The Oklahoma City Thunder’s remarkable rise after years in the doldrums continues as they secure the No. 1 seed in the West. The LA Lakers were on the move as well as they pushed up to the No. 8 seed to get a better shot at reaching the play-offs. The final games of the NBA’s regular season have been completed and there was good news for the LA Lakers as they jumped to the No. 8 seed on the final day.
The Lakers beat the New Orleans Pelicans 124-108 to secure the eighth seed, now meaning that they will face the Pelicans again in their play-in series.
LeBron James and co. will be feeling confident of reaching the play-offs given they outscored the Pelicans by 57 points this season. However should they win and go into the play-offs as the seventh seed then they will face the Denver Nuggets, the defending NBA champions, in their first-round clash.
The other play-in game in the West will see the Sacramento Kings take on the Golden State Warriors, with the winner facing the loser of the Lakers-Pelicans clash.
The winner of that game will go in as the eighth seed and play the top seed, the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round. The Thunder hammered the Dallas Mavericks, 135-86 in their final game to secure the top seed.
Elsewhere in the West, the Phoenix Suns jumped to sixth with a 125-106 win over the Timberwolves and they will face that same opponent in the first round. In the fourth v fifth clash the Mavericks will once again meet the LA Clippers.
In the East play-in series, the Philadelphia 76ers will face off against the Miami Heat in an early blockbuster clash, with the winner of that round to face the New York Knicks. The Knicks snatched the No. 2 seed with a dramatic late 120-119 win over the Chicago Bulls in their game.
The loser of the 76ers-Heat series will play the winner of the Chicago Bulls and the Atlanta Hawks series, with that winner taking on the NBA team with the best regular season record, the Boston Celtics.
The 6 v 3 match-up in the East sees the Milwaukee Bucks take on the Indiana Pacers and in the 4 v 5 series the Cleveland Cavaliers will face the Orlando Magic.
The play-in series will begin on April 16 and run through to April 19. You can watch it all live on TNT Sports and discovery+.