The 2024-25 NBA regular season is nearing its conclusion, and April 8 presents a pivotal night packed with postseason implications for teams across both conferences.
Ten games are on the schedule, and multiple franchises can lock in playoff spots, division titles, or face elimination depending on tonight’s results.
The Cleveland Cavaliers can clinch the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference with a win over the Chicago Bulls at Rocket Arena.
Cleveland enters the night with a 62-16 record and holds a four-game lead over Boston, which travels to New York to face the third-seeded Knicks.
A Cavaliers win would give them home-court advantage throughout the Eastern bracket, while the Bulls, at 36-42, are trying to hold onto the ninth spot and avoid slipping in the Play-In seeding.
Out West, the Los Angeles Lakers can clinch a playoff berth with a victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center.
JJ Redick’s squad also has a chance to secure the Pacific Division title, but only if the Clippers and Suns lose their respective games against the Spurs and Warriors.
The Lakers sit third in the West at 48-30 and would avoid the Play-In Tournament entirely with a win, while the Thunder have already locked up the conference’s top seed at 64-14.
Golden State hosts Phoenix at Footprint Center in one of the night’s most important games, with the outcome potentially locking Sacramento into the Play-In Tournament.
If the Suns lose, the Kings will be mathematically unable to rise above the ninth seed, guaranteeing their participation in the April 15-18 Play-In window.
Sacramento is 39-40 entering tonight and remains three games behind the group tied for fourth through eighth in the West standings.
Phoenix is 35-43 and trails Dallas by three games for the final Play-In spot, meaning a loss would effectively eliminate them from postseason contention.
The LA Clippers are also in action tonight, hosting the San Antonio Spurs at Intuit Dome. They are tied with Golden State, Minnesota, and Memphis at 46-32, and remain in the mix for a top-four seed depending on how results unfold this week.
Denver, currently 47-32, sits fourth in the West and faces no action tonight but could slide depending on how others perform.
In the East, Boston’s matchup with New York features two teams that have already clinched playoff spots.
The Celtics are locked into the second seed, while the Knicks (50-28) will hold third regardless of tonight’s result.
Indiana, holding the fourth seed at 47-31, hosts the last-place Washington Wizards and can increase its cushion over Milwaukee and Detroit.
The Bucks face a tougher challenge in Minnesota, where the Timberwolves are looking to break the four-way tie in the West and boost their playoff chances.
Orlando and Atlanta square off in a game that could shift the middle of the East Play-In picture, with the Magic currently seventh and the Hawks eighth.
Miami is off tonight but will be watching closely, sitting just behind Chicago and Atlanta in the standings.
New Orleans visits Brooklyn in a game with little playoff impact, as both teams have already been eliminated from contention.
Elsewhere, Memphis travels to Charlotte in a matchup that could allow the Grizzlies to pull away from the pack if they manage a road win.
The 2025 NBA Play-In Tournament will run from April 15 to April 18, setting the stage for the first round of the playoffs starting April 19.
