The NBA playoffs begin April 19. The top six teams in each conference qualify for those playoffs. With five days left in the regular season, the Timberwolves (46-33) are in eighth place in the Western Conference after a bad loss in Milwaukee on Tuesday.

LeBron James and Luka Dončić helped the Lakers clinch a playoff spot with a win over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday. Dončić is less than one year removed from leading the Dallas Mavericks to the Western Conference Finals. He will now look to power his new team on a similarly deep playoff run.

Five days remain in the 2024-25 NBA regular season, and there is still plenty of for grabs in terms of playoff seeding -- especially in the Western Conference. The Thunder and Rockets have clinched playoff berths in the West,

While the bubble is a thing of the past, the league has kept one holdover from 2020: the play-in tournament. The NBA playoffs remain at 16 teams, but the final two seeds of each conference are determined by a pair of four-team brackets.

Wednesday features 10 games on the schedule, with several seeding matchups and clinching scenarios to monitor throughout the evening.

How does the NBA Play-In Tournament work? Here's what to know about how the No. 7-10 seeds in each conference advance during playoffs.