The NBA announced the dates for the upcoming NBA Playoffs on Thursday afternoon, confirming what had been expected for weeks now. The league confirmed that the playoffs will begin on April 16 and end on June 16 with the culmination of the 2022 NBA Finals, which will take place in Los Angeles.
This marks the return to a standard playoff schedule for the first time in three seasons. The 2020 playoffs saw both the Eastern Conference and Western Conference play out their respective conference finals over the course of four days, with each round starting on Monday and ending on Friday. This led to the first ever full weeklong break in the regular season schedule, with no games played on either Sunday or Monday. In addition, the 2021 playoffs moved into late May due to concerns surrounding the spread of coronavirus.
In total, there are 12 rounds of the playoffs, including best-of-seven series in the First Round, Second Round, Semifinals, and Conference Finals, followed by seven games in the NBA Finals.
Notable occurrences
No Los Angeles teams qualified for playoffs – The last time this occurred in 2018.
Last time this happened was in 2018. Last time it happened was in 2016.
First time ever that both no.8 seeds are out in the play-in round. First time ever that both no #8 seeds are out in play-in round.
For the first time in NBA Playoff History Four Players aged 22 or under score 30+ Points in Same Game. Anthony Edwards, Ja Morant, Tyrese Maxey, Jordan Poole.
Key dates for 2022-23 NBA season
The NBA announced the key dates for the upcoming 2022-23 season. The season kicks off on October 17, 2022, and ends on April 15, 2023, with the NBA Playoffs beginning on May 8, 2023. This season marks the third consecutive season that the league will play without fans due to COVID-19.
In addition to announcing the schedule, the NBA also revealed that it will be holding a draft lottery on June 24. The number one overall pick will be determined via a random drawing conducted among the teams that finished with the best records during the regular season. The team with the worst record will receive the second pick. If there are ties, the team with the better record within the tiebreaker will win the selection.
The full list of key dates for the 2022-23 season includes:
October 17 – Opening night of the season
November 7 – All-Star Game
December 10 – Christmas Day
January 5 – New Year’s Eve
February 1 – Super Bowl Sunday
March 2 – St Patrick’s Day
March 4 – Easter Sunday
March 12 – World Series Championship Game
March 31 – MLB Opening Day
April 3 – NCAA Tournament Selection Show
April 4 – NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four
May 8 – First Round of NBA Playoffs
June 24 – Draft Lottery
July 1 – NBA Free Agency begins
August 27 – NBA Summer League opens
September 29 – NBA Regular Season Opens
October 17 – NBA Preseason Begins
November 7 – All-Star Weekend
December 10 – Christmas Day
January 5 – New Year‘s Eve
February 1 – Super Bowl Sunday
Playoff qualifying
The NBA announced Thursday night that the Philadelphia 76ers clinched the final postseason berth in the Eastern Conference with a win over the Brooklyn Nets. This marks the first time since the 2013–14 season that the Sixers are guaranteed a spot in the playoffs. They finished the regular season with a record of 50–32.
The second-seeded Boston Celtics defeated the Atlanta Hawks 104–102 in overtime to claim the Atlantic Division title. The Celtics finished the regular season with 56 wins, one less than the New York Knicks. The Celtics won the division despite losing star guard Isaiah Thomas for the rest of the season due to a hip injury. In addition, center Enes Kanter missed the entire season because of a knee injury.
On Tuesday, the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Utah Jazz 105–103 to secure home court advantage throughout the Western Conference Playoffs. The Thunder finished the regular season with 57 wins. The Jazz finished the season with 58 wins. However, the Jazz lost in Game 7 of the first round against the San Antonio Spurs.
In the Pacific Division, the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Golden State Warriors 121–117 to take control of the division. The Clippers finished the regular season with 54 wins, while the Warriors had 53 wins.
The Toronto Raptors clinched the eighth seed in the East with a 102–94 victory over the Detroit Pistons. The Raptors finished the regular season with 47 wins. The Pistons finished the season with 48 wins.
The Memphis Grizzlies secured the sixth seed in the West with a 99–89 win over the Dallas Mavericks. The Grizzlies finished the regular season with 49 wins. The Mavericks finished the season with 51 wins.
2022 NBA Playoffs schedule
The playoffs begin next week, and there are still plenty of games left to play. Here’s where things stand:
* April 5 — Boston vs. Milwaukee
* April 6 — Miami vs. Philadelphia
* April 7 — Golden State vs. New Orleans
* April 8 — Cleveland vs. Portland
* April 9 — Toronto vs. Washington
* April 10 — Indiana vs. Oklahoma City
* April 11 — Chicago vs. Minnesota
* April 13 — Denver vs. LA Lakers
* April 14 — Sacramento vs. Phoenix
* April 15 — L.A. Clippers vs. Houston
* April 16 — Utah vs. San Antonio
* April 17 — New York vs. Memphis
* April 18 — Dallas vs. Brooklyn
* April 19 — Orlando vs. Charlotte
* April 20 — Atlanta vs. Miami
* April 21 — Milwaukee vs. Philadelphia
*April 22 — Boston vs. Golden State
*April 23 — Cleveland vs. Portland (if necessary)
*April 24 — Toronto vs. Washington (if necessary)
*April 25 — Indiana vs. Oklahoma (if necessary)
2022 Media Day livestream schedules
The NBA announced its media schedule for next week’s NBA All-Star Weekend in New Orleans. The league will hold its annual All-Star Game festivities on Feb. 15 and 16, followed by the three-day NBA Draft presented by State Farm on Tuesday, Feb. 20 through Thursday, Feb. 22. On Wednesday, Feb. 21, the league will host the 2020 NBA Awards Show live from the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. The event will air live across TNT, TBS, ESPN2, ABC and ESPNU beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. For complete coverage of NBA Media Day, please visit NBAMediaDay.com.
Celtics suspend Udoka for 2022-23 season
The Boston Celtics suspended forward Jayson Tatum indefinitely for violating team rules. In a statement, the team announced that it had placed him on indefinite suspension because he violated team policies. The move came just hours after ESPN reported that Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck told league officials that he wanted to trade Tatum.
Tatum missed three games earlier this month due to a left ankle injury sustained during practice. He returned to action Jan. 21 against the Toronto Raptors, scoring 29 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. However, he suffered another setback Feb. 5 against the Los Angeles Clippers, sitting out the rest of the game with swelling in his foot.
In addition to Tatum, the Celtics are without center Aron Baynes (knee surgery), guard Marcus Smart (left knee tendinitis), and reserve guard Terry Rozier (right shoulder inflammation). All four players are expected to return sometime soon.
Boston signed Udoka Azubuike to a contract extension over the summer. He averaged 4.6 points and 3.9 rebounds per game in 23 appearances for the Celtics this season.
Leonard officially cleared for 5-on-5 drills
Clippers head coach Lawrence Frank told reporters Wednesday that he expects Kawhi Leonard to participate in five-on-five scrimmages during training camp. He added that Leonard could still play three-on-three games, but it wouldn’t be “full contact.”
The news came just hours after Leonard participated in his first full practice since returning to Los Angeles following offseason shoulder surgery.
Frank said there are no limitations on what Leonard does in practice. However, he did say that Leonard won’t do much running, and that he’ll likely work out for about 30 minutes per day.
In addition, Frank said that Leonard won’t shoot jumpers, but he will take part in ball screens and pick-and-roll situations.
“He’s doing everything,” Frank said. “He’s shooting free throws; he’s working on his game. I think we’re going to try and keep him active. But he’s got to make sure he’s ready to go. We don’t want to push too hard.”
The team also announced that rookie guard Landry Shamet will miss the start of camp due to a sore knee.
Shamet suffered the injury during the Las Vegas Summer League, according to Frank.
Nuggets unveil refreshed ‘Mile High’ unis
The Nuggets unveiled their new uniforms today during a press conference at Pepsi Center. They are now officially called the “Mile High City,” and feature a throwback look reminiscent of the team’s old jerseys from the 1990s. In addition to the color scheme change, there are several design tweaks including a new logo, updated font, and a more modern uniform number font.
In addition to the jersey redesign, the Nuggets will wear special alternate tees featuring the word “Denver” across the chest. These shirts will be worn throughout the season, except when the team plays away games.
NBA Fantasy: Impact of 4 coaching changes
The NBA season is underway, and many fans are wondering about the impact of four coaching changes. There are three head coaches and one assistant coach who have been replaced since the start of the regular season. Each of these moves could have some sort of effect on fantasy basketball owners. Let’s take a look at what we know so far, and what it might mean moving forward.
Head Coach Changes
In each case, there are different reasons why the change occurred. In each case, the new hire brings something unique to the table. But, there are also similarities among the four moves. For example, Mike Budenholzer brought his experience from San Antonio Spurs teams that won multiple championships to Atlanta. He also worked under Gregg Popovich, another legendary coach, and learned a lot from him.
Now he’ll be working with young talent like Trae Young, John Collins, DeAndre Ayton, Dewayne Dedmon, Kent Bazemore, and others. While he didn’t work directly with Kawhi Leonard, he did work with Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Patty Mills, David Robinson, Boris Diaw, Danny Green, and Stephen Jackson. So, he knows what it takes to win consistently.
Mike Krzyzewski is bringing in one of his former assistants, Jay Larranaga, to lead Duke Blue Devils men’s basketball team. Larranaga spent five seasons as an assistant coach under K, including the 2016 NCAA championship team. During those five seasons, he helped develop Zion Williamson into a future lottery pick. Now he gets to try to do it again with Jahlil Okafor, Cam Reddish, R.J. Barrett, and Grayson Allen.
He also had success recruiting elite prospects such as Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Joel Embiid, Julius Randle, and Aaron Gordon. His track record speaks for itself, and he’s already proven himself capable of developing high-level talent.
Finally, Frank Vogel took over from Steve Clifford, who led the Magic to the playoffs twice during his tenure. Vogel coached the Pacers from 2012 to 2018. During that span, he helped develop Victor Oladipo, Domantas Sabonis, Myles Turner, Thaddeus Young, Bojan Bogdanovic, George Hill, Al Jefferson, Darren Collison, Lance Stephenson, and Paul George.
30 Teams in 30 Days: Washington Wizards
The Washington Wizards are looking to build on their playoff appearance last season while preparing for another run at the Eastern Conference crown. They did some tinkering to their roster during the offseason, adding veteran forward Kelly Oubre Jr., signing free agent center Dwight Howard and trading for shooting guard Jodie Meeks.
But the biggest move came in July when the team gave long-time All-Star guard Bradley Beal a five-year extension worth $128 million. Now, he’ll remain one of the best perimeter defenders in the league and could take over the starting role next season.
After finishing sixth in the East last year, the Wizards want to make sure they don’t fall out of contention again. Their core group — John Wall, Beal, Otto Porter Jr. and Markieff Morris — is still young and talented enough to contend for a championship. But they won’t win anything without better defense and rebounding.
Leave a Reply