{"id":708859,"date":"2026-04-12T09:39:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T09:39:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/708859\/"},"modified":"2026-04-12T09:39:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T09:39:16","slug":"nba-eastern-conference-standings-explained-updated-scenarios-for-raptors-76ers-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/708859\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA Eastern Conference standings, explained: Updated scenarios for Raptors, 76ers and more"},"content":{"rendered":"

NBA Eastern Conference standings, explained: Updated scenarios for Raptors, 76ers and more<\/a> originally appeared on The Sporting News<\/a>. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The biggest storyline entering the final day of the NBA regular season might rest in the East, where the playoff and Play-In seeds below the top four remain a jumbled mess with only game to play.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

The top four seeds in the East are already set. The Pistons<\/a> own the No. 1 seed, followed by the Celtics<\/a> at No. 2, Knicks<\/a> at No. 3 and Cavaliers<\/a> at No. 4. None know who they will be playing in the first round of the playoffs.<\/p>\n

The Pistons and Celtics will have to wait for the Play-In Tournament to determine their opponents, but the Knicks and Cavaliers will learn theirs on Sunday, with New York facing the No. 6 seed and Cleveland facing the No. 5 seed.<\/p>\n

Here’s a look at the Eastern Conference standings and scenarios in the NBA.<\/p>\n

MORE:Live NBA playoff picture on final day of regular season<\/a><\/p>\n

NBA Eastern Conference playoff standings<\/p>\n

Standings through April 11.<\/p>\n

Seed<\/p>\n

Team<\/p>\n

Wins<\/p>\n

Losses<\/p>\n

Games Back<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

Pistons*<\/p>\n

59<\/p>\n

22<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

Celtics*<\/p>\n

55<\/p>\n

26<\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

Knicks*<\/p>\n

53<\/p>\n

28<\/p>\n

6<\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

Cavaliers*<\/p>\n

51<\/p>\n

30<\/p>\n

8<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

Hawks*<\/p>\n

46<\/p>\n

35<\/p>\n

13<\/p>\n

6<\/p>\n

Raptors<\/p>\n

45<\/p>\n

36<\/p>\n

14<\/p>\n

7<\/p>\n

Magic<\/p>\n

45<\/p>\n

36<\/p>\n

14<\/p>\n

8<\/p>\n

76ers<\/p>\n

44<\/p>\n

37<\/p>\n

15<\/p>\n

9<\/p>\n

Hornets**<\/p>\n

43<\/p>\n

38<\/p>\n

16<\/p>\n

10<\/p>\n

Heat**<\/p>\n

42<\/p>\n

39<\/p>\n

17<\/p>\n

11<\/p>\n

Bucks<\/p>\n

32<\/p>\n

49<\/p>\n

27.0<\/p>\n

12<\/p>\n

Bulls<\/p>\n

31<\/p>\n

50<\/p>\n

28<\/p>\n

13<\/p>\n

Nets<\/p>\n

20<\/p>\n

61<\/p>\n

39<\/p>\n

14<\/p>\n

Pacers<\/p>\n

19<\/p>\n

62<\/p>\n

40<\/p>\n

15<\/p>\n

Wizards<\/p>\n

17<\/p>\n

64<\/p>\n

42<\/p>\n

*clinched NBA Playoff berth<\/p>\n

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**clinched Play-In Tournament berth<\/p>\n

Eliminated from NBA Playoff contention: Bucks, Bulls, Nets, Pacers, Wizards<\/p>\n

The Hawks<\/a> enter Sunday in possession of the No. 5 seed, followed closely by the Raptors<\/a> and Magic<\/a>. The Hawks are guaranteed a top-six seed and a playoff spot, but the Raptors, Magic and 76ers<\/a> are all competing for the remaining spot, with the chance for Toronto and Orlando to potentially even pass Atlanta in the standings.<\/p>\n

The Hornets<\/a> and Heat<\/a>, meanwhile, are locked into the 9 vs. 10 matchup in the Play-In Tournament, with seeding still up for grabs.<\/p>\n

Here’s a look at the NBA’s two-team tiebreaking procedure:<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Winning percentage head-to-head<\/p>\n

If one team is leading its division and the other team isn’t, the division leader gets the edge.<\/p>\n

If teams are in same division: Winning percentage in division<\/p>\n

Winning percentage in conference<\/p>\n

Winning percentage against playoff-eligible teams in conference<\/p>\n

Winning percentage against playoff-eligible teams in opposing conference<\/p>\n

With that in mind, here is a look at the three-team tiebreaking procedure:<\/p>\n

If one team is leading its division and other teams aren’t, the division leader gets the edge<\/p>\n

Winning percentage against teams in tiebreaker only<\/p>\n

If tied teams are in same division: Winning percentage in division<\/p>\n

Winning percentage in conference<\/p>\n

Winning percentage against playoff-eligible teams in conference<\/p>\n

Here’s a complete breakdown of the playoff scenarios in the East on the final day of the regular season.<\/p>\n

MORE:Cases for and against every MVP candidate<\/a><\/p>\n

Eastern Conference playoff scenarios, explainedTo clinch playoff spot<\/p>\n

The Hawks have already clinched a playoff berth, leaving one spot up for grabs above the Play-In seeds.<\/p>\n

The Raptors can clinch a playoff berth with a win OR losses by both the Magic and 76ers.<\/p>\n

The Magic can clinch a playoff berth with a win AND a Raptors loss.<\/p>\n

The 76ers can only clinch a playoff berth with AND losses by both the Raptors and Magic.<\/p>\n

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Because the Raptors are facing the Nets, there is a strong likelihood of Toronto locking up the final playoff spot. Here’s a look at how the Raptors can land the No. 5 seed in the East.<\/p>\n

Seeding<\/p>\n

The Raptors can be the No. 5 seed with a win, Hawks loss and Magic loss. If the Raptors win and Hawks win, or Raptors win and Hawks lose but Magic win, Toronto will be the No. 6 seed while Atlanta would be the No. 5 seed. A Raptors loss plus wins by the Magic and 76ers would drop Toronto all the way to No. 8, while a Raptors loss and win by either the Magic or 76ers would drop Toronto to No. 7.<\/p>\n

For the Hawks, it’s simpler: a win, Raptors loss or Magic win keeps them in the No. 5 seed. Atlanta can only drop to No. 6 with a loss, a Raptors win and a Magic loss.<\/p>\n

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The Magic and 76ers are part of more complicated scenarios. Orlando would slip to No. 8 with a loss and a 76ers win, and the Magic can only finish as high as No. 7 if they lose. If they win, they can’t be any lower than No. 7 but can slide up to No. 6 and into a guaranteed playoff spot with a Raptors loss.<\/p>\n

For the 76ers, the No. 6 seed and a guaranteed playoff spot is only possible if they win and both the Magic and Raptors lose. A loss guarantees Philadelphia the No. 8 seed, while a win could leave the 76ers in either the No. 7 or No. 8 seed depending on a number of other results.<\/p>\n

The Heat and Hornets will face each other in the Play-In Tournament, but home-court advantage will be determined on Sunday. Charlotte will host with a win or a Miami loss, while the Heat can only host with a win AND a Hornets loss.<\/p>\n

Here’s a complete look at every scenario for Sunday:<\/p>\n

MORE:Updated 2026 NBA mock draft<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NBA Eastern Conference standings, explained: Updated scenarios for Raptors, 76ers and more originally appeared on The Sporting News.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":708860,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[679,676,7,103,46,305,677,304,295,6,671,47,114,678,681,8796,401,1015,6834,680,683],"class_list":{"0":"post-708859","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-76ers","9":"tag-atlanta","10":"tag-basketball","11":"tag-bucks","12":"tag-celtics","13":"tag-cleveland","14":"tag-hawks","15":"tag-knicks","16":"tag-miami","17":"tag-nba","18":"tag-nets","19":"tag-orlando","20":"tag-pacers","21":"tag-philadelphia","22":"tag-raptors","23":"tag-the-76ers","24":"tag-the-magic","25":"tag-the-pistons","26":"tag-the-raptors","27":"tag-toronto","28":"tag-wizards"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116391075060902913","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708859","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=708859"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708859\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/708860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=708859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=708859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=708859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}