the NBA Championship in the latest odds from Tipico Sportsbook.
The Suns, Nuggets, Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies lead the odds to win the Western Conference, while the Bucks, Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers have the best chance to win the Eastern Conference, according to the odds.
You can see every team's current chances to win the NBA title here.
Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: When do NBA playoffs start? Play-in tournament, postseason schedule
