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Who will the Celtics play in the first round? See the play-in schedule and scenarios here.
The Celtics are set to play their first playoff game on Sunday at TD Garden.
The NBA’s play-in tournament began Tuesday with the Western Conference games and continues Wednesday with the East.
By Friday night, the Celtics will know their opponent for the first round of the NBA playoffs.
Boston, by virtue of earning the No. 1 seed with a 64-18 regular-season record, has ensured it will have home-court advantage throughout the postseason.
Here’s a look at the playoff and play-in tournament schedule.
Celtics playoff schedule: First-round dates and times
Game 1: TBD at Celtics, Sunday, 1 p.m. (ABC)
Game 2: TBD at Celtics, April 24, 7 p.m. (NBSCB, TNT)
Game 3: Celtics at TBD, April 27, 6 p.m. (NBCSB, TNT)
Game 4: Celtics at TBD, April 29, TBD (NBCSB)
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Game 5: TBD at Celtics, May 1, TBD (NBCSB)*
Game 6: Celtics at TBD, May 3, TBD (NBCSB)*
Game 7: TBD at Celtics, May 5, TBD (TBD)*
* if necessary
When will the Celtics’ playoff schedule be determined?
The NBA’s play-in tournament, introduced in 2020 and implemented in its current format in 2021, pits the No. 7 through 10 seeds in each conference against each other for the final two playoff berths.
The East seeds:
No. 7: 76ers (47-35)
No. 8: Heat (46-36)
No. 9: Bulls (39-43)
No. 10: Hawks (36-46)
The Heat and 76ers play Wednesday (7 p.m., ESPN) with the winner earning the No. 7 playoff seed and a first-round matchup with the Knicks.
The Bulls and Hawks play Wednesday (9:30 p.m., ESPN) with the loser out of the playoffs. The winner plays the loser of the Heat/76ers game, and the winner of that game will play the Celtics in the first round.
That game will be on Friday night. The Celtics will open the playoffs at TD Garden on Sunday.
NBA playoff schedule: First-round matchups
Eastern Conference
No. 1 Celtics vs. TBD
No. 2 Knicks vs. TBD
No. 3 Bucks vs. No. 6 Pacers
No. 4 Cavaliers vs. No. 5 Magic
Western Conference
No. 1 Thunder vs. TBD
No. 2 Nuggets vs. No. 7 Lakers
No. 3 Timberwolves vs. No. 6 Suns
No. 4 Clippers vs. No. 5 Mavericks
The Kings beat the Warriors and the Lakers beat the Pelicans on Tuesday. The Lakers will face the Nuggets in the first round. The Kings will play the Pelicans on Friday for the No. 8 seed and a date with Oklahoma City.
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NBA playoffs: Key dates
The playoffs begin on Saturday and Sunday. Every playoff series is a best-of-seven, in the 2–2–1–1–1 format.
The second round will begin between May 4 and 7, depending on the length of the first-round series.
The conference finals are scheduled to begin between May 19 and 22.
The NBA Finals open June 6. If a Game 7 is necessary, it will be on June 23. Here’s the full NBA Finals schedule (Games 5, 6, and 7 only if necessary).
- Thursday, June 6: Game 1 (8:30 p.m., ABC)
- Sunday, June 9: Game 2 (8 p.m., ABC)
- Wednesday, June 12: Game 3 (8:30 p.m., ABC)
- Friday, June 14: Game 4 (8:30 p.m., ABC)
- Monday, June 17: Game 5 (8:30 p.m., ABC)
- Thursday, June 20: Game 6 (8:30 p.m., ABC)
- Sunday, June 23: Game 7 (8 p.m., ABC)
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