16 teams play in the NBA Playoffs 2022 in four rounds for the NBA championship title: Eight from the Eastern Conference, eight from the Western Conference.
At the moment, things are heating up: A few teams are already in the 2nd round – like the Boston Celtics or last year’s champion Milwaukee Bucks – while other first-round duels are very close.
NBA Playoffs 2022 Schedule 1st Round, Eastern Conference:
NBA Playoffs 2022 1st Round Schedule: Western Conference:
NBA Playoffs 2022 Schedule: Semifinals Eastern Conference
NBA Playoffs 2022 Schedule: Semifinals: Western Conference
Table of Contents
NBA Playoffs 2022 Dates: Game Schedule 1st Round Eastern Conference
Miami Heat 1 vs. Atlanta Hawks (8)
– Game 1: Hawks vs. Miami 91:115
– Game 2: Hawks vs. Miami 105:115
– Game 3: Miami vs. Hawks 110:111
– Game 4: Miami vs. Hawks 110:86
– Game 5*: Hawks vs. Miami 94:97
Boston Celtics (2) vs. Brooklyn Nets (7)
– Game 1: Brooklyn vs. Boston 114:115
– Game 2: Brooklyn vs. Boston 107:114
– Game 3: Boston vs. Brooklyn 109:103
– Game 4: Boston vs. Brooklyn 116:112
Milwaukee Bucks (3) vs. Chicago Bulls (6)
– Game 1: Chicago vs. Milwaukee 86:93
– Game 2: Chicago vs. Milwaukee 114:110
– Game 3: Milwaukee vs. Chicago 111:81
– Game 4: Milwaukee vs. Chicago 119:95
– Game 5: Chicago vs. Milwaukee 100:116
Philadelphia 76ers (4) vs. Toronto Raptors (5)
– Game 1: Toronto vs. Philadelphia 111:131
– Game 2: Toronto vs. Philadelphia 97:112
– Game 3: Philadelphia vs. Toronto 104:101
– Game 4: Philadelphia vs. Toronto 102:110
– Game 5: Toronto vs. Philadelphia 103:88
– Game 6*: Philadelphia vs. Toronto Thursday, April 28 – TBD – TBD
– Game 7*: Toronto vs. Philadelphia Saturday, April 30 – TBD – TNT
NBA Playoffs 2022 Dates: Game Schedule 1st Round Western Conference
Phoenix Suns 1 vs. New Orleans Pelicans (8)
– Game 1: Pelicans vs. Phoenix 99:110
– Game 2: Pelicans vs. Phoenix 114:125
– Game 3: Phoenix vs. Pelicans 114:125
– Game 4: Phoenix vs. Pelicans 103:118
– Game 5*: Pelicans vs. Phoenix 97:112
– Game 6*: Phoenix vs. Pelicans – Thursday, April 28 – TBD – TBD
– Game 7*: Pelicans vs. Phoenix – Saturday, April 30 – TBD – TNT
Memphis Grizzlies (2) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (7)
– Game 1: Minnesota vs. Memphis 130:117
– Game 2: Minnesota vs. Memphis 96:124
– Game 3: Memphis vs. Minnesota 104:95
– Game 4: Memphis vs. Minnesota 118:119
– Game 5*: Minnesota vs. Memphis 109:111
– Game 6*: Memphis vs. Minnesota – Friday, April 29 – TBD – TBD
– Game 7*: Minnesota vs. Memphis – Sunday, May 1 – TBD – TBD
Golden State Warriors (3) vs. Denver Nuggets (6)
– Game 1: Denver vs. Golden State 107:123
– Game 2: Denver vs. Golden State 106:126
– Game 3: Golden State vs. Denver 118:113
– Game 4: Golden State vs. Denver 121:126
– Game 5: Denver vs. Golden State 98:102
Dallas Mavericks (4) vs. Utah Jazz (5)
– Game 1: Utah vs. Dallas 99:93
– Game 2: Utah vs. Dallas 104:110
– Game 3: Dallas vs. Utah 126:118
– Game 4: Dallas vs. Utah 99:100
– Game 5*: Utah vs. Dallas 77:102
– Game 6*: Dallas vs. Utah – Thursday, April 28 – TBD – TBD
– Game 7*: Utah vs. Dallas – Saturday, April 30 – TBD – TNT
NBA Playoffs Format & Schedule – the road to the finals
The National Basketball League is divided into two conferences – Eastern and Western. Who is in the NBA Playoffs 2022?
A total of 16 teams will be in the 2022 NBA Playoffs: eight from the Eastern Conference, eight from the Western Conference.
Six teams from each conference are fixed. The other four teams first have to qualify via the play-in tournament, in which the last two teams from each conference are selected for the playoffs.
The 2022 NBA Playoffs, including the Finals, consist of a total of four rounds.
After the 1st round come the Conference Semifinals, then the Conference Finals and the final round between the two Conference winners are then the NBA Finals.
However, the NBA playoffs start off a little differently than the NFL playoffs, for example.
In the National Football League playoffs, the two best teams of the regular season have a bye in the first playoff round.
This does not exist in the basketball championship. Here, the best teams are in from the start. Thus, all eight participants will enter the first round of the 2022 NBA Playoffs. As is also the case with the NHL Playoffs.
The 1st Round of the NBA Playoffs
Who plays who in the NBA Playoffs?
The best team of the Regular Season will play against the eighth best team – or against the team that prevailed in the Play-In Tournament in the duel of the “Nine-Ten Game” winner against the “Seven-Eight Games” loser.
The second Regular Season team will face the 7 seed. This is the team that prevailed in the Play In Tournament in the “Seven-Eight Games”.
In the other games, the third and sixth best teams of the basic round will meet as well as the number 4 and 5 of the Regular Season.
How the Play-In Tournament works
Eight teams, four per conference, compete for the final four remaining playoff spots in the newly formed NBA Play-In Tournament before the NBA Playoffs officially begin.
The eight teams are those ranked 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th respectively after the end of the Regular Season.
What are the rules and mode for the Play-In Tournament?
The play-in tournament before the 2022 NBA Playoffs consists of three games per conference. First, the seventh-place team meets the eighth-place team in the final standings of the regular season.
The number 7 seed has home court in this game. The winner of this so-called “Seven-Eight Game” is qualified for the 2022 NBA Playoffs and gets the 7-seed.
Play In 2022 Schedule Eastern Conference
Play In 2022 Schedule Western Conference
In the “Nine-Ten Game”, the tenth team plays host to the ninth team of the regular season. The winner of this game has to play the loser of the “Seven-Eight Game” in the final play-in game.
Whoever wins this duel will get the last play-off place in the respective conference.
This gives the seventh and eighth-placed teams a slight advantage. They only need one win to make the playoffs, while the ninth and tenth-placed teams of the regular season have to win two games to get into the playoffs.
Conference Semifinals
The second round of the NBA Playoffs 2022 are the Conference Semifinals.
Here the winners from the first round play against each other. Who plays against whom is determined by the NBA Playoffs schedule.
Important: The lower seed has home court advantage in the first game. This means that should the best-of-7 series come down to a seventh and deciding game, the team that was better in the regular season will have home court advantage in the final game.
Dates and games of the NBA Conference Semifinals
Conference Finals
The final round of the NBA Playoffs are the Conference Finals.
Here, not only the winner of the respective Conference is determined, but also who will play against each other in the Finals for the championship title.
The winner of the Eastern Conference will play the NBA Finals against the winner of the Western Conference.
The start date of the 2022 NBA Conference Finals is May 17 and 18 respectively.
NBA Playoffs 2022: Schedule & Dates at a glance
NBA Finals 2022: Dates, Games, Mode
The NBA Finals are the last and most important round of the NBA Playoffs. Here the upcoming champion will be determined.
The mode is the same as the three playoff rounds before – it is played in a best-of-seven format. Whoever wins four matches first is the champion and NBA champion. The winner of the Finals will also receive the coveted Larry O’Brien Championship trophy.
The NBA Finals 2022 will begin on 2 June with Game 1. In total, the NBA Finals can go over seven games. The shortest option is four games, if one team wins all of the first four duels.
This means that the earliest date on which the 2022 NBA Champions will be decided is 10 June, and the latest date on which the 2022 NBA Playoffs will be over is 19 June.
The Game Dates for the 2022 NBA Finals
– Game 1 on June 2.
– Game 2 on 5 June
– Game 3 on 8 June
– Match 4 on 10 June
– Match 5 on 13 June (if necessary)
– Match 6 on 16 June (if necessary)
– Match 7 on 19 June (if necessary)
