Before the regular season ends on April 14, clubs are starting to reserve their postseason positions in anticipation of the 2024 NBA playoffs.
The top six teams in each conference will guarantee a spot in the playoffs, while the top 10 teams in the standings will advance to the play-in round, which takes place from April 16–19. The eight-team field will then be completed by two teams from each conference, with the first round of the playoffs beginning on April 20.
As the journey to the NBA Finals intensifies, get the latest news here before to the playoffs.
Boston became the first team to clinch a postseason spot in 2024. Even if the Celtics were to lose every remaining game in the regular season, they’d be guaranteed at least the No. 6 spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
The Celtics have made the playoffs the previous nine seasons, losing to the Miami Heat in the conference finals last season. The last time they were the top overall seed in the East was after the 2016-17 season, where they lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the conference finals.
Even if Milwaukee were to lose every game they had left in the regular season, they would still have secured a berth in the Eastern Conference play-in round.
For the past seven seasons, the Bucks have qualified for the playoffs. Last year, they had the best seed, but the Miami Heat eliminated them in the first round. They were the first seed in the East in 2022 as well, but they were defeated by the Boston Celtics in the conference finals.