Clinched play in position NBA means securing a spot between 7th and 10th place in their conference. Winners from these games move to the Playoffs.
Eight teams, four from each conference, will compete in the Play-In Tournament will feature four teams from each conference, specifically those with the seventh through tenth best records in terms of winning percentage.
The mini-three games competitions, introduced in the 2020-21 season, will occupy the 7th and 8th seed of the first playoff round in the NBA.
The 2022-23 season saw four teams, Miami Heat, Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors, and Chicago Bulls, from the Eastern Conference, compete in the NBA play-in tournament.
Meanwhile, the Western Conference teams are LeBron James inspired Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, and Oklahoma City Thunder.
To earn a coveted spot in the playoffs, teams ranked seventh and eighth in each conference based on their winning percentage will be given two opportunities, whereas the teams ranked ninth and tenth will have to win two games.
What Is Clinched Play In Position In NBA?
Clinched Play In Position means a team has secured one of the four available spots. They must finish the regular season anywhere from 7th to 10th place in their conference.
The tournament was introduced in the 2020-21 season as a modified way to determine the final playoff spots in each conference. It includes the teams that finish between 7th and 10th place in each conference and is guaranteed to participate in the tournament.
According to The Sporting News, The NBA Play In tournament work in a way that the 7th placed club will play against the 8th, and the winner will advance to the playoffs as the 7th seed.
The loser of the game will still have a chance to make the playoffs, but they will have to play against the winner of the match between the 9th and 10th seeds for the final playoff spot.
Since this new format was implemented in the league only in 2021, the competition has only been held two times, with an exception for the 2022-23 season, which is yet to be played.
Only during the 2020 season was the original play-in game format employed, pitting the teams finishing in 8th and 9th in each conference against each other for the last playoff seed.
The Grizzlies won against the Trail Blazers and advanced to the playoffs as the 8th seed.
Similarly, in 2021, the Page–McIntyre system came to light, which is what the current Play-In tournament is based on. Lakers and Memphis grabbed the respective 7th and 8th seeds of the NBA playoffs from the West. Likewise, Boston and Washington secured the playoff spots from the East.
Then in 2022, Minnesota and New Orleans won the 7th and 8th seeds of the playoffs from the West, whereas Brooklyn and Atlanta won their respective Play In games to secure Playoff spots from Eastern Conference.
Play In Tournament 2023
April 11- Game 1: Miami Heat vs Atlanta Hawks
April 11- Game 2: Los Angeles Lakers vs Minnesota Timberwolves
The competition kicks in on April 11 between the Heat and Hawks. Miami, who finished in the 7th position in the Eastern Conference, will face the 8th-positioned Hawks.
In the second game, the Lakers, who secured their 43rd win of the season in the final league game against Utah Jazz, will face off against Timberwolves, who are 8th in the Western Conference.
The winners of both ties will directly go to the playoffs as the 7th seeder and will play against each other. In contrast, the losers will again have one chance to prove themselves as they will compete against the winner of the 9th and 10th seeds.
April 12- Game 3: Toronto Raptors vs Chicago Bulls
April 12- Game 4: New Orleans Pelicans vs Oklahoma City Thunder
The 9th-ranked teams' the Raptors and Pelicans, will go head to head against their respective conference's 10th-placed clubs, the Bulls and Thunder.
The winning teams from Game 3 and Game 4 will take on the losers of Game 1 and Game 2, and the final winner of the subsequent match will clinch the highly sought-after eighth and final seed for the NBA Playoffs.
Clinched Conference Meaning In Eastern and Western
Clinched conference meaning in eastern and western is to secure a top spot in their respective conference.
This achievement ensures that the team will finish the regular season with the best record in their conference, thereby earning them the number one seed in the playoffs.
Clinching a conference usually happens towards the end of the regular season when it is mathematically impossible for any other team in the conference to finish with a better record.
Looking at the 2022-23 season, the Bucks led by Giannis and Brook Lopez finished at the pinnacle of the Eastern Conference with 58 wins and 24 losses and clinched the conference.
Boston Celtics with Tatum and Jaylen Brown finished second in the conference.
Likewise, Nuggets and completed the season with 53 wins and 29 losses, scoring the first position in the Western Conference and thus winning the conference.
Clinching a conference has several honors for a team, the most significant being home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.
Playing at home means the team gets to enjoy the support of their fans, familiar surroundings and facilities, and the psychological edge of being on familiar turf.
However, it's important to note that clinching a conference does not guarantee the team an NBA championship. Although it is a significant achievement, it only guarantees the team the top seed in their conference and a clear path to the NBA Finals.
On the contrary, clinching a division means a team with the most wins in their respective division. The top team from each of the three divisions automatically qualifies for the playoffs.
This implies that a franchise can make it to the playoffs by winning their division, even if they have fewer wins overall than teams from other divisions.
Conference Finals
Preceding the NBA Finals, two squads from their respective conferences that have advanced from the postseason will square off in the Conference Finals.
And the winner will be declared the Conference champion. Beginning with the 2000-01 season, the NBA implemented a practice of presenting a trophy to the winners of each conference. While they carry substantial importance, neither trophy was formally bestowed with a specific name.
In 2022, they were altered, and names were given for the two conference titles. The Eastern Conference was named the Bob Cousy Trophy, while the Western Conference was named after, The Big "O," Oscar Robertson.
In the NBA, the Los Angeles Lakers have achieved the highest number of conference titles with 19 and have also participated in the Conference Finals 23 times, which is the most by any team.
The Boston Celtics who clinched the title in 2021-22 season with MVP Jayson Tatum follow the Lakers with 10 conference titles. Almost all active franchises, 22 out of 30, have won at least one conference title.
Even though some teams like the Nuggets, Timberwolves, Hawks, Kings, Grizzlies, and Clippers have made it to the Conference Finals, they have not yet won the conference title.
Lastly, two franchises, the Charlotte Hornets and New Orleans Pelicans, have never been able to make it to the Conference Finals.
NBA Playoffs Picture In 2023
The NBA Playoffs picture for 2023 is still in flux, as four spots are still up for grabs. It is set to start on April 15, 2023, and will end with the NBA final.
The playoffs feature the top 16 teams in the league, with eight teams from each conference competing for the championship. These teams are seeded based on their regular-season performance, and each playoff series is a best-of-seven format.
The top six teams from each conference will book a playoff seat directly, whereas those from the 7th to 10th positions will enter a "double-chance" tournament.
The 2023 playoffs slots are almost locked, with only four teams left to make it a complete picture. The 7th and 8th seeds of the Eastern and Western Conference are yet to be filled and will be determined by the Play-In tournament, commencing on April 11, 2023.
The Milwaukee Bucks and the Denver Nuggets finished in the 1st rank in their respective conferences, and thus, they sit at the top of the chart and will play against the 8th seeder team from their conferences.
The Phoenix Suns, who finished fourth, will face off against the Clippers, who were 5th in the West. The same goes for the 4th and 5th place finishers in the East, Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks, who will face each other.
On the other hand, the third-place finisher will compete against the team in the 6th place of their conference. In the Western Conference, the Philadelphia 76ers, 3rd, will have to beat Brooklyn Nets to advance to the next round.
Likewise, in the Eastern Conference, the Sacramento Kings, 3rd, will take on Golden State Warriors, 5th.
For the final game of the first playoff round of the 2022-23 season, second-placed Memphis Grizzlies will clash against the winner of the first play in tournaments games of the Western Conference, which is either Lakers or Timberwolves.
Similarly, the 17-time NBA champion, the Boston Celtics, 2nd in Eastern Conference, will confront the victor of the Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks.
The 16 teams in the first-round playoffs will converge into eight teams for the conference semifinals which will again be played in the best-of-seven layout, which means the team to win the first four games win the ties and advances into the final four or the Conference Finals.
And at last, the champions of their respective conference, the East and West, will clash in the ultimate showdown, coined as the NBA finals in June 2023.
The winner will be crowned the season's NBA champion and handed a coveted Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy. 11 out of 30 NBA franchises have never won the championship title.
