NBA regular season ends with some playoff matchups determined

The 2023-24 National Basketball Association regular season came to a conclusion on Sunday. We now know the six teams in each conference that have qualified directly to the playoffs and the four teams from each conference that are playing in the play-in tournament. The 20 NBA playoff teams were confirmed on April 7.

What we know in the East is the fact that the Boston Celtics are the first seed and the New York Knicks are the second seed. Jayson Tatum of St. Louis, Missouri led the Celtics this season with 26.9 points per game, and the Celtics had the best record in the NBA at 64 wins and 18 losses. The Celtics clinched home court advantage on April 3. The fact that the Knicks are the second seed at 50 wind and 32 losses, and won five straight games heading into the postseason without All-Star Julius Randle is a definite surprise.

The Eastern Conference matchups we know are the Milwaukee Bucks versus the Indiana Pacers and the Cleveland Cavaliers versus the Orlando Magic. The play-in games have the Philadelphia 76ers versus the Miami Heat in the 7-8 game and the Chicago Bulls versus the Atlanta Hawks in the 9-10 game.

The top two seeds in the Western Conference are the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets. We also know the Phoenix Suns will face the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Los Angeles Clippers will face the Dallas Mavericks in the opening round. Meanwhile, the play-in tournament has the New Orleans Pelicans facing the Los Angeles Lakers in the 7-8 game and the Sacramento Kings playing the Golden State Warriors in the 9-10 game. The Lakers are in the 7-8 game after beating the New Orleans Pelicans 124-108 on Sunday.