This season the NBA has added in a highly anticipated play-in format. Much like college basketball has shifted to a play-in type of format, the NBA is doing the same. This year the NBA has expanded their playoff field to include the teams that finish 7th through 10th in the winning percentage in their conference.
With the new format allowing for more teams to potentially make the playoffs, it also adds in some excitement for the fans. In the new format the teams that finish 7th and 8th will face each other at the 7th ranked teams home court. The winner of this game automatically moves into the playoffs as the 7th seed. With the loser moving on to play another game.
Now, the teams that are ranked 9th and 10th will play each other at the home court of the 9th ranked team. The loser of this game is eliminated from contention. The winner will move on to face the loser of the game for the 7th and 8th ranked team. With the winner of the game between these last two teams moving on to become the 8th seed in the division.
All of this excitement is slated to start on April 12th, 2 days after the regular season concludes. The ending date of the play-in tournament is going to take place on April 15th. After the end of the play-in tournament the regular playoffs will start in the regular format starting on April 16th.