NBA Play-In Tournament: How to Stream, Schedule, and More
The final four playoff spots are up for grabs in the NBA Play-In Tournament. Here's the schedule and how to stream live on Sling TV.
With six Western Conference teams all bunched together between the No. 3 and No. 8-seeds, the final day of the NBA season was a high-stakes game of musical chairs to lock up one of the top six seeds and avoid the NBA Play-In Tournament. When the music stopped, the Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies were left without a seat at the playoff table. They’ll face off at 10pm ET on the opening day of the Play-In Tournament, Tuesday, April 15 on TNT. The other Western Conference Play-In teams are the Dallas Mavericks and Sacramento Kings; they’ll play on Wed. April 16 at 10pm ET on ESPN, with the loser eliminated and the winner facing the loser of the Memphis-Golden State game for the No. 8 seed. That game will take place Friday, April 18 on ESPN.
In the Eastern Conference, the Play-In tournament will look familiar; the Atlanta Hawks will participate for the fourth-straight year when they take on the Orlando Magic for the No. 7 seed on Tuesday, April 15 at 7:30pm ET on TNT. The loser of that game will face either the Chicago Bulls or Miami Heat, who both are competing in their third-straight Play-In tournament in Wednesday’s No. 9-10 game (7:30pm ET, ESPN).
As for the teams waiting to find out who they’ll play when the NBA Playoffs begin on Saturday, April 19, the Oklahoma City Thunder just completed a historic season in which they broke a 53-year-old record for the best scoring differential in NBA history, winning by an average of 12.9 points per game. They’ll play the No. 8 seed in the West, while another young squad – the No. 2 Houston Rockets – will face the No. 7 seed. In the East, the Cleveland Cavaliers nabbed the No. 1 seed with a 64-18 record, while the defending champion Boston Celtics finished second, with a 61-win season.
Here’s a preview of the Play-In games, along with the full schedule of upcoming Play-In and Playoff games, which begin Saturday, April 19. To watch the most NBA games with Sling, use the link below to subscribe to Sling Orange with ESPN and TNT (NBA TV will also be in free preview for all Sling Orange and Blue subscribers from April 19 to May 4).
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NBA Play-In and Playoffs
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NBA Play-In Games for the No. 7 Seed - Tues., April 15
Atlanta Hawks (East 8) at Orlando Magic (East 7) – 7:30pm ET, TNT
Final: Orlando 120 - Atlanta 95
Last year, the No. 5-seeded Orlando Magic pushed No. 4 Cleveland all the way to the brink, putting up a valiant effort before losing the series in Game 7. A win against Atlanta would set up a first round series with the Boston Celtics, a team the betting sharps favor to come out of the East. Will the Magic give their best effort against the Hawks, or would they dare roll the dice on Play-In double jeopardy and try to secure a more favorable matchup against the Cavs as the No. 8 seed?
Memphis Grizzlies (West 8) at Golden State Warriors (West 7) – 10 ET, TNT
Final: Golden State 121 - Memphis 116
In the West, it’s the opposite scenario: A win in the first Play-In game secures a matchup against the inexperienced Houston Rockets, whereas the No. 8 seed will face the NBA’s most dominant team in Oklahoma City. There’s also the matter of rest. Take care of business on Tuesday, and the winner can rest their starters until Game 1 on Sunday. That’s especially important to the Warriors, who are led by veterans Stef Curry, Draymond Green, and Jimmy Butler. After a heartbreaking overtime loss to the Clippers to knock them into the Play-In, expect Golden State to give the sliding Grizzlies their best effort.
NBA Play-In Games No. 9 vs. No. 10 (Loser Eliminated, Winner Plays in the No. 8-seed Game) - Wed., April 16
Miami Heat (East 10) at Chicago Bulls (East 9) – 7:30 ET, ESPN
Final: Miami 109 - Chicago 90
Given what a tumultuous year it's been for both these teams, the fact they’re still playing meaningful games is itself a minor victory. Miami and Chicago both moved on from the face of their franchises at the trade deadline (Jimmy Butler in Miami and Zach LaVine in Chicago), and will look to rebuild next year. The big difference is Miami’s recent playoff success; two years ago, they went from the second Play-In game all the way to the NBA Finals as the No. 8 seed.
Dallas Mavericks (West 10) at Sacramento Kings (West 9) – 10 ET, ESPN
Final: Dallas 120 - Sacramento 106
Speaking of teams that have overperformed after tumultuous seasons, it’s frankly remarkable that a post-Luka Dallas squad is still alive for a playoff spot instead of highly-touted Western Conference teams like Phoenix or New Orleans. They’ll face a Sacramento team in the process of reformulating its identity after shipping De’Arron Fox to San Antonio, acquiring Zach LaVine at the trade deadline, and firing former Coach of the Year Mike Brown in the middle of the season.
No. 8-seed Game (Winner plays No. 1 seeds, Loser Eliminated) - Fri., April 18
Miami Heat at Atlanta Hawks – 7pm ET, TNT
Final: Miami 123 - Atlanta 114 (OT)
Dallas Mavericks at Memphis Grizzlies – 9:30pm ET, ESPN
Final: Memphis 120 - Dallas 106