NBA postseason guide: Schedule, stories, betting odds, how to watch and more
by Tim Reynolds · The Washington TimesThe NBA playoff field will finally be complete on Friday night.
A two-game slate awaits in the NBA, the final two games of the play-in tournament. Charlotte visits Orlando in the Eastern Conference, while Golden State goes to Phoenix in the Western Conference.
The Hornets-Magic winner gets the East’s No. 8 seed and a matchup with Detroit. The Warriors-Suns winner gets the West’s No. 8 seed and a matchup with Oklahoma City.
Doncic, Cunningham award-eligible
The Los Angeles Lakers’ Luka Doncic and Detroit’s Cade Cunningham won appeals to be part of the NBA awards voting this season, after both fell short of the 65-game rule.
Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards’ bid for the same fate fell short, and he won’t be All-NBA this season as a result.
Voters will turn ballots in Friday. The NBA hasn’t said when award announcements, which are typically scattered throughout the postseason, will begin.
Stories of note
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- Playoff preview: Thunder seeking another title
- Victor Wembanyama set for his postseason debut
- Heat, Hornets moving forward after LaMelo play
- Damon Jones expected to change gambling plea
- The banged-up Lakers still have playoff hope
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- Wizards expect Brian Keefe back as their coach
- Heat equipment manager needs organ transplants
- Natalie Sago the 3rd female ref picked for playoffs
- All eyes on Giannis’ future … after Doc steps down
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- The view from Vegas says the West is the best
Friday’s schedule
7:30 p.m. EDT - Charlotte at Orlando (Prime Video)
10 p.m. EDT - Golden State at Phoenix (Prime Video)
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Saturday’s schedule
1 p.m. EDT - Game 1, Toronto at Cleveland (Prime Video)
3:30 p.m. EDT - Game 1, Minnesota at Denver (Prime Video)
6 p.m. - Game 1, Atlanta at New York (Prime Video)
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8:30 p.m. - Game 1, Houston at LA Lakers (ABC)
Sunday’s games
1 p.m. EDT - Game 1, Philadelphia at Boston (ABC)
3:30 p.m. EDT - Game 1, Golden State-Phoenix winner at Oklahoma City (ABC)
6:30 p.m. EDT - Game 1, Charlotte-Orlando winner at Detroit (NBC/Peacock)
9 p.m. EDT - Game 1, Portland at San Antonio (NBC/Peacock)
Bickerstaff wins NBCA award
The National Basketball Coaches Association said Friday that Detroit’s J.B. Bickerstaff won its coach of the year award for this season.
That is not the official, NBA-issued, award. The NBCA award - named for Michael H. Goldberg, the first executive director of the association - is voted on by the other head coaches in the league.
Other coaches who got votes from their peers for this year’s award: Mark Daigneault of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Mitch Johnson of the San Antonio Spurs, Charles Lee of the Charlotte Hornets, Joe Mazzulla of the Boston Celtics, Quin Snyder of the Atlanta Hawks and Tiago Splitter of the Portland Trail Blazers.
“I’m extremely honored to receive this recognition from my coaching peers,” Bickerstaff said.
Said David Fogel, the NBCA’s executive director and general counsel: “Coach Bickerstaff has shown the ultimate dedication to the coaching profession. Not only has he guided the Pistons to one of the best seasons in franchise history, but his coaching peers also elected him as the sixth President in NBCA history.”
Bickerstaff assumed that role from longtime president Rick Carlisle, who stepped down after about two decades.
Betting odds
Defending champion Oklahoma City (+120) is favored to win the NBA title, according to oddsmakers.
The Thunder are followed by San Antonio (+450), Boston (+550), Denver (+1000), Cleveland (+1600) and New York (+2000).
Detroit, the No. 1 seed in the East, is +2000. After that, nobody has better odds than Houston (+6600).
The Los Angeles Lakers were +2500 before Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves got hurt; they’re +20000 now.
Key dates
- Friday: NBA play-in tournament finales.
- Saturday and Sunday: NBA playoff series openers.
- May 2, 3 or 4: Conference semifinals begin.
- May 10: NBA draft lottery.
- May 10-17: NBA draft combine.
- May 17 or 19: Eastern Conference finals begin on ESPN and ABC.
- May 18 or 20: Western Conference finals begin on NBC and Peacock.
- June 3: Game 1, NBA Finals on ABC. (Other finals dates: June 5, June 8, June 10, June 13, June 16 and June 19).
- June 23: Round 1, NBA draft
- June 24: Round 2, NBA draft
Numbers watch
- If Phoenix loses Friday, there will be a record four teams with winning records who don’t make the playoffs (Miami, the LA Clippers, and the Orlando-Charlotte loser will also be in that group.) There were three over-.500 teams that didn’t qualify in both 1971 and 2022.
- If Golden State wins Friday, not only would it knock the Suns out, but it would become the seventh team in the last 30 seasons to get into the playoffs with a 37-45 record or worse. (Miami 2025, New Orleans 2022, Indiana 2011, Atlanta 2008, Boston 2004 and the LA Clippers in 1997 are the others.)
Stat of the day
- Miami’s Tyler Herro became the NBA’s all-time play-in tournament points leader on Tuesday, passing Trae Young. Herro might keep that title for exactly three days. He has 178 points - and Golden State’s Stephen Curry, who also passed Young on Wednesday, only needs nine points against Phoenix on Friday to pass Herro on that list.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba