The final sprint of the NBA regular season is now underway.
As of Monday, just 111 games remain on the schedule, meaning 91% of the regular season has been completed. The field for postseason play has largely been determined: Milwaukee, Chicago, Washington, Brooklyn and Indiana have been knocked out of Eastern Conference contention, while Memphis, New Orleans, Dallas, Utah and Sacramento won’t be participating from the Western Conference.
This leaves 20 franchises using the remaining two weeks primarily to jockey for better playoff seeding.
Detroit, Boston, Oklahoma City and San Antonio have already locked up playoff berths, with New York, Cleveland, the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver appearing mathematically certain to join them soon. Houston and Minnesota are also close to securing their spots.
Portland and Golden State have guaranteed themselves play-in tournament positions.
Several key matchups highlight Monday’s slate:
Philadelphia visits Miami in a game where the victor claims the season series tiebreaker. The contest may mark Kyle Lowry’s final appearance as a player in Miami, where he previously starred. The Heat are coming off a disappointing defeat in Indiana on Sunday.
Boston travels to Atlanta for a rematch after defeating the Hawks by seven points on Friday. The Celtics have already reached 50 victories, while Atlanta has won 12 consecutive home games and 15 of their last 17 overall.
Phoenix faces Memphis in a crucial game for the Suns, who need victories to avoid the play-in tournament’s uncertainty.
Chicago meets San Antonio, where the Spurs have compiled an impressive 24-2 record since February 1st while pursuing the top overall seed.
Minnesota visits Dallas seeking to complete a 4-0 season sweep, having won the first three encounters by double-digit margins.
Other notable games include Cleveland at Utah, Detroit at Oklahoma City in a potential No. 1 seed showdown, Washington at the Lakers, and several matchups with play-in implications.
NBC Sports Network and Peacock will broadcast Philadelphia-Miami and Detroit-Oklahoma City on Monday, with Chicago-San Antonio also streaming on Peacock. Tuesday’s NBC and Peacock games feature New York-Houston and Portland-LA Clippers.
According to BetMGM Sportsbook, Oklahoma City leads championship odds at +140, followed by San Antonio (+550), Boston (+600), Cleveland (+900), Denver (+1100) and New York (+1500). Detroit, despite heading toward the East’s top seed, sits at +2500.
The remaining schedule includes all 30 teams playing their 81st games on April 10th and season finales on April 12th. The play-in tournament runs April 14, 15 and 17, with playoff series beginning April 18-19.
Conference semifinals start May 2-4, followed by the draft lottery and combine on May 10-17. Eastern Conference finals begin May 17 or 19 on ESPN and ABC, while Western Conference finals start May 18 or 20 on NBC and Peacock. The NBA Finals tip off June 3rd on ABC.
This season has featured exceptional scoring margins, with 81 games decided by 30 or more points after Sunday’s action, breaking last year’s record of 80 such contests.
Toronto’s 139-87 victory over Orlando on Sunday exemplified these blowouts, marking the second-largest win in Raptors history and biggest loss in Magic franchise history. The game included a remarkable 31-0 Toronto run spanning just 7½ minutes, during which Orlando missed all eight shots and committed 11 turnovers.
