There are only two days left in the 2023-24 NBA regular season.
You would think then that more things would have been decided with the playoff situation.
But with the standings still clogged like rush-hour traffic — with the exception of the Boston Celtics, who lead the Eastern Conference with billions of games — very few races can actually be made.
As the Association heads toward a photo finish in Sunday’s season finale, let’s take a look at what we know about the upcoming playoffs by setting the schedule and reviewing the final bracket before spotlighting a few teams able to surpass their seed in the playoffs.
NBA play-in tournament: April 16-19
First round: starts April 20
Conference Semifinals: Start May 6-7 (could go through May 4-5)
Conference finals: begin May 21-22 (could go through May 19-20)
NBA Finals, Game 1: Thursday, June 6
NBA Finals, Game 2: Sunday, June 9
NBA Finals, Game 3: Wednesday, June 12
NBA Finals, Game 4: Friday, June 14
NBA Finals, Game 5: Monday, June 17 (if necessary)
NBA Finals, Game 6: Thursday, June 20 (if necessary)
NBA Finals, Game 7: Sunday, June 23 (if necessary)
Eastern Conference
#1 Boston Celtics vs. #8 Play-In Winner
No. 2 Milwaukee Bucks vs. No. 7 Play-In Winner
New York Knicks No. 3 vs. Indiana Pacers No. 6
No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. No. 5 Orlando Magic
Eastern Conference – Play-In Tournament
No. 7 Philadelphia 76ers vs. No. 8 Miami Heat
No. 9 Chicago Bulls vs. No. 10 Atlanta Hawks
Western Conference
No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. No. 8 Play-In winner
#2 Minnesota Timberwolves vs. #7 Play-In Winner
No. 3 Denver Nuggets vs. No. 6 New Orleans Pelicans
Los Angeles Clippers No. 4 vs. Dallas Mavericks No. 5
Western Conference – Play-In Tournament
Phoenix Suns No. 7 vs. Los Angeles Lakers No. 8
No. 9 Sacramento Kings vs. No. 10 Golden State Warriors
Dallas Mavericks
With good health at the right time (let’s knock on wood) and roster reinforcements added at the trade deadline, the Mavericks are as hot as anyone. Their 16 wins since March 1 are only behind the Celtics, while Dallas’ average point differential of plus-7.0 is third-best over that stretch behind Boston and Denver.
Impressively, the Mavs’ defense is largely responsible for this success, as they rank fifth in efficiency during this stretch, according to NBA.com. This is a scary development for their playoff opponent, given how explosive the Kyrie Irving-Luka Dončić duo can be offensively.
the Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers may be locked in the play-in tournament, but they proved last season how dangerous they can be outside of that spot. At the time, Los Angeles used the tournament to clinch seventh place, then won back-to-back playoff series before keeping things as close as possible in a series sweep — all four games were decided by single digits — against the eventual Champion Denver. .
If this defense can find another equipment, it ranks 20 in efficiency since the All-Star break – the Lakers could be a tricky matchup, even for the top seeds. Few, if any, teams have good answers for the LeBron James-Anthony Davis tandem, and Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura threaten to score 25+ points every night.
Philadelphia 76ers
With reigning MVP Joel Embiid not only back on the court, but also back to his usual dominance — 32 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists on Friday — there’s an argument to be made that Philly could be the greatest threat from Boston in the East. These two teams split the two games in which Embiid appeared, and both contests were decided by a total of 13 points.
The Sixers are riding the league’s best seven-game winning streak and have a great chance to make it eight in a row with their season finale against the lottery-bound Brooklyn Nets. A red-hot Philly team with Embiid in the middle and Tyrese Maxey continuing his rise on the perimeter is a threat to put together a deep playoff run, no matter where it starts.
