When do the 2022 NBA Playoffs start? originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Playoff basketball is right around the corner.
The NBA is entering the final weekend of the 2021-22 regular season. All 30 teams only have a game or two remaining on their schedules, and the entire league will be in action on Sunday to bring a close to the 82-game slate. The 12 playoff berths and eight play-in spots have all been secured, but several teams are still jockeying for position in the standings.
Once the regular-season action wraps up, the postseason will get underway just a couple of days later.
Here’s what you need to know about the schedule for the 2022 NBA Playoffs:
When is the 2022 NBA Play-In Tournament?
The 12 playoff teams will have a bit of an extended break before they take the court again due to the Play-In Tournament. The Play-In Tournament will run from April 12-15 to decide the Nos. 7 and 8 playoff seeds in each conference.
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First, the seventh- and eighth-place teams will battle it out for the No. 7 seed, while the ninth- and 10th-place teams will face each other for the chance to play for the No. 8 seeds. Then, the loser of the 7-8 matchup will face the winner of the 9-10 matchup with the eighth seed on the line.
The showdown between the Western Conference’s seventh-place Minnesota Timberwolves and eighth-place Los Angeles Clippers is set for April 12 at 6:30 pm PT. Meanwhile, the West’s 9-10 matchup will feature the New Orleans Pelicans and San Antonio Spurs on April 13 at 6:30 pm New Orleans needs one win or one Spurs loss this weekend to secure home court against San Antonio.
The play-in picture over in the East isn’t nearly as clear yet. The Cleveland Cavaliers hold a one-game lead over the Brooklyn Nets and Atlanta Hawks for the seventh seed, and the Charlotte Hornets are just a game back of Brooklyn and Atlanta. The East’s 7-8 game will be played on April 12 (tipoff time TBD) followed by the 9-10 game on April 13 at 4 pm
When do the 2022 NBA Playoffs start?
The first round of the playoffs will start on April 16, the day after the play-in ends. All playoff series are best of seven and follow a 2-2-1-1-1 format where the higher seed has home court first.
The six playoff teams in the East so far are the Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto Raptors and Chicago Bulls. In the West, the Phoenix Suns, Memphis Grizzlies, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets have clinched playoff berths.
The conference semifinals are scheduled to begin on May 2-3, with the possibility of being moved up to April 30-May 1 if first-round series end early.
The conference finals are set to get underway May 17-18, with the possibility of being moved up to May 15-16.
When do the 2022 NBA Finals start?
The Eastern and Western Conference champions will meet in Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals on June 2. Here’s a full look at the Finals schedule:
- Game 1: June 2
- Game 2: June 5
- Game 3: June 8
- Game 4: June 10
- Game 5 (if necessary): June 13
- Game 6 (if necessary): June 16
- Game 7 (if necessary): June 19
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