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

The Cavaliers haven't fixed all of their issues, but they pulled out a much-needed 129-120 win over the Indiana Pacers to clinch a playoff berth. They're fourth in the East, which is likely where they'll settle when the season concludes Sunday. It's also where they finished last season, albeit with fewer victories this time around.

The 76ers' closing surge continues with a wire-to-wire 125-113 win over the Orlando Magic. Joel Embiid dominated early, Tyrese Maxey closed the door late and Philly now has seven straight victories. Do you want to be the team that draws the 76ers in the first round? Me neither.

The Magic, meanwhile, have dropped three straight winnable games that could have moved them as high as the No. 2 seed had they gone differently. Instead, both the 76ers and Magic are 46-35.

For right now, the 76ers jump up to sixth, one spot ahead of Orlando. If the Pacers lose to Cleveland, they'll be 46-35 as well. In the event of a three-team tie, Orlando would end the night in fifth by virtue of being a division winner, followed by Indiana in sixth and Philadlephia in seventh.

Joel Embiid briefly left the 76ers' game against the Magic late in the second quarter after coming down awkwardly on his left knee. But not to worry, 76ers fans: He walked out to a standing ovation just before the start of the second half and is back in. By the way, he has 26 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists midway through the third quarter as Philly leads by double digits.

Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez are sitting courtside at Target Center for the first time since their purchase agreement with Glen Taylor to assume ownership of the Minnesota Timberwolves blew up. The two friends walked in just before the game started and sat on the sideline directly opposite Taylor and his wife, Becky.

The two sides are locked in what has been a bitter and public dispute. Taylor says that Lore and Rodriguez did not have the money in on time to finish their purchase. Lore and Rodriguez claim that Taylor broke the agreement and that they did have the money ready to go and were only awaiting league approval. There was no visible interaction between the Taylors and Lore and Rodriguez before the game.

The Cavaliers needed a fast start at home in a game with massive playoff implications and they got one against the Pacers. Donovan Mitchell scored 13 in the first quarter and Darius Garland's 3 early in the second stretches the lead to double figures. Garland has struggled miserably lately. The Cavs getting him going could go a long way in determining their postseason fate.

The Miami Heat are not in a great position heading into the final weekend of the season. They could win their final two games, both at home against the Toronto Raptors, and still finish eighth in the Eastern Conference. In the last week, they lost a close game in Indiana and got blown out by the Dallas Mavericks. Meanwhile, the Heat's big in-season acquisition, Terry Rozier, will miss his third straight game on Friday night with a neck injury.

It's not all bad, though. Head coach Erik Spoelstra, who started his career in the Heat's video room, fielded a question on Friday night about how fun it is for the fans that only one seed is locked heading into the evening's play.

"That's probably one of the few things that's given me great joy the last couple days, just knowing how miserable the video room is right now trying to prepare and figuring things out," Spoelstra said. "I've been there. It's the small joys in this profession."

The Pelicans are the sixth seed with a win over the Warriors on Friday and a Suns loss; with a loss and a Phoenix win, they’re in jeopardy of finishing seventh.

The Warriors lose a tiebreaker with the Kings, whose final game is at home against the Trail Blazers. Thus, a loss in either of their final two games likely makes the Warriors the 10th seed. In fact, Golden State losing this game could lock New Orleans into the sixth spot and thus cause the Pels to play all their subs against the Lakers on Sunday, basically assuring L.A. stays ahead.

Alternatively, with two wins this weekend, Golden State can still get as high as eighth if Sacramento loses. If the Kings win out, the Warriors can’t get higher than ninth.

Here's one logistical issue worth noting ahead of the NBA regular season's final two games:

Last season, the 7-8 Play-In Tournament games were held on Tuesday, two days after the end of the regular season. The Philadelphia 76ers, at 45-35, enter Friday night as the No. 7 seed in the East, one game ahead of Miami.

The NHL's Flyers, co-tenants of Wells Fargo Center with the 76ers and still in contention for the playoffs, have a home game scheduled for Tuesday night against the Washington Capitals, who are also in the NHL's playoff mix.

Philly and Washington — along with the Detroit Red Wings — have 85 points. The Pittsburgh Penguins, with 86 points, hold that second and final wild-card spot at the moment. The NHL's regular season ends Wednesday, so depending on how the next few days shake out, that Tuesday Flyers-Capitals game could have massive implications.

(By the way, in case you were wondering, the Phillies have a home game Tuesday night too.)

Quite the week in Philly sports. We'll see what happens.

Klay Thompson and Draymond Green are probable tonight against the Pelicans. They're expected to return after a night of rest. Jonathan Kuminga is questionable with a right pelvic contusion. Gary Payton II is doubtful with left calf tightness. On the New Orleans side: Brandon Ingram, Naji Marshall and Larry Nance are all out.

Ninety miles away, the Kings will have De'Aaron Fox, who twisted his ankle late in their Thursday night loss, but isn't listed on the injury report against Phoenix. The Suns will have their full rotation available.

Oklahoma City is probably the third seed in the West, but if Denver falters in San Antonio, then things suddenly get really interesting, especially with Minnesota having a difficult final game against Phoenix. Two wins plus one loss by Minnesota and Denver moves OKC to the top seed; it is the second seed if just one of them loses.

Milwaukee wraps up the second seed with a win. Despite the Bucks’ recent slump, they can finish no worse than third if either the Cavaliers or the Knicks lose.

We know the Boston Celtics are so good that, in recent weeks, they didn’t really need to do much to secure the East’s No. 1 seed. But outside of that, we still have so much up in the air for Eastern Conference seeding. Here's what you need to know heading into the regular season's final weekend:

Race for the No. 2 seed: Milwaukee (49-31), New York (48-32), and Cleveland (47-33)

Milwaukee will most likely end up with the No. 2 seed. The Bucks need just one win in their final two games. They own the tiebreaker over New York. Cleveland wins the division by tying with Milwaukee. New York has the tiebreaker over Cleveland, but division winners trump that.

• Milwaukee plays: at Thunder, at Magic. Path to the No. 2 seed: Win one game, or a loss from both Knicks and Cavs.
• New York plays: Nets, Bulls. Path to the No. 2 seed: Two wins, two Bucks losses.
• Cleveland plays: Pacers, Hornets. Path to the No. 2 seed: Two wins, two Bucks losses, a Knicks loss.

Race for the No. 4 seed: Cleveland (47-33), Orlando (46-34), and Indiana (46-34)

The Cavs were fighting for the No. 2 seed about a week ago, but now there's a scenario in which they still fall down to the Play-In Tournament, though it's not likely. If they take care of business, they'll fall no lower than the No. 4 seed. Tonight, Indiana will determine the chances teams have to push Cleveland from the No. 4 seed.

• Cleveland plays: Pacers, Hornets. Path to the No. 4 seed: Two wins
• Orlando plays: at Sixers, Bucks. Path to the No. 4 seed: Two wins, a Cavs loss
• Indiana plays: at Cavs, Hawks. Path to the No. 4 seed: Beat the Cavs, two Orlando losses

Race for the No. 6 seed: Indiana (46-34), Philadelphia (45-35), and Miami (44-36)

The Pacers are hoping to move up past sixth, but they can feel comfort knowing just one win keeps them out of the Play-In. Indiana holds the tiebreaker over Philly and Miami. Miami has the tiebreaker over Philly due to conference record.

• Indiana plays: at Cavs, Hawks. Path to the No. 6 seed: One win or one Sixers loss
• Philadelphia plays: Magic, Nets. Path to the No. 6 seed: Two wins, two Pacers losses
• Miami plays: Raptors, Raptors. Path to the No. 6 seed: None, but they can move up to seventh with two wins and a Sixers loss

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The Pacers will pass the Cavaliers for fourth with a win and an Orlando loss Friday; however, Indiana can still fall as low as eighth if it drops its last two games.

The Cavs, meanwhile, lock in a top-four seed with a win in this game and a Magic loss. Theoretically, they can get as high as second, but fourth is probably the realistic high-water mark. Finishing seventh is possible in theory; sixth is a more realistic bottom unless things really get crazy.

The Sacramento Kings' recent 3-6 stretch has opened the door for both the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers to climb into the eighth spot. The Warriors rested Klay Thompson and Draymond Green on Thursday night in Portland and didn't play well, but still survived 100-92 against a tanking Blazers team. That created a three-way tie heading into the final weekend. The Kings, Warriors and Lakers all have 45-35 records.

The Kings have already clinched the tiebreaker over both. They swept the Lakers 4-0 this season and went 2-2 against the Warriors, but have a better division record. The Warriors hold the tiebreaker over the Lakers because of a 3-1 head-to-head record. So that’s the current order: Kings in eighth, Warriors in ninth, Lakers in 10th.

Their three schedules break similarly. All three teams have one difficult opponent and one soft opponent remaining. The Kings get the Suns and Blazers, both at home. The Warriors get the Pelicans and Jazz, both at home. The Lakers have the Grizzlies and Pelicans, both on the road.

Friday is the crucial night. If Sacramento can beat the Suns, the path for the Warriors and Lakers to climb is nearly blocked. All the Kings would need is a Sunday afternoon home win over a Blazers team that'll be three hours from summer vacation. The Kings still have an outside shot at seventh. They'd need to go 2-0 and have the Suns also lose in Minnesota on the season's final night.

But if the Suns beat the Kings on Friday night in Sacramento, the eighth-seed door cracks open for the Warriors. They're hosting the Pelicans at the same time 86 miles away in San Francisco and, after resting Green and Thompson, are expected to have their full rotation available. If they beat the Pelicans and then the Jazz on Sunday and get that Kings loss, they finish eighth.

But one Warriors slip-up could stick them in 10th. The Lakers, unlike the other two, get their easier game first (Grizzlies on Friday) and difficult game last (Pelicans on Sunday), needing help in the meantime.

Read more here.

DETROIT — How much is the Eastern Conference's ninth seed truly worth?

Before the dawn of the Play-In Tournament, ninth place meant you were the first team on the outside looking in on the 16-team postseason. But in today's era, it's become a place in the standings second-rate teams chase with the hope of catching fire and creating some postseason magic.

The Chicago Bulls are one of those teams. They happily clinched the ninth spot with a 127-105 road victory over the Detroit Pistons on Thursday. The win assures the Bulls a home game in next week's Play-In Tournament. They'll face the 10th-seeded Atlanta Hawks and enter the matchup with the approach that anything is possible.

"It'll be good for us to be able to play at home," Bulls guard Coby White said. "Last year when we did it, we were the 10th seed so both of the games were away. So it'll be good to get the home crowd behind us and be able to play that game at home. So it's big for us."