“The core of what we’re trying to accomplish with the plan is driving regular season competition,” NBA vp of technique and analytics Evan Wasch stated on a convention name Thursday, noting that 25 of the league’s 30 groups had been nonetheless within the combine for the postseason within the closing month. “[Having] over 80 percent of the league still competing for something with only four weeks left is really compelling to us.”
Mercifully, all of the eventualities, tiebreakers and hypotheticals have been formally settled. Here’s a preview of this week’s play-in tournament, which options eight groups who’re vying for the ultimate two playoff spots in every convention.
No. 8 Cleveland Cavaliers (44-38) at No. 7 Brooklyn Nets (44-38); Tuesday, 7 p.m. Eastern
It’s jarring to see the Nets, who entered the season as title favorites, pressured to combat their method into the playoffs via the play-in, however it simply might have been worse. Kevin Durant missed 27 video games and Brooklyn went 8-19 in his absence. Unvaccinated star Kyrie Irving wasn’t cleared to play in house video games till final month. James Harden departed in a commerce deadline blockbuster. Ben Simmons has but to swimsuit up since being acquired within the Harden commerce. Joe Harris is out for the 12 months. And Brooklyn, which lastly claimed the tournament’s seventh seed on Sunday, was the East’s ninth seed as lately as Thursday.
Despite these misadventures, the Nets get to host the injury-riddled Cavaliers for his or her probability at a first-round date with the Boston Celtics. Given that Cleveland whimpered to a 3-8 end to the season and the Milwaukee Bucks would have been Brooklyn’s first-round opponent in the event that they hadn’t misplaced on Sunday, Durant and firm must be thanking their fortunate stars. Boston is a formidable opponent, however it’s finest to delay the potential of a rematch with Giannis Antetokounmpo for so long as attainable.
Durant stated Friday that he didn’t imagine the East’s high contenders had been attempting to govern the standings to keep away from the Nets, and Celtics Coach Ime Udoka stated Sunday that his group was taking a “let the chips fall where they may” method. Even so, it’s clear that the Nets are way more achieved and gifted than the everyday seventh or eighth seed, and they’re the play-in group that may harbor hopes of title competition. Milwaukee was sensible to punt its finale and drop one seed, the place it’ll take pleasure in a relatively simpler first-round matchup with the reeling Chicago Bulls.
While Brooklyn received three of its 4 common season conferences with Cleveland and Durant was out for the one loss, don’t rely on a one-sided affair. The Cavaliers had been one in all this season’s most nice surprises due to Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen and Rookie of the Year favourite Evan Mobley, and so they completed the season with a greater level differential than the Nets.
Cleveland pushed Brooklyn earlier than dropping 118-107 on Friday, and Garland scored 31 factors in defeat. While a number of experiences point out that Simmons will miss the play-in recreation, Cleveland hasn’t dominated out Allen, who has been sidelined with a finger harm since March 6. If the Cavaliers can pull the upset, they are going to safe their first playoff look with out LeBron James since 1998.
No. 8 Los Angeles Clippers (42-40) at No. 7 Minnesota Timberwolves (46-36); Tuesday, 9:30 p.m. Eastern
When it involves the play-in format, Minnesota has trigger to complain. The Timberwolves completed simply two video games out of the West’s sixth seed, which will get a assured playoff berth, whereas boasting a four-game lead over the Clippers and a full 10-game cushion over the West’s different play-in groups. What’s extra, they completed with the identical report because the Chicago Bulls, who claimed the East’s closing assured playoff berth. Instead of resting all week, the Timberwolves should host the Clippers, who went to final 12 months’s Western Conference finals, lately obtained all-star ahead Paul George again within the lineup and are using a five-game successful streak.
The Clippers went 3-1 in opposition to the Timberwolves this season, however these head-to-head outcomes are largely irrelevant. Los Angeles’s three wins all got here again in November, whereas Minnesota’s lone victory got here with George sidelined in January. Brace for a battle: Patrick Beverley, a longtime emotional chief of the Clippers, will sq. off in opposition to his former group because the Timberwolves chase their second playoff look within the final 18 years.
“It’s not a Paul George versus Patrick Beverley matchup,” George stated. “We’ve got to go through the Timberwolves and the Timberwolves have to stop the Clippers. I’m not even going to make that narrative.”
The winner will advance to face the No. 2 Memphis Grizzlies within the first spherical whereas the loser might want to win a second play-in recreation on Friday to attract the No. 1 Phoenix Suns. Minnesota went 0-3 in opposition to Phoenix and 2-2 in opposition to Memphis, so its hopes of advancing to the second spherical will rely closely on its skill to handle enterprise in opposition to the Clippers.
No. 10 Charlotte Hornets (43-39) at No. 9 Atlanta Hawks (43-39); Wednesday, 7 p.m. Eastern
If Hawks star Trae Young needs to reprise his function as playoff spoiler, he should first survive a do-or-die showdown with LaMelo Ball and the Hornets. Both groups boast top-10 offenses and bottom-10 defenses, so a shootout is probably going. The Hawks and Hornets break up the season sequence 2-2, and Young will likely be trying to atone for a season-low 9-point efficiency in a March 16 loss at Charlotte.
In addition to home-court benefit, Atlanta holds a number of different key edges. Young led the Hawks to the Eastern Conference finals final 12 months, and their core gamers possess considerably extra postseason expertise than the Hornets, who haven’t reached the playoffs since 2016. Atlanta’s second-ranked offense is extra formidable than Charlotte’s due to Young, who led the NBA in whole factors and whole assists this season.
Meanwhile, Charlotte dominated out ahead Gordon Hayward for the play-in tournament on account of foot soreness, leaving Coach James Borrego with no key starter who boasts 29 video games of playoff expertise. The Hornets will due to this fact have their fingers full attempting to keep away from a repeat of final 12 months’s play-in, once they had been destroyed by the Indiana Pacers, 144-117.
Whoever loses on Wednesday is out, whereas the winner will play a highway recreation on Friday in opposition to the loser of Nets versus Cavaliers. The winner of that second play-in recreation will draw the top-seeded Miami Heat within the first spherical.
No. 10 San Antonio Spurs (34-48) at No. 9 New Orleans Pelicans (36-46); Wednesday, 9:30 p.m. Eastern
No group benefited from the play-in greater than the Pelicans, who misplaced Zion Williamson to a season-long foot harm and opened with a 1-12 begin. Under the outdated eight-team playoff format, New Orleans would by no means have been capable of climb out of its early-season gap.
Instead, first-year coach Willie Green saved his group collectively and veteran guard CJ McCollum arrived on the commerce deadline. When Brandon Ingram and McCollum have each been wholesome, the Pelicans’ one-two scoring punch has delivered a 9-6 report and raised hopes of a attainable first-round look. San Antonio beat New Orleans 3-1 within the season sequence, however Ingram and McCollum had been each obtainable in solely one of many contests.
The rebuilding Spurs, who traded guard Derrick White for picks on the deadline, are in all probability shocked to a point that they reached the play-in. Somebody needed to capitalize on the Los Angeles Lakers’ collapse, although, and San Antonio overcame its thirtieth ranked clutch offense to sneak in. Dejounte Murray has led the Spurs in scoring, assists and steals to earn him his first all-star nod, however he missed 5 video games with a non-covid sickness earlier than returning for the season finale.
“I randomly got sick and it sucks [that it happened] at this crucial time while me and the team are rolling,” Murray wrote on Twitter final week. “I lost 7-8 pounds and [have] been feeling awful.”
The loser of Wednesday night time’s recreation will likely be eradicated, whereas the winner will go on the highway to face the loser of Timberwolves versus Clippers on Friday. If the Pelicans or Spurs had been to advance out of the play-in, they’d be heavy underdogs in opposition to the top-ranked Suns, who reached the 2021 Finals and received a franchise-record 64 video games this season.