What is the Detroit Pistons magic number to clinch the No. 1 seed in the NBA’s Eastern Conference playoffs?
Let’s dive into the scenarios and the standings entering play Monday, March 23, with the Boston Celtics in second place.
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The Pistons will have to get it done without Cade Cunningham, who is out for an extended period with a collapsed lung suffered Tuesday. His future is in doubt with the NBA playoffs starting April 18.
So, what is the Pistons’ “magic number” to clinch the No. 1 overall seed in the East playoffs for first time since 2007? Let’s take a look at the entire playoff picture for the Pistons and the East.
[ Cade Cunningham has collapsed lung; a doctor explains what that means ]
Pistons magic number to clinch No. 1 seed
Through Sunday night’s games: The Pistons’ magic number to clinch the No. 1 seed over the Boston Celtics is 7.
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Here’s how to calculate a team’s magic number.
83 – (first-place team’s win total + second-place team’s loss total) = magic number.
Pistons playoff odds
The Pistons clinched a playoff berth Friday with their win over Golden State. They are guaranteed a top-6 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
The Pistons are 99% to get the No. 1 seed, per playoffstatus.com, though whether that factors in Cunningham missing games is unclear.
NBA standings, Eastern Conference playoff race
Eastern Conference playoff standings entering Monday:
*Teams seeded Nos. 7-10 participate in the NBA Play-In Tournament. The Nos. 7-8 seeds get two chances to win one game to secure a playoff berth, while the Nos. 9-10 seeds must win two games to get the final playoff spot.
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Here’s how the Play-In Tournament works:
Game 1: The No. 7 seed hosts the No. 8 seed, with the winner earning the 7-seed seed in the playoffs and a matchup with the 2-seed in the first round.
Game 2: The No. 9 seed hosts the No. 10 seed. The loser is out.
Game 3: The winner of the 9-10 game plays at the loser of the 7-8 game. The loser is out, while the winner earns the 8-seed and a first-round matchup against the 1-seed.
Pistons first-round playoff opponent
The Pistons, if they earn the 1-seed, would play the winner of Game 3 in the play-in tournament. There are six teams which could be the Pistons’ first-round matchup, each included with their top four point-per-game scorers.
Charlotte’s top scorers: Brandon Miller, LaMelo Ball, Kon Knueppel, Miles Bridges.
Miami’s top scorers: Norm Powell, Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo, Andrew Wiggins.
Orlando’s top scorers: Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Desmond Bane, Anthony Black.
Philadelphia’s top scorers: Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, Paul George, VJ Edgecombe.
Atlanta’s top scorers: Jalen Johnson, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, CJ McCollum, Onyeka Okongwu.
Toronto’s top scorers: Brandon Ingram, RJ Barrett, Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley.
[ Jeff Daniels and Peyton Manning tried to lift Lions curse. They hexed all our teams instead ]
Pistons-Celtics tiebreaker
The Pistons won the head-to-head season series, 3-1, with all games coming before February:
Oct. 26: Pistons 119-113 in Detroit.
Nov. 26: Celtics 117-114 in Boston.
Dec. 15: Pistons 112-105 in Boston.
Jan. 19: Pistons 104-103 in Detroit.
Pistons schedule
The Pistons’ strength of schedule is No. 10, according to tankathon.com, which uses combined winning percentage for all remaining opponents. The Pistons’ opponent win percentage is .529.
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Here are the Pistons’ final 12 games of the regular season:
Wednesday, March 25: vs. Hawks
Thursday, March 26: vs. Pelicans
Saturday, March 28: at Timberwolves
Monday, March 30: at Thunder
Tuesday, March 31: vs. Raptors
Thursday, April 2: vs. Timberwolves
Saturday, April 4: at 76ers
Monday, April 6: at Magic
Wednesday, April 8: vs. Bucks
Friday, April 10: at Hornets
Sunday, April 12: at Pacers
Celtics schedule
The Celtics’ strength of schedule is No. 3, according to tankathon.com, at .544.
Here are Boston’s final 11 games of the regular season:
Wednesday, March 25: vs. Thunder
Friday, March 27: vs. Hawks
Sunday, March 29: at Hornets
Monday, March 30: at Hawks
Wednesday, April 1: at Heat
Friday, April 3: at Bucks
Sunday, April 5: vs. Raptors
Tuesday, April 7: vs. Hornets
Thursday, April 9: at Knicks
Friday, April 10: vs. Pelicans
Sunday, April 12: vs. Magic
NBA playoffs schedule 2026, bracket
Here’s the schedule for the start of the 2026 NBA playoffs. There is no re-seeding in the NBA, meaning the 1-8 winner will face the 4-5 winner, and the 2-7 winner will face the 3-6 winner.
In the NBA Finals, the team with the better regular-season record gets homecourt. Oklahoma City (56-15) and San Antonio (53-18) have the two-best records in the league. The Pistons are third.
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April 13:Â Rosters set for playoffs (3 p.m. ET).
April 14-17: NBA Play-In Tournament.
April 18: NBA playoffs begin.
June 3:Â NBA Finals Game 1.
June 19:Â NBA Finals Game 7 (if necessary).
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons magic number to clinch No. 1 seed in NBA playoffs