Go ahead and set your picks, the East postseason picture is set after Friday night’s set of results.
The Indiana Pacers will be the East’s fourth seed and face the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the playoffs.
There was a possibility that the Pacers could rise to third by winning its final two games and the New York Knicks stumbling. Friday night’s 129-115 loss to the Orlando Magic cements their place as the fourth seed.
That also means the Knicks will face the Detroit Pistons in the first round in a matchup of the third and sixth seed.
Finally, victories for the Atlanta Hawks and Chicago Bulls cemented their places as the eighth and ninth seed, respectively. The Miami Heat will be 10th despite spanking the New Orleans Pelicans 153-104.
In the Play-In Tournament, Orlando will host Atlanta for the official rights to seventh place while Chicago will host Miami.
The Cleveland Cavaliers will await the winner of the eighth place game. The Boston Celtics will host the winner of the seventh place game.
THE EASTERN CONFERENCE POSTSEASON PICTURE IS SET
1. Cavaliers
2. Celtics
3. Knicks
4. Pacers
5. Bucks
6. Pistons
7. Magic
8. Hawks
9. Bulls
10. Heat#SoFiPlayIn tips off 4/15#NBAPlayoffs presented by Google tip off 4/19!— NBA (@NBA) April 12, 2025
Did The Pacers and Knicks Try To Duck Celtics?
After the Knicks lost three straight games and the Pacers won six in a row, Indiana had moved to within one game of New York heading into Friday night’s action.
A win against the Magic would have put further pressure on the Knicks, but the Pacers opted to sit Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner, and Andrew Nembhard.
Advancing to the second round as the fourth seed would result in a likely matchup against the Cavs rather than the Celtics. The Knicks are now on the defending champions’ side of the bracket.
It’s also possible that the Pacers see the Bucks as a more favorable matchup, considering last year’s series victory over Milwaukee. There’s certainly history between the two teams dating back to last year’s Play-In Tournament as well.
Damian Lillard’s absence is a huge factor, but Milwaukee will go in knowing they have the best player in the series in Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek superstar missed last year’s series through injury.
