How do NBA playoffs work? All you need to know

With the NBA Playoffs right around the corner, there has been plenty of talk about which teams could match up against one another. As a result, some fans have been questioning 'How do the NBA playoffs work?' After all, with the Play-In Tournament, teams seeded 7-10 still have a chance to gain a spot in the postseason.

Let's take a look at how things will play out once the season wraps up. Once the regular season ends, the seventh- and eighth-placed teams from each conference will face each other on April 11th. Seventh-seed teams will have to win just one game in order to punch their ticket to the finals.

The following night on April 12th, the ninth and tenth seeded teams will square off. The losers will be eliminated, while the winners will go on to face the losers of the No. 7 and No. 8 seed games. After a night off on April 13th, the loser of the East's 7/8 game and the winner of the 9/10 game will face off.

Similarly, the loser of the Western Conference's 7/8 game and the winners of the Western Conference's 9/10 game will both face off. Then, and only then, will we formally advance to the NBA Playoffs.

Golden State Warriors v Dallas Mavericks - Game Four

Looking ahead to the NBA playoffs.

Once the Play-In tournament decides the seventh and eighth seeds in the East and West, teams will match up in best-of-seven series. In each conference, the number one seed will face the number eight seed, while the number two seed and the number seven seed will match up.

The number three seed will take on the number six seed, while seeds four and five will face off against each other. In each series, the team with the better regular-season record claims home court, with the first two games taking place on their home court.

The next two games in each seven-game series take place on the other team's court, before games five, six, and seven jump back and forth. In instances where series go to seven games, the team with the better record gets to play game seven on their home court.

After the first two rounds, each conference will crown a champion in the third round in order to determine who advances to the NBA Finals.

NBA Suspends Season After Player Tests Positive For Coronavirus

(Suggested Reading: Fans hilariously react to Chet Holmgren's transformation)

With all of that in mind, let's take a look at the current standings in both conferences

Eastern Conference

Standing	Team	Record	Games behind
1	Milwaukee Bucks	58-22	-
2	Boston Celtics	55-25	3.0
3	Philadelphia 76ers	52-28	6.0
4	Cleveland Cavaliers	51-30	7.5
5	New York Knicks	47-33	11.0
6	Brooklyn Nets	44-36	14.0
7	Miami Heat	43-37	15.0
8	Atlanta Hawks	41-39	17.0
9	Toronto Raptors	40-40	18.0
10	Chicago Bulls	38-42	20.0

Western Conference standings

Standing	Team	Record	Games behind
1	Denver Nuggets	52-28	-
2	Memphis Grizzlies	50-30	2.0
3	Sacramento Kings	48-32	4.0
4	Phoenix Suns	45-35	7.0
5	LA Clippers	42-38	10.0
6	Golden State Warriors	42-38	10.0
7	LA Lakers	41-39	11.0
8	New Orleans Pelicans	41-39	11.0
9	Minnesota Timberwolves	40-40	12.0
10	OKC Thunder	39-42	13.5