NBA Eastern Conference playoff picture: Bucks’ magic number for top seed is one; Bulls secure play-in spot

Below is a comprehensive snapshot of where things stand in the Eastern Conference playoff and play-in races entering play on Wednesday. This post will be updated throughout the remainder of the regular season or until all seeds are clinched. 

Reminder on how the play-in tournament works: No. 7 plays No. 8 and No. 9 plays No. 10. The winner of the 7-8 game gets the No. 7 seed, while the loser plays the winner of the 9-10 game for the  No. 8 seed. 

READ: Western Conference playoff picture

NOTE: Our SportsLine model, developed by predictive data engineer Stephen Oh, simulates the entire season 10,000 times to produce the most unbiased and precise projections imaginable.

• 🔒Clinched top-two seed
• Remaining schedule: vs. Bulls, vs. Grizzlies, at Raptors
• Current first-round matchup: TBD
• Tiebreaker vs. Boston: Celtics clinched

• 🔒Clinched top-three seed
• Remaining schedule: vs. Raptors, vs. Raptors, vs. Hawks
• Current first-round matchup: vs. Heat-Hawks play-in winner
• Tiebreaker vs. Milwaukee: Celtics clinched
• Tiebreaker vs. Philadelphia: Celtics clinched

• 🔒Clinched top-three seed
• Remaining schedule: vs. Heat, at Hawks, at Nets
• Current first-round matchup: vs. Nets

• 🔒Clinched top-four seed
• Remaining schedule: at Magic, vs. Hornets
• Current first-round matchup: vs. Knicks
• Tiebreaker vs. New York: Knicks clinched

5. New York Knicks (46-33)

• 🔒Clinched playoff spot
• Remaining schedule: at Pacers, at Pelicans, vs. Pacers
• Current first-round matchup: at Cavaliers
• Tiebreaker vs. Brooklyn: Knicks currently own via division win percentage

6. Brooklyn Nets (43-36)

• 🔒Clinched play-in spot
• Remaining schedule: at Pistons, vs. Magic, vs. 76ers
• Current first-round matchup: at 76ers
• Tiebreaker vs. New York: Knicks currently own via division win percentage
• Tiebreaker vs. Miami: Nets clinched

PLAY-IN TOURNAMENT

7. Miami Heat (42-37)

• 🔒Clinched play-in spot
• Remaining schedule: at 76ers, at Wizards, vs. Magic
• Current first-round matchup: vs. Hawks (play-in)
• Tiebreaker vs. Brooklyn: Nets clinched
• Tiebreaker vs. Atlanta: Heat clinched
• Tiebreaker vs. Toronto: Raptors clinched

8. Atlanta Hawks (40-39)

• 🔒Clinched play-in spot
• Remaining schedule: vs. Wizards, vs. 76ers, at Celtics
• Current first-round matchup: at Heat (play-in)
• Tiebreaker vs. Miami: Heat clinched
• Tiebreaker vs. Toronto: Hawks clinched

9. Toronto Raptors (40-39)

• 🔒Clinched play-in spot
• Remaining schedule: at Celtics, at Celtics, vs. Bucks
• Current first-round matchup: vs. Bulls (play-in)
• Tiebreaker vs. Miami: Raptors clinched
• Tiebreaker vs. Atlanta: Hawks clinched
• Tiebreaker vs. Chicago: Raptors clinched

10. Chicago Bulls (38-41)

• 🔒Clinched play-in spot
• Remaining schedule: at Bucks, at Mavericks, vs. Pistons
• Current first-round matchup: at Raptors (play-in)
• Tiebreaker vs. Toronto: Raptors clinched