Is NBA Play-In Tournament best of 1 game? Teams participating & format explained

The NBA Play-In Tournament was one of the many new things the league has implemented in recent years. With this format, more teams are able to battle it out for postseason position while also adding value to regular season games.

Under these new rules, the top six teams in each conference are guaranteed spots in the postseaons. Teams 7-10 battle it out in the play-in to decide to final two seeds.

The NBA Play-In Tournament consists of three one-off games. First, seventh and eighth placed teams face off, while ninth faces 10th. The winner of the 7/8 matchup gets the seventh seed, while the loser of 7/8 plays the winner of the 9/10 game. Whichever team comes away victorious in that matchup slots in as the eighth seed.

Teams get minimal time to prepare for the play-in, as it begins just days after the regular season ends.

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What teams are competing in the NBA Play-In Tournament this year?

In the Western Conference, the four teams in the NBA Play-In Tournament are the LA Lakers, New Orleans Pelicans, Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings. They will all be in action Tuesday night, hoping to secure a spot in the postseason.

The Lakers host the Pelicans to decide who gets the No. 7 seed. Finishing in this spot would mean taking on the Denver Nuggets in the first round. The loser will get another opportunity to play the winner of Warriors or Kings. Winning this matchup would mean taking on the first-place OKC Thunder in round one.

Moving over to the other side of the NBA Play-In Tournament, the four teams are the Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls and the Atlanta Hawks. Philly takes on Miami, while Chicago and Atlanta will do battle.

Finishing in seventh place in the East would result in a first-round matchup with Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks. Landing in eighth will create a much more daunting task, as it means having to face the Boston Celtics to start the playoffs.

With all four Western Conference teams playing on Tuesday, the East matchups are slated for Wednesday night. After that, the final two games will be played on Friday night.

Due to the quality of teams on both sides, the play-in tournament should produce some exciting matchups. Who can forget that just last year the Heat began their eventual finals run at this same point.