The 2025-26 NBA regular season is officially in the books, setting the stage for a thrilling postseason. As the Play-In Tournament tips off Tuesday and the first round begins Saturday, the final day's results reshaped the playoff landscape, creating clear winners and losers in the bracket battle.

Few teams' fortunes have shifted as dramatically as the Houston Rockets'. Just three weeks ago, they were the first-round opponent everyone in the West coveted, appearing broken while the Lakers surged. Now, Houston enters the playoffs having won nine of their last ten games and, thanks to Sunday's outcomes, they've drawn a severely shorthanded Lakers squad. With L.A. expected to be without both Austin Reaves and likely Luka Dončić for the series, the Rockets caught a major break, avoiding a daunting matchup with the Denver Nuggets.

In the Eastern Conference, the New York Knicks face a tougher-than-expected path. By losing to Miami on Sunday, the Atlanta Hawks slid to the No. 6 seed, setting up a first-round clash with the Knicks. Atlanta is one of the league's hottest teams, boasting a potent offense that averages 15 three-pointers per game since the All-Star break. For a Knicks defense that ranks in the bottom ten against the three, this presents a significant challenge. While New York remains the favorite, this series promises to be a grueling test.

Conversely, the Cleveland Cavaliers emerged as big winners from the final day's chaos. By avoiding the red-hot Hawks, they instead draw the Toronto Raptors, widely viewed as the East's weakest playoff team. Furthermore, Cleveland landed on the opposite side of the bracket from the powerhouse Boston Celtics. This means the Cavs could potentially face Toronto and then Detroit in the first two rounds, a far more favorable path than navigating a potential second-round showdown with the Celtics or Knicks. The bracket broke perfectly for a Cleveland team looking to make a deep run.