Playoff watch: Cross-conference matchups take center stage

March 31, 2026 No Comments

NBA playoff watch: Cross-conference matchups take center stageESPN staffMar 31, 2026, 06:45 AM ETMultiple Authors

The best matchups in the NBA on Tuesday, when it comes to the playoff races, will pit postseason teams from the East against their counterparts from the West. The Phoenix Suns will head to Florida to take on the Orlando Magic in a battle of two teams trying to elevate to sixth in their respective conferences and get out of the play-in race. However, both teams have less than a 5% chance of doing so, per ESPN’s Basketball Power Index.

The New York Knicks, who clinched a top-six playoff spot Monday night, face the Houston Rockets, who are looking to fend off Phoenix for sixth in the West.

And in one of the later games of the night, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers welcome his old team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, to Crypto.com Arena. The Lakers are one win away from clinching a playoff spot.

Here’s a look at the current and projected NBA playoff picture, the most important games left in the regular season and how the race for the No. 1 pick in June’s draft is shaping up:

Jump to a section:
Current playoff matchups
Today’s schedule | Friday’s scores
<!– Clinching scenarios | –>Critical remaining games
Projected standings | Race for No. 1 pick

Current NBA playoff matchups

Eastern Conference playoffs

1. Detroit Pistons vs. 8. Play-in winner TBD
2. Boston Celtics vs. 7. Play-in winner TBD
3. New York Knicks vs. 6. Atlanta Hawks
4. Cleveland Cavaliers vs. 5. Toronto Raptors

Eastern Conference play-in

7. Philadelphia 76ers vs. 8. Orlando Magic
9. Miami Heat vs. 10. Charlotte Hornets
Loser 7/8 vs. Winner 9/10

Western Conference playoffs

1. Oklahoma City Thunder vs. 8. Play-in winner TBD
2. San Antonio Spurs vs. 7. Play-in winner TBD
3. Los Angeles Lakers vs. 6. Houston Rockets
4. Denver Nuggets vs. 5. Minnesota Timberwolves

Western Conference play-in

7. Phoenix Suns vs. 8. LA Clippers
9. Portland Trail Blazers vs. 10. Golden State Warriors
Loser 7/8 vs. Winner 9/10

Full standings and playoff matchups
Odds to win the NBA Finals
ESPN BPI’s playoff projections

NBA Playoff Challenge

Pick the winners and crown your NBA champion! Create A Bracket

Tuesday’s games

Suns at Magic, 7 p.m. ET
Hornets at Nets, 7:30 p.m. ET
Raptors at Pistons, 8 p.m. ET
Knicks at Rockets, 8 p.m. ET (NBC)
Mavericks at Bucks, 8 p.m. ET
Cavaliers at Lakers, 10:30 p.m. ET
Trail Blazers at Clippers, 11 p.m. ET (NBC)

Full upcoming schedule

Monday’s scores

Heat 119, 76ers 109
Hawks 112, Celtics 102
Suns 131, Grizzlies 105
Spurs 129, Bulls 114
Timberwolves 124, Mavericks 94
Cavaliers 122, Jazz 113
Thunder 114, Pistons 110 (OT)
Lakers 120, Wizards 101

Full NBA scoreboard

Most important games left

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Clinching scenarios

The Detroit Pistons clinch the Central Division with a win or a loss by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The New York Knicks clinch a playoff a playoff spot with a Philadelphia 76ers loss.

The Denver Nuggets clinch a playoff spot with a loss by the Phoenix Suns and a win by the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Los Angeles Lakers clinch a playoff spot and the Pacific Division title with a win and loss by the Phoenix Suns.

Who has clinched so far?

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Projected end-of-season standings

Projected Eastern Conference StandingsSeedTeamProjected Final Record1Detroit Pistons 59-23 2 Boston Celtics 54-28 3 New York Knicks 53-29 4 Cleveland Cavaliers 52-30 5 Toronto Raptors 47-35 6 Atlanta Hawks 46-36 7 Philadelphia 76ers 45-37 8 Miami Heat 43-39 9 Charlotte Hornets 43-39 10 Orlando Magic 43-39 11 Milwaukee Bucks 32-50 12 Chicago Bulls 32-50 13 Brooklyn Nets 20-62 14 Indiana Pacers 19-63 15 Washington Wizards 19-63 Projections via ESPN’s Basketball Power Index

Projected Western Conference StandingsSeedTeamProjected Final Record1Oklahoma City Thunder 64-18 2 San Antonio Spurs 62-20 3 Los Angeles Lakers 53-29 4 Denver Nuggets 52-30 5 Houston Rockets 50-32 6 Minnesota Timberwolves 50-32 7 Phoenix Suns 45-37 8 LA Clippers 44-38 9 Portland Trail Blazers 41-41 10 Golden State Warriors 39-43 11 New Orleans Pelicans 28-54 12 Memphis Grizzlies 27-55 13 Dallas Mavericks 27-55 14 Utah Jazz 22-60 15 Sacramento Kings 21-61 Projections via ESPN’s Basketball Power Index

Current NBA standings

Race for the No. 1 pick

The NBA uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first four picks. All 14 teams that fail to make the playoffs are eligible to move up to the top four. After the order of the top four picks is set via the draw, the remainder of the first round is set in inverse order of the teams’ regular-season records. The three teams with the worst records each have an equal 14% chance of winning the lottery, with the odds for the non-playoff teams decreasing from there.

Among the projected lottery teams, there are multiple trades that could impact picks. The Atlanta Hawks will get the better of the picks from the New Orleans Pelicans and Milwaukee Bucks, with the lesser of the two picks going to Milwaukee. If the Indiana Pacers’ pick falls between five and nine, it will go to the LA Clippers. The Utah Jazz will send their pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder if it falls outside the top eight.

The Portland Trail Blazers will send their pick to the Chicago Bulls if it falls outside the lottery (if they make the playoffs through the play-in tournament). The Washington Wizards’ pick is top-eight protected, and the probability of their selection ending up ninth or worse is extremely low.

Projected 2026 Lottery OrderNo.TeamCurrent RecordChance ForNo. 1 Pick1Washington Wizards 17-58 14% 2 Indiana Pacers 17-58 14% 3 Brooklyn Nets 18-57 14% 4 Sacramento Kings 19-57 12.5% 5 Utah Jazz 21-55 10.5% 6 Dallas Mavericks 24-51 9% 7 New Orleans Pelicans* 25-51 7.5% 8 Memphis Grizzlies 25-50 6% 9 Chicago Bulls 29-46 4.5% 10 Milwaukee Bucks 29-45 3% 11 Golden State Warriors 36-39 2% 12 Portland Trail Blazers 38-38 1.5% 13 Charlotte Hornets 39-36 1% 14 Miami Heat 40-36 0.5% *The Pelicans’ pick would convey to the Atlanta Hawks.