The 2024-25 NBA regular season is ending, and the playoffs are finally here and ready to get underway. The play-in tournament was officially adopted in 2022, allowing lower-seed teams like the Miami Heat (10th seed) or the Sacramento Kings (9th seed) to jump up to either the 8th or 7th seeds.
For a lower-seeded team to rise in the rankings, they would have to beat the 8th or 7th seed in their conference. For example, in the Western Conference, the 9th-seeded Kings play the 10th-seeded Mavericks.
The winner of that game would then play the winner of the 7th-seeded Warriors and the 8th-seeded Grizzlies. Finally, the winner of that game would be the 7th seed, while both of the losing teams would play for the 8th seed.
The play-in tournament is an exciting addition to the playoffs, helping teams get another chance at a playoff berth in hopes of winning a championship. Higher-seeded teams are usually against the playoff tournament because they believe they battled to get the 7th and 8th seeds already, and now have a chance to get eliminated.
The 1st through 6th seeds are safe from the play-in and have secured a playoff berth. Going over the matchups in the Eastern Conference, the 1st-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers will be facing either the Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls, Orlando Magic, or Miami Heat.
The 2nd-seeded Boston Celtics, coming off a championship, are looking to go back-to-back and cement themselves as a true dynasty. They would have to face one of the four teams in the play-in tournament listed above.
The 3rd-seeded New York Knicks are set to play the 6th-seeded Detroit Pistons, which should be a tough a gritty series. These teams have faced each other in the playoffs years ago, and now they are going at it once more.
This will be Detroit’s first playoff berth since the 2018-19 NBA season, when they were eliminated by the Bucks. Detroit basketball now has a chance to give their city a playoff series win.
To round out the Eastern Conference, it will be the 4th-seeded Indianapolis Pacers playing the 5th-seeded Milwaukee Bucks. Another classic Eastern Conference battle dating back to the 80’s-90’s era of basketball.
The East has some very talented players and well-built teams, but the standings show the Western Conference is the more competitive conference, with the 2nd and 8th-seeded teams all being within two games of passing each other in the standings.
The lone Oklahoma City Thunder with a remarkable 68 wins with only 14 losses. Making them the best team in the league, record-wise. Along with 2nd-seeded Rockets They will be tasked to face off against one of four play-in teams being the Golden State Warriors, Memphis Grizzilies, Sacramento Kings, or the Dallas Mavericks.
The 3rd seeded Los Angeles Lakers will be hosting the 6th-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves. The young phenom in Anthony Edwards gets his shot at knocking off NBA royalty in Lebron James. The Timberwolves are only one game behind in the standings. This should be a good series.
To round off this year’s NBA playoffs first-round matchups, it will be the 4th-seeded Denver Nuggets facing the 5th-seeded Los Angeles Clippers.
