NBA playoffs predictions and play-in tournament schedule live updates: Bracket, odds, draft lottery and stats

The Lakers lead the Pelicans by 32.

The Kings lead the Trail Blazers by 39.

So all signs point to the Warriors being the 10 seed playing at No. 9 Sacramento on Tuesday

The Pistons are getting routed by the Victor Wembanyama-less Spurs, so they're on their way to securing the worst record in the league (14-68) and the best odds for the No. 1 pick. (A win would've tied Detroit with Washington; there's barely any difference in the new weighted lottery odds anyway).

What's next for Detroit? Our James Edwards has more.

The Warriors may be locked into the No. 10 seed, given the current scores around the league. It may not be so good for the Jazz if Warriors coach Steve Kerr starts pulling the plug in the second half. Utah is well within earshot of winning this game.

The stakes for the Jazz are clear. Lose, and the Jazz get the eighth-best lottery odds. Win, and the Jazz and the Nets (whose pick is going to the Rockets) are tied for the ninth-best and it will go to a coin flip

The Jazz want eighth.

Per StatMuse, LeBron James has never had a 20-assist game. He's had two 19-assist games.

He's on pace to exceed 20, as he has 13 at the end of the first half against the Pelicans. The Lakers lead, 70-53.

Doc Rivers, on the Bucks' first-round matchup with the Pacers:

"Indiana has had our number all year, so perfect opponent. Listen, we gotta play somebody and they're tough. They've played great against us. They probably have great confidence against us. We'll have great focus because we're going to have to."

The Lakers have extended their lead over the Pelicans to 20 points, 53-33, with 5:38 left in the second quarter. They've outscored New Orleans 25-9 in the quarter. LeBron James has six points, five rebounds and 12 assists. Anthony Davis has 14 points. Austin Reaves has nine points. D'Angelo Russell has eight. Taurean Prince has nine. LA is shooting 62.2 percent from the field.

The Orlando Magic learned a lot about themselves Sunday afternoon and, in the process, earned a playoff berth.

In a game the Magic easily could have lost, they defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 113-88 to avoid the Eastern Conference Play-In Tournament.

Orlando had lost three consecutive games entering the weekend and opened Sunday’s do-or-die game ice cold from the field, missing several wide-open 3-pointers. Milwaukee led by 10 points late in the first quarter and by 11 points midway through the second quarter.

But Orlando captured momentum with its defense. Jonathan Isaac, who is 6-foot-10, stymied fleet-footed, crafty point guard Damian Lillard on successive Milwaukee possessions in the second quarter. Suddenly, Isaac and his teammates found their mojo.

Pablo Banchero scored 26 points, collected 11 rebounds and dished out seven assists — all game highs. Franz Wagner added 25 points. Wendell Carter Jr. came off the bench to score several key baskets.

The fifth-seeded Magic will face the fourth-seeded Cavaliers in the playoffs' opening round.

Expect some rock fights, folks. Orlando entered this weekend with the league’s third-best defense, as measured by points allowed per possession. Cleveland ranked seventh.

The Magic's defensive stars are Jalen Suggs and Isaac. The Cavs' defense is led by Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley and Isaac Okoro.

If you admire tough, grind-it-out defense, you'll love that Magic-Cavs series.

Coming into today, the Miami Heat had a chance to avoid the Play-In Tournament altogether, or at least host the 7-8 game, as they did last year. It wasn't to be, as the three teams all one game ahead of them won, keeping them in eighth.

They will start the series in Philadelphia, where they went 1-1 this year. However, the Heat are the only one of the Eastern Conference's 10 teams still playing with a better road record (24-17) than home record (22-19). Jimmy Butler was mystified about that after the Heat's win over the Raptors.

"You know what, that's a hella fire question that I don't have the answer to," Butler said. "I wish we played better at home. Whenever we get on the road and our back against the wall a little bit, I guess we get out of our comfort zone and then we really start making things happen. I'm actually kind of glad that we're on the road."

Today was officially Mike Gorman day in the city of Boston, honoring the iconic Celtics play-by-play announcer as he calls his final regular-season game. Today Commissioner Adam Silver released this statement:

“Mike Gorman is Boston sports royalty. As the voice of the Celtics for 43 years, he has brought joy and lasting memories to legions of fans through his own signature style. On behalf of everyone at the NBA, we congratulate Mike on his Hall of Fame broadcasting career.”

Gorman, who announced his retirement in The Athletic, will call Boston’s first-round series starting Sunday before officially heading off into retirement.

The Suns are 8-11 from 3, and most of them are wide open looks. The Wolves have 11 turnovers in 11 minutes. The Suns lead 44-22 after one quarter. Things could not be going worse.

Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, James Harden and Russell Westbrook are all inactive. Ivica Zubac and Norman Powell are dressed, but were DNP-CDs Friday night and would be doubtful to play today. Terance Mann is starting, but he will surely be limited.

The attention is on being ready for the Dallas Mavericks. Leonard hasn't played in two weeks while trying to quell his right knee inflammation. He is not dealing with any setbacks, and the Clippers are not concerned: not Tyronn Lue, not the front office, not Leonard's teammates.

Leonard has dealt with this kind of treatment before, when he returned from ACL surgery to begin the 2022-23 season. In Week 2 of that season, Leonard was sent back to LA to deal with knee discomfort and missed 25 days before he was ready to return. A similar timeframe would jeopardize his readiness for Games 1-2 of the Mavericks series.

The Clippers need to prepare to play without him in the case he is not ready.

But it also appears that the Clippers will utilize Leonard's clairvoyant status as a level of gamesmanship with the Mavericks as well. Lue feels good, so that's better than October and November 2022 at least.

The Timberwolves enter the final day with plenty of playoff nervousness, but the good kind. In their last three playoff appearances, the Wolves needed to win on the final day of the season to clinch the No. 8 seed in 2018, then needed the Play-In Tournament to qualify for the postseason in each of the last two seasons.

The Wolves know they're in. they know they have homecourt advantage in at least the first round. They can climb as high as No. 1 if they beat Phoenix and they get a loss by either Oklahoma City or Denver.

But they can still drop to the third seed as well. Perhaps most importantly, the Wolves need to play well today against the Suns, who have dominated them in their previous two meetings this season and could be their first-round matchup.

The Knicks beat the Bulls in overtime to secure the No. 2 seed. The Magic, Pacers, 76ers and Heat all won. Cleveland and Milwaukee lost. So the East's playoff field is set.

Play-In Tournament

(10) Atlanta Hawks (36-46) at (9) Chicago Bulls (39-43)

(8) Miami Heat (46-36) at (7) Philadelphia 76ers (47-35)

Playoffs

(1) Boston Celtics (64-18) vs. (8) Play-In Winner

(2) New York Knicks (50-32) vs. (7) Heat/76ers Winner

(3) Milwaukee Bucks (49-33) vs. (6) Indiana Pacers (47-35)

(4) Cleveland Cavaliers (48-34) vs. (5) Orlando Magic (47-35)

The West will be decided after this last block of games.

If the Pelicans win, they get the sixth seed. If the Lakers win, they claim the eighth seed and and will face....the Pelicans in the 7-8 Play-In game.

As if there wasn't enough tension any time Anthony Davis steps foot in Smoothie King Center.