The NBA considered making radical changes to the playoff format upon the league’s return, but the postseason will essentially remain the same. The only difference is that the No.8 seed and No.9 seed will face off in a play-in tournament if they are separated by fewer than four games when the regular season is finished.

The plan is for the top 22 teams to each play eight regular-season games at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida. The seeds can change, but most of the playoff picture is already set based on the current standings.

The teams with the six-best records in each conference are in the postseason. The No.7 seed Dallas Mavericks are virtually guaranteed to make the playoffs with a seven-game lead over the No.8 seed Memphis Grizzlies.

Before the league was suspended indefinitely on March 11 when Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19, four teams had already punched their tickets to the postseason. The Los Angeles Lakers were the only team in the West to do so. The Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics earned playoff spots in the East.

The Lakers should cruise to the No.1 seed in the conference. They are 5.5 games ahead of the No.2 seed L.A. Clippers.

If the Lakers lost every regular-season game in Orlando, the worst they could finish in the West is third. Los Angeles is seven games ahead of the Denver Nuggets and 8.5 games in front of the Utah Jazz.

Milwaukee is all but certain to have the best record in the East for a second straight year. The Bucks have a 6.5-game lead over the Raptors. The defending champions are three games in front of the Celtics.

That means Milwaukee can’t possibly fall below the No.2 seed.

Giannis Antetokounmpo LeBron James Bucks Lakers
Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks and LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers hug following a game at Fiserv Forum on December 19, 2019 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Stacy Revere/Getty Images
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