Below is a comprehensive snapshot of where things stand in the Eastern Conference playoff and play-in races entering play on Monday. This post will update daily throughout the remainder of the regular season or until all seeds are clinched.
Reminder on how the play-in tournament works: No. 7 plays No. 8 and No. 9 plays No. 10. The winner of the 7-8 game gets the No. 7 seed, while the loser plays the winner of the 9-10 game for the No. 8 seed.
NOTE: Our SportsLine model, developed by predictive data engineer Stephen Oh, simulates the entire season 10,000 times to produce the most unbiased and precise projections imaginable.
- Clinched top-four seed
- Projected seed: 1
- Current first-round matchup: TBD
- Tiebreaker vs. Boston: Tied 1-1 with one to play
- Tiebreaker vs. Philadelphia: Sixers lead 2-1 with one to play
- Clinched top-four seed
- Projected seed: 2
- Current first-round matchup: vs. Heat-Hawks play-in winner
- Tiebreaker vs. Milwaukee: Tied 1-1 with one to play
- Tiebreaker vs. Philadelphia: Celtics clinched
- Tiebreaker vs. Cleveland: Cavs clinched
- Clinched playoff spot
- Projected seed: 3
- Current first-round matchup: vs. Nets
- Tiebreaker vs. Milwaukee: Tied 1-1 with one to play
- Tiebreaker vs. Boston: Celtics clinched
- Tiebreaker vs. Cleveland: Sixers clinched
- Clinched playoff spot
- Projected seed: 4
- Current first-round matchup: vs. Knicks
- Tiebreaker vs. Boston: Cavs clinched
- Tiebreaker vs. Philadelphia: Sixers clinched
- Tiebreaker vs. New York: Knicks lead 2-1 with one to play
- Tiebreaker vs. Brooklyn: Tied 1-1 with one to play
5. New York Knicks (42-33)
- Projected seed: 5
- Current first-round matchup: at Cavs
- Tiebreaker vs. Cleveland: Knicks lead 2-1 with one to play
- Tiebreaker vs. Brooklyn: Knicks currently own via division win percentage
- Tiebreaker vs. Miami: Knicks lead 2-1 with one to play
6. Brooklyn Nets (40-35)
- Projected seed: 6
- Current first-round matchup: at 76ers
- Tiebreaker vs. Cleveland: Tied 1-1 with one to play
- Tiebreaker vs. New York: Knicks currently own via division win percentage
- Tiebreaker vs. Miami: Nets clinched
- Tiebreaker vs. Atlanta: Nets lead 2-1 with one to play
PLAY-IN TOURNAMENT
7. Miami Heat (40-35)
- Projected seed: 7
- Current first-round matchup: vs. Hawks (play-in)
- Tiebreaker vs. New York: Knicks lead 2-1 with one to play
- Tiebreaker vs. Brooklyn: Nets clinched
- Tiebreaker vs. Atlanta: Heat clinched
- Tiebreaker vs. Toronto: Raptors lead 2-1 with one to play
- Tiebreaker vs. Washington: Heat leads 2-1 with one to play
8. Atlanta Hawks (37-38)
- Projected seed: 8
- Current first-round matchup: at Heat (play-in)
- Tiebreaker vs. Brooklyn: Nets lead 2-1 with one to play
- Tiebreaker vs. Miami: Heat clinched
- Tiebreaker vs. Toronto: Hawks clinched
- Tiebreaker vs. Washington: Hawks leads 2-1 with one to play
- Tiebreaker vs. Chicago: Bulls lead 2-1 with one to play
9. Toronto Raptors (37-38)
- Projected seed: 9
- Current first-round matchup: vs. Bulls (play-in)
- Tiebreaker vs. Miami: Raptors lead 2-1 with one to play
- Tiebreaker vs. Atlanta: Hawks clinched
- Tiebreaker vs. Washington: Tied 1-1 with one to play
- Tiebreaker vs. Indiana: Pacers clinched
- Tiebreaker vs. Chicago: Raptors clinched
10. Chicago Bulls (36-38)
- Projected seed: 10
- Current first-round matchup: at Raptors (play-in)
- Tiebreaker vs. Toronto: Raptors clinched
- Tiebreaker vs. Washington: Bulls currently own via conference win percentage
- Tiebreaker vs. Indiana: Pacers clinched
OUTSIDE LOOKING IN
13. Indiana Pacers (33-42)
- Projected seed: Lottery
- Tiebreaker vs. Toronto: Pacers clinched
- Tiebreaker vs. Washington: Pacers currently own via conference win percentage
- Tiebreaker vs. Chicago: Pacers clinched
- Projected seed: Lottery
- Tiebreaker vs. Toronto: Tied 1-1 with one to play
- Tiebreaker vs. Indiana: Pacers currently own via conference win percentage
- Tiebreaker vs. Chicago: Bulls currently own via conference win percentage
