NBA Reveals Initial Schedules For Opening Playoff Rounds

The NBA has officially announced the schedules for the play-in round and the Game 1 slate of the 2026 NBA Playoffs.

This week will feature three days of two matchups, one from each conference, to determine the 7-8 seeds. The Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat will kick things off Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. EST, with the Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns following up at 10 p.m. EST.

The winners of the 7-vs-8 games will earn the 7-seed, while the losers will take on the winners of the 9-vs-10 games. The 9-vs-10 losers will be eliminated. Because of these machinations, the No. 1 seeds in each conference could face any of the four play-in teams, while the No. 2 seeds will simply await the winner of the 7-vs-8 games.

Here's the full play-in schedule, as listed at NBA.com:

Tuesday, April 14

East: Heat (10) vs. Hornets (9), 7:30 p.m. ET (Loser eliminated)
West: Trail Blazers (8) vs. Suns (7), 10 p.m. ET (Winner earns 7 seed)

Wednesday, April 15

East: Magic (8) vs. 76ers (7), 7:30 p.m. ET (Winner earns 7 seed)
West: Warriors (10) vs. Clippers (9), 10 p.m. ET (Loser eliminated)

Friday, April 17

East: 7/8 loser vs. 9/10 winner, 7:30 p.m. ET (Winner earns 8 seed)
West: 7/8 loser vs. 9/10 winner, 10 p.m. ET (Winner earns 8 seed)

The NBA has also announced the Game 1 schedules for the first round, as the top-2 seeds in each conference await the play-in results, while the 3-vs-6 and 4-vs-5 matchups have been determined. The Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors will officially launch the conference quarterfinals on Saturday at 1 p.m. EST on Prime Video.

Here's a quick rundown of the first-round matchups and their Game 1 schedules:

Saturday, April 18

1 p.m. EST: (4) Toronto Raptors vs (5) Cleveland Cavaliers
3:30 p.m. EST: (6) Minnesota Timberwolves vs (3) Denver Nuggets
6 p.m. EST: (6) Atlanta Hawks vs (3) New York Knicks
8:30 p.m. EST: (5) Houston Rockets vs (4) Los Angeles Lakers

Sunday, April 19

1 p.m. EST: (7) 76ers/Magic vs (2) Boston Celtics
3:30 p.m. EST: (8) Trail Blazers/Suns/Warriors/Clippers vs (1) Oklahoma City Thunder
6:30 p.m. EST: (8) 76ers/Magic/Hornets/Heat vs (1) Detroit Pistons
9 p.m. EST: (7) Trail Blazers/Suns vs (2) San Antonio Spurs

It's certainly going to be quite a busy weekend for hoopheads -- and those that want to place some bets.