How Monday's results impact the NBA Playoffs, Play-In standings

With only three weeks remaining in the 2021-22 NBA regular season, teams are starting to get down to the final 10-or-so games on their schedule.

That means nearly every contest that takes place will have some sort of impact on the standings, playoff picture and Play-In Tournament race.

On Monday, March 21, there were nine games of NBA action and almost all of them had playoff or Play-In implications.

Take a look below at how each game affected the playoff picture.

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Celtics 132, Thunder 123: The Celtics have done a fantastic job clawing their way back into the top four of the East and every win now counts as the C's, the Bucks and the 76ers are all tied for equal second, 2.5 games behind the East-leading Heat. 

Rockets 115, Wizards 98: This game won't have any impact on Play-In seeding. The Wizards are five games back of the Hawks who are in 10th in the East, and with only 11 games left on the schedule, they are not making up that ground. 

Bulls 113, Raptors 99: This loss was bigger for the Raps than the win was for the Bulls. Toronto's loss, and Brooklyn's win, means the Nets gain half a game on the seventh seed Raptors to be just two full games behind. The Bulls are two games behind the three teams directly above them, and 1.5 games ahead of the Cavs in 6th. 

Nets 114, Jazz 106: This game was huge for the Nets. They need to get some momentum going into the Play-In games and to do it over a strong Jazz team was even better. They are two games back of Toronto, and home-court will be crucial if those two meet in a 7 vs. 8 match-up - however, the Raps hold the tie-breaker over the Nets this season.

Sixers 113, Heat 106: Philadelphia needed this win to keep pressure on Miami, and also to try and create some breathing room between themselves and the Bucks and the Celtics, but alas, they still find themselves tied for second. 

Tyrese Maxey's CLUTCH block in #PhantomCam pic.twitter.com/K3VkPK0gOy

— NBA (@NBA) March 22, 2022

Trail Blazers 119, Pistons 115: Only implications from this game are lottery implications. 

Lakers 131, Cavaliers 121: The Lakers won't make up the 4.5 game difference between them and the Clippers in eighth, so right now it's all about trying to secure home-court in a Play-In match-up. The win means they stay one game ahead of the Pelicans in ninth. Cleveland's loss means the Raptors trail them by just one game as well. 

No hard feelings 🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/5sIukUyBKR

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) March 22, 2022

Hornets 106, Pelicans 103: The loss means New Orleans drop to one game behind the Lakers as those two battle it out for home-court in the Play-In game. Charlotte is one game behind the Nets as they will look to try and leapfrog them into eighth. 

Mavericks 110, Timberwolves 108: There were huge implications in this one, especially for the Wolves who had their four-game win streak snapped, and fell out of the guaranteed playoff spots as well. They are now half a game behind the Nuggets who are in sixth. The Mavs stay in fifth but gained half a game on fourth-placed Utah. 

Eastern Conference playoff picture

Play-In seeds are 7-through-10.

Western Conference playoff picture

Play-In seeds are 7-through-10.