The current state of the NBA playoff field is the Eastern Conference bracket is fully decided, while the Western Conference is about as set as a bowl of incompetently prepared Jell-O.
The NBA played its penultimate slate of games on Friday before its finale on Sunday, and the first wave of games locked in the East's first-round matchups. The Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics will face play-in teams, while the other series will be the New York Knicks against the Detroit Pistons and the Indiana Pacers against the Milwaukee Bucks.
The first batch of play-in games will be the Orlando Magic against the Atlanta Hawks and the Chicago Bulls against the Miami Heat. The winner of the first game will face the Celtics, while its loser will face the winner of Bulls-Heat for a series against the Cavaliers.
The Bucks, still playing without Damian Lillard, locked in the fifth seed with a 125-119 win over the Detroit Pistons on Friday, behind 32 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds from Giannis Antetokounmpo.
GIANNIS GOES OFF, BUCKS CLINCH 5 SEED 🙌
— NBA (@NBA) April 12, 2025
32 PTS | 11 REB | 15 AST
His 4th triple-double in the last 5 games 🤯 pic.twitter.com/p6m75GAlTU
The Bulls also ensured they would host a play-in game with a 119-89 beatdown of the Washington Wizards.
NBA Eastern Conference playoff first round series
1. Cleveland Cavaliers (64-17) vs. play-in team
2. Boston Celtics (60-21) vs. play-in team
3. New York Knicks (50-31) vs. 6. Detroit Pistons (44-37)
4. Indiana Pacers (49-32) vs. 5. Milwaukee Bucks (47-34)
Play-ins: No. 7 Orlando Magic (41-40) vs. No. 8 Atlanta Hawks (39-42), No. 9 Chicago Bulls (38-43) vs. No. 10 Miami Heat (36-44)
The play-in games will take place between next Tuesday and Friday, with the first round beginning a day later.
