Eight NBA teams get one last shot at the postseason with the upcoming play-in tournament.
The NBA regular season concluded on Sunday, and the seventh and eighth seeds in both the Western Conference and Eastern Conference playoffs remain open. Play-in tournament winners will determine who grabs those remaining playoff seeds between Tuesday and Friday this week. The NBA playoffs tip off on Saturday with the quarterfinal games.
Who’s Competing to Face the Beasts of the East
Tipping off the play-in tournament, the 10th-place Miami Heat (43–39) visit the ninth-place Charlotte Hornets (44–38) on Tuesday in an elimination game. Charlotte is fresh off its best regular season in a decade, but the Heat won two out of three against the Hornets this season.
That said, the Hornets blew out the Heat 136–106 in their last meeting on March 17. Hornets forward Brandon Miller leads the team in scoring with 20.2 points per game, and guard LaMelo Ball is top-10 in the league for assists with 7.1 per game.
Heat guard Norman Powell leads his team with 21.7 points per game, and center Bam Adebayo averages a double-double of 20.1 points and 10 rebounds per contest.
The Heat-Hornets winner will play again on Friday against the losing team, which will be either the eighth-place Orlando Magic (45–37) or the seventh-place Philadelphia 76ers (45–37), depending on the outcome of their meeting on Wednesday. Whoever wins on Friday’s matchup earns the No. 8 seed and takes on the No. 1 seed Detroit Pistons (60–22) in the East quarterfinals.
For Wednesday’s matchup in Philadelphia, the Sixers won two of the three meetings this season, but the Magic blew out the 76ers once on Nov. 25. The two haven’t played each other since Jan. 9.
Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey is having a strong season, averaging 28.3 points and 6.6 assists per game. Philadelphia will likely play without center Joel Embiid, who averages 26.9 points per game but had an appendectomy on April 9.
Magic guard Paolo Banchero has been stellar for his team this year with 22.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game this season. Franz Wagner and Desmond Bane have both been go-to players for the Magic with 20 points per game apiece.
The Magic-76ers winner will earn the No. 7 seed and face the No. 2 seed Boston Celtics (56–26) in the quarterfinals.
Who’s Competing to Face the Best in the West
In the West, the eighth-place Portland Trail Blazers (42–40) visit the seventh-place Phoenix Suns (45–37) on Tuesday. Phoenix took two of three games from the Blazers during the regular season, but the Blazers won the last meeting in February, 92–77.
Blazers forward Deni Avdija has a strong season going with 24.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per game. Guard Shaedon Sharpe is also an offensive force with 20.8 points per contest.
Suns guard Devin Booker is a top-10 scorer in the league with 26.1 points per game, and he averages six assists per contest. Forward Dillon Brooks has a solid season going with 20.2 points per game.
The winner between the Suns and Blazers will earn the No. 7 seed and face the San Antonio Spurs (62–20) in the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, the loser of the Suns-Blazers game will take on Wednesday’s winner between the 10th-place Golden State Warriors (37–45) and the ninth-place Los Angeles Clippers (42–40).
Golden State has struggled of late with a three-game losing streak, which includes a 115–110 loss to the Clippers on Sunday. Los Angeles has a 3–1 record against the Warriors this season, and the Clippers have won six of the past 10 games.
Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard leads the team with 27.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.9 steals per game. Warriors guard Stephen Curry, meanwhile, has another strong season going with 26.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game.
Whichever team moves on and avoids elimination will play the Suns-Blazers loser on Friday for the No. 8 seed. The advancing team will take on the top seed and defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder (64–18) in the quarterfinals.
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