NBA Play-In Tournament 2022: Standings, format, schedule, tiebreakers and remaining games
Who could have imagined some of basketball’s biggest stars would be spending the final stretch of the 2021-22 regular season battling for a spot in the NBA Play-In Tournament?
LeBron James’ Lakers and Kevin Durant’s Nets are among the teams involved in what has become an intriguing Play-In Tournament race. The standings in the Eastern and Western Conferences are still tight with only a few games left on the schedule, so a single win or loss could make a major difference in seedings.
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Which teams will punch their tickets to the postseason? And which playoff hopefuls will miss the cut?
Here’s a breakdown of the NBA Play-In Tournament, including the projected matchups in each conference and an explanation of the tournament format.
NBA standings 2022: Eastern Conference
(Current through April 6 games)
| Seed | Team | Record | Games back |
| 1. | Heat* | 52-28 | — |
| 2. | Celtics* | 50-30 | 2 |
| 3. | Bucks* | 49-30 | 2.5 |
| 4. | 76ers* | 49-30 | 2.5 |
| 5. | Raptors* | 46-33 | 5.5 |
| 6. | Bulls* | 45-35 | 7 |
| 7. | Cavaliers** | 43-37 | 9 |
| 8. | Nets** | 42-38 | 10 |
| 9. | Hawks** | 42-38 | 10 |
| 10. | Hornets** | 40-39 | 11.5 |
| — | |||
| — | |||
*clinched NBA Playoff berth
**clinched NBA Play-In berth
Eliminated from NBA Playoff contention: Knicks, Magic, Pacers, Pistons, Wizards
NBA standings 2022: Western Conference
(Current through April 6 games)
| Seed | Team | Record | Games back |
| 1. | Suns* | 63-17 | — |
| 2. | Grizzlies* | 55-24 | 7.5 |
| 3. | Warriors* | 50-29 | 12.5 |
| 4. | Mavericks* | 50-30 | 13 |
| 5. | Jazz* | 48-32 | 15 |
| 6. | Nuggets | 47-33 | 16 |
| 7. | Timberwolves | 45-35 | 18 |
| 8. | Clippers** | 40-40 | 23 |
| 9. | Pelicans** | 35-44 | 27.5 |
| 10. | Spurs** | 34-45 | 28.5 |
| — | |||
| — | |||
*clinched NBA Playoff berth
**clinched NBA Play-In berth
Eliminated from NBA Playoff contention: Kings, Lakers, Rockets, Thunder, Trail Blazers
NBA Play-In Tournament matchups 2022
Here’s what the NBA Play-In Tournament matchups would be if the regular season ended today:
Eastern Conference
(7) Cavaliers vs. (8) Nets
(9) Hawks vs. (10) Hornets
Western Conference
(7) Timberwolves vs. (8) Clippers
(9) Pelicans vs. (10) Spurs
NBA tiebreaker rules
Head-to-head record is the first tiebreaker. If teams split the season series, the next tiebreaker is higher winning percentage within the division if teams share a division. If they do not share a division, the tiebreaker is winning percentage in conference games.
How does the NBA Play-In Tournament work?
- The NBA Play-In Tournament will be held after the conclusion of the 2021-22 regular season and before the start of the first round of the 2022 NBA Playoffs. The teams that finish Nos. 1-6 in the standings of each conference will be guaranteed playoff spots. Teams Nos. 7-10 will enter the Play-In Tournament.
- Each conference’s Nos. 7 and 8 teams will face off, with the winner earning the No. 7 seed in the playoffs. The loser will still have one more opportunity to reach the playoffs.
- Each conference’s Nos. 9 and 10 teams will face off, with the winner advancing to play the loser of the No. 7-vs.-No. 8 game. The loser of the No. 9-vs.-No. 10 game will be eliminated from playoff contention.
- The loser of the No. 7-vs.-No. 8 game and the winner of the No. 9-vs.-No. 10 game will then play against each other. The winner of that game will be the No. 8 seed in the playoffs. The loser will be eliminated from playoff contention.
- Beyond the Play-In Tournament, the 2022 NBA Playoffs will follow the typical format, with full best-of-seven series all the way through the NBA Finals.
When does the NBA Play-In Tournament start?
- Play-In Tournament: April 12-15
- NBA Playoffs: April 16
The 2021-22 NBA regular season will end on Sunday, April 10. The 2022 NBA Play-In Tournament will begin on Tuesday, April 12. The first round of the 2022 NBA Playoffs will start four days later on Saturday, April 16.
NBA schedule 2022
April 7
| Game | Time (ET) | National TV |
| Magic vs. Hornets | 7 p.m. | — |
| 76ers vs. Raptors | 7:30 p.m. | — |
| Celtics vs. Bucks | 7:30 p.m. | TNT |
| Spurs vs. Timberwolves | 8 p.m. | — |
| Trail Blazers vs. Pelicans | 8 p.m. | — |
| Grizzlies vs. Nuggets | 9 p.m. | — |
| Lakers vs. Warriors | 10 p.m. | TNT |
April 8
| Game | Time (ET) | National TV |
| Bucks vs. Pistons | 7 p.m. | — |
| Knicks vs. Wizards | 7 p.m. | NBA TV |
| Cavaliers vs. Nets | 7:30 p.m. | — |
| Rockets vs. Raptors | 7:30 p.m. | — |
| Hawks vs. Heat | 8 p.m. | — |
| Hornets vs. Bulls | 8 p.m. | — |
| Trail Blazers vs. Mavericks | 8:30 p.m. | — |
| Suns vs. Jazz | 9:30 p.m. | NBA TV |
| Thunder vs. Lakers | 10:30 p.m. | — |
April 9
| Game | Time (ET) | National TV |
| Pacers vs. 76ers | 1 p.m. | — |
| Pelicans vs. Grizzlies | 6 p.m. | NBA TV |
| Warriors vs. Spurs | 8:30 p.m. | NBA TV |
| Kings vs. Clippers | 9:30 p.m. | — |
April 10
| Game | Time (ET) | National TV |
| Pacers vs. Nets | 3:30 p.m. | — |
| Wizards vs. Hornets | 3:30 p.m. | — |
| Bucks vs. Cavaliers | 3:30 p.m. | — |
| Hawks vs. Rockets | 3:30 p.m. | — |
| Celtics vs. Grizzlies | 7 p.m. | — |
| Raptors vs. Knicks | 7 p.m. | — |
| Heat vs. Magic | 7 p.m. | — |
| Pistons vs. 76ers | 7 p.m. | — |
| Bulls vs. Timberwolves | 8:30 p.m. | — |
| Spurs vs. Mavericks | 9:30 p.m. | — |
| Lakers vs. Nuggets | 9:30 p.m. | — |
| Thunder vs. Clippers | 9:30 p.m. | — |
| Warriors vs. Pelicans | 9:30 p.m. | — |
| Kings vs. Suns | 9:30 p.m. | — |
| Jazz vs. Trail Blazers | 9:30 p.m. | — |