{"id":712793,"date":"2026-04-17T23:42:40","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T23:42:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/712793\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T23:42:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T23:42:40","slug":"nba-playoffs-2026-hornets-magic-warriors-suns-wrap-up-play-in-tournament-friday-seeking-no-8-seeds-in-east-and-west","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/712793\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA playoffs 2026: Hornets-Magic, Warriors-Suns wrap up play-in tournament Friday, seeking No. 8 seeds in East and West"},"content":{"rendered":"

The last two spots in the NBA playoffs will be determined Friday night. Over in the East, the Charlotte Hornets<\/a> will take on the Orlando Magic<\/a> for the No. 8 seed. Later, the Golden State Warriors<\/a> and Phoenix Suns<\/a> will play for the final spot in the West.<\/p>\n

For Hornets-Magic, LaMelo Ball<\/a> remains the story. Ball was fined, but not suspended<\/a>, after he appeared to trip Miami Heat<\/a> big man Bam Adebayo<\/a> during Tuesday\u2019s game. While Ball\u2019s actions in that contest won\u2019t play a role in Friday\u2019s game, it will mark the first time he\u2019s taken the court since the Adebayo trip \u2014 and apparent non-apology<\/a> \u2014 making Ball the villain in Friday\u2019s matchup.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

In the West, all eyes will be on whether Stephen Curry<\/a>, Draymond Green<\/a> and Steve Kerr can continue to wind back the clock and turn in another strong performance. Curry was lights out in the team\u2019s win over the Los Angeles Clippers<\/a> on Wednesday, dropping 35 points. Green was a force on defense late, preventing the Clippers from scoring points in the paint and shutting down Kawhi Leonard<\/a> in the fourth quarter. Whether they can do it again, and then carry that momentum into the playoffs, remains a massive question.<\/p>\n

Hornets vs. Magic start time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Warriors vs. Suns start time: 10 p.m. ET
TV channel, live stream: Amazon Prime Video<\/p>\n

Follow along with Yahoo Sports for all of the action as the NBA play-in tournament concludes with Hornets-Magic and Warriors-Suns:<\/p>\n

Live9 updatesFri, April 17, 2026 at 4:15 PM PDT<\/p>\n

Yahoo Sports Staff<\/p>\n

Get those TVs and streaming devices set! The Charlotte Hornets and Orlando Magic tip off at 7:30 p.m. ET, with the winner securing the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, airing only on Amazon Prime Video.<\/p>\n

\"BenFri, April 17, 2026 at 4:00 PM PDT<\/p>\n

Ben Fawkes<\/p>\n

Charlotte is favored at the Orlando Magic<\/a> on Friday, and if the Hornets win, they\u2019ll be the No. 8 seed and face the Detroit Pistons<\/a> in the first round. It would be the first time Charlotte has made the playoffs since the 2015-16 season.<\/p>\n

It would also mark another step on the path for one bettor to win $5 million.<\/p>\n

A bettor at DraftKings placed a $12,500 futures wager on the Hornets to win the NBA title at 400-1 odds in early February, which would pay out $5 million if Charlotte wins the championship<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fri, April 17, 2026 at 3:45 PM PDT<\/p>\n

Jason Fitz, Caroline Fenton<\/p>\n

\"IanFri, April 17, 2026 at 3:42 PM PDT<\/p>\n

Ian Casselberry<\/p>\n

Charlotte Hornets center Moussa Diabat\u00e9 was listed as questionable on the injury report for tonight\u2019s game. But it appears he\u2019ll play after going through his usual warm-ups, according to the Charlotte Observer\u2019s Rod Boone<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Diabat\u00e9 averaged 7.9 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 73 games during the regular season, his second with Charlotte.<\/p>\n

Fri, April 17, 2026 at 3:30 PM PDT<\/p>\n

Yahoo Sports Staff<\/p>\n

With two more games remaining in the NBA play-in tournament, the Oklahoma City Thunder remain odds favorites to win it all for a second consecutive season at +120 odds, with a 45.5% implied probability.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s where the odds for the 2025-26 NBA Finals stand at BetMGM with two play-in games remaining:<\/p>\n

Fri, April 17, 2026 at 3:15 PM PDT<\/p>\n

Yahoo Sports Staff<\/p>\n

The No. 8 seeds in the East and West are still up for grabs ahead of the final day of the play-in tournament, but the rest of the first-round matchups are set:<\/p>\n

Eastern Conference<\/p>\n

No. 5 Toronto Raptors vs. No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers: Game 1 on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET<\/p>\n

No. 6 Atlanta Hawks vs. No. 3 New York Knicks: Game 1 on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET<\/p>\n

No. 7 Philadelphia 76ers vs. No. 2 Boston Celtics: Game 1 on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET<\/p>\n

No. 8 TBD vs. No. 1 Detroit Pistons: Game 1 on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET<\/p>\n

Western Conference<\/p>\n

No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves vs. No. 3 Denver Nuggets: Game 1 Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET<\/p>\n

No. 5 Houston Rockets vs. No. 4 LA Lakers: Game 1 on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET<\/p>\n

No. 8 TBD vs. No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder: Game 1 on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET<\/p>\n

No. 7 Portland Trail Blazers vs. No. 2 San Antonio Spurs: Game 1 on Sunday at 9 p.m. ET<\/p>\n

Fri, April 17, 2026 at 3:00 PM PDT<\/p>\n

Caroline Fenton, Jason Fitz, Ben Fawkes<\/p>\n

\"TarohnFri, April 17, 2026 at 2:45 PM PDT<\/p>\n

Tarohn Finley<\/p>\n

Charlotte Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball was not suspended<\/a> for a play that resulted in an injury to Heat All-Star Bam Adebayo, the league announced Wednesday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ball was instead fined $35,000 and assessed a Flagrant 2 foul for a play the league described as \u201cunnecessary and reckless contact\u201d that \u201ccreated a significant injury risk.\u201d Had he received such a foul during the game, he would have been ejected.<\/p>\n

He was also fined another $25,000 for using profane language in a postgame television interview.<\/p>\n

The NBA had reportedly started an investigation<\/a> to determine whether Ball tripping Adebayo, which took place in the second quarter of the Hornets\u2019 overtime play-in win over the Heat<\/a> on Wednesday, merited an upgrade to a flagrant foul and additional punishment.<\/p>\n

Fri, April 17, 2026 at 2:30 PM PDT<\/p>\n

Yahoo Sports Staff<\/p>\n

Hours out from tipoff, the odds are favoring the Hornets and Suns to advance to the first round of the playoffs. Here\u2019s a look at tonight\u2019s play-in tournament odds, courtesy of BetMGM:<\/p>\n

Hornets vs. Magic odds<\/p>\n

Point spread: Hornets -3.5
Over\/under: 218.5
Moneyline odds: Hornets -160, Magic +135<\/p>\n

Warriors vs. Suns odds<\/p>\n

Point spread: Suns -3.5
Over\/under: 219.5
Moneyline odds: Suns -155, Warriors +125<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The last two spots in the NBA playoffs will be determined Friday night. Over in the East, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":712794,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1179,7,473,200,164,529,966,135,189,6,11,76,472,573,863],"class_list":{"0":"post-712793","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-bam-adebayo","9":"tag-basketball","10":"tag-charlotte-hornets","11":"tag-draymond-green","12":"tag-golden-state-warriors","13":"tag-kawhi-leonard","14":"tag-lamelo-ball","15":"tag-los-angeles-clippers","16":"tag-miami-heat","17":"tag-nba","18":"tag-nba-playoffs","19":"tag-orlando-magic","20":"tag-phoenix-suns","21":"tag-stephen-curry","22":"tag-steve-kerr"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116422702440518261","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/712793","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=712793"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/712793\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/712794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=712793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=712793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=712793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}