THE NBA Playoffs are right around the corner and as it was since the 2019-20 season, post-season will officially be ushered in by the play-in tournament.
Games start on Wednesday morning in the Philippines, with the tournament determining the final two teams who'll make the playoffs.
Who's ALREADY in and who's looking to get in the playoffs?
Oklahoma City, Houston, the Los Angeles Lakers, Denver, the Los Angeles Clippers, and Minnessota are already assured of their respecitive playoff spots, completing the first to sixth seeds in the Western Conference.
The East, on the other hand, will have Cleveland, Boston, New York, Indiana, Milwaukee and Detroit as their first six seeds in the tournament.
Falling to the seventh-seed even after a late season push, the Golden State Warriors will meet a familiar foe in the eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies as the first Western play-in match-up while the ninth-seeded Sacramento Kings take on the Dallas Mavericks.
The East will pit familiar foes when the ninth-seeded Chicago Bulls tangle with 10th-seeded Miami Heat, while no. 7 Orlando Magic tangles with the eight-seed Atlanta Hawks
What's the format again?
The winner of the battle between seven and eight seeds will take the seventh spot, which means Houston faces the Grizzlies - Warriors winner while awaiting the winner between the Hawks and the Magic is Boston.
The loser of those match-ups will face the winner of the 9-10 match-up for the final seed in the playoffs. Top-seeds OKC Thunder and the Cleveland Cavaliers await the survivors of the playins.
A closer look:
East: No. 7 Orlando Magic vs. No. 8 Atlanta Hawks
BEEN THERE, DONE THAT
Atlanta is in the Play-In Tournament for the fourth consecutive season.
The Hawks reached the Playoffs via the Play-In in 2021-22 and 2022-23 before falling short in 2023-24.
FORWARD THINKING
Orlando’s forward tandem of Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner is one of the best in the game. Banchero, a first-time All-Star last season, averaged 25.9 points this season and an Eastern Conference-leading 29.0 points after the All-Star break.
Wagner (24.2 ppg) was on his way to becoming a first-time All-Star this season before an extended midseason absence for the same obliqueinjury that also sidelined Banchero.
FEATS OF TRAE
Atlanta’s Trae Young led the NBA in assists per game for the first time and made so many big plays late in close games that the Hawks are promoting him for the Kia NBA Clutch Player of the Year Award.
He is looking to lead Atlanta to its fourth playoff berth in the last five seasons.
DEFENSE MECHANISM
Orlando finished with the best defense in the Eastern Conference and the second best in the NBA, even with 2023-24 Kia NBA All-Defensive Team selection Jalen Suggs missing the final 46 games.
With the 27th-ranked offense, the Magic relies on its defense to win games.
GREAT BARRIER THIEF
In a breakout third season, Atlanta’s Dyson Daniels led the NBA in steals per game and more than doubled his scoring average from last season with New Orleans (14.1 ppg from 5.8 ppg).
He became the first player to average at least 3.00 steals since 1990-91 and had the most total steals since 1995-96.
East: No. 9 Chicago Bulls vs. No. 10 Miami Heat
FAMILIAR FOES
Chicago and Miami meet in the Play-In for the third straight season. In each of the previous two seasons, the Heat beat the Bulls in Miami in the game to determine the No. 8 playoff seed.
PLAY-IN FINALS
Two years ago, the Heat made the Playoffs via the Play-In and went on to reach the NBA Finals as the No. 8 seed – the first to do so since the 1998-99 Knicks.
BACKCOURT BONANZA
Chicago’s Coby White and Josh Giddey form an ascendant backcourt. White was the NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month for March, when he averaged 27.7 points. Giddey averaged 21.2 points, 10.7 rebounds and 9.3 assists after the All-Star break.
STANDARD OF SUCCESS
Led by first-time All-Star Tyler Herro and three-time All-Star Bam Adebayo under longtime head coach Erik Spoelstra, Miami eyes its sixth consecutive playoff appearance after reaching the NBA Finals in two of the previous five years.
RISING ROOKIES
Chicago’s Matas Buzelis and Miami’s Kel’el Ware both emerged as key contributors as their rookie seasons progressed. They are skilled big men with tons of upside.
West: No. 7 Golden State Warriors vs. No. 8 Memphis Grizzlies
RIVALRY RENEWED
Golden State takes on Memphis in the postseason (Playoffs or Play-In) for the third time in the last five seasons. Intense on-court matchups and back-and-forth barbs through social media have ratcheted up the rivalry.
In the 2021 Play-In, Memphis beat Golden State 117-112 in overtime to earn the No. 8 playoff seed.
MARQUEE MATCHUP
Stephen Curry goes head-to-head against Ja Morant in a showdown of premier point guards. When they last met (April 1 in Memphis), Curry scored 52 points with 12 three-pointers and Morant had 36 points.
YOUTH vs. EXPERIENCE
The Grizzlies’ top seven scorers are 26 or younger and their interim head coach, Tuomas Iisalo, has nine games of NBA head coaching experience.
Stephen Curry (37 years old) and Draymond Green (35) have led the Warriors to four NBA championships under longtime head coach Steve Kerr, and the franchise recently acquired two-time NBA Finals participant Jimmy Butler III (35).
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Memphis’ Jaren Jackson Jr. and Golden State’s Draymond Green are both former Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award recipients, multiple-time All-Star selections and Michigan State alums. Impressive versatility enables them to defend inside and outside.
TURNAROUND TEAM
After finishing 27-55 last season amid a hard-luck injury year, the Grizzlies made a 21-win improvement this season (48-34) to jump back into contention. Memphis was the No. 2 playoff seed in the Western Conference in both 2021-22 and 2022-23.
West: No. 9 Sacramento Kings vs. No. 10 Dallas Mavericks
BATTLE OF THE BIGS
Ten-time All-Star Anthony Davis of Dallas goes head-to-head against three-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis of Sacramento. Sabonis led the NBA in both rebounds per game and double-doubles for the third consecutive season.
CHANGE ON THE FLY
Before the trade deadline, both teams parted ways with longtime franchise cornerstones – Luka Dončić (Dallas) and De’Aaron Fox (Sacramento) – and added a new star, Anthony Davis (Dallas) and Zach LaVine (Sacramento).
ZACH ATTACK
Sacramento’s Zach LaVine shot a career-high 51.1% from the field and 44.6% from three-point range (second in the NBA) this season as part of an impressive comeback after missing all but 25 games last season.
Reunited with former Bulls teammate DeMar DeRozan, LaVine seeks to play in the Playoffs for the second time in his 11-year career.
YOU CAN KLAY THAT AGAIN
Dallas’ Klay Thompson gets another opportunity vs. Sacramento in the Play-In. In this same 9-10 game in the same arena last season, Thompson went scoreless and shot 0-for-10 for the field as the Warriors lost to the Kings in his final game with Golden State.
TOURNAMENT FIXTURE
After a midseason trade from Washington to Sacramento, the Kings’ Jonas Valančiūnas is set to continue his streak of appearing in the Play-In every year since its inception in the 2019-20 season. This will be the sixth Play-In for Valančiūnas, who participated with Memphis and New Orleans in previous seasons.
He is the career Play-In leader in games played, minutes played, points and rebounds.
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