Playoff and play-in seeding came down to the final day of the regular season, but now the league knows who’s in the playoffs and who’s in the play-in after fans spent days running through tiebreaker scenarios.
Four of the eight playoff series are finalized, and the other four will come after the play-in tournament concludes Friday. First-round series will begin Saturday. Here’s a quick look at those matchups.
No. 3 seed Lakers vs. No. 6 Timberwolves
Quick take: Wolves will have their hands full with LeBron James and Luka Doncic. Wolves have the deeper team, but will the Lakers’ top-end talent carry the day, especially in late-game situations, where the Wolves have struggled?
No. 4 Nuggets vs. No. 5 Clippers
Quick take: Denver stumbled to the finish line and fired its coach in the process, but injuries played a role in those struggles, too. Everybody is back, and they have the best player in basketball in Nikola Jokic. But the Clippers have the perimeter defense and scoring to make Denver’s life tricky, and they were playing their best basketball as the season closed.
No. 7 Warriors vs. No. 8 Grizzlies, 9 p.m. Tuesday, TNT
Quick take: Grizzlies are in a state of confusion, and it’d be stunning if they pull off the upset against the Warriors, who would then face the No. 2 Rockets in an intriguing matchup of youth vs. experience.