Now in its fifth season, the aptly-named Play-In Tournament gives the seventh- through 10th-seeded teams in both the Eastern Conference (EC) and Western Conference (WC) a chance to, well, play their way into the final two playoff spots (the seventh and eighth seeds).
First, the No. 7 seeds hit the hardwood against the No. 8 seeds while the No. 9 seeds take on the No. 10 seeds. The winner of the No. 7 vs. No. 8 matchup clinches the No. 7 playoff spot, but the loser isn’t done just yet — they’ll face the winner of the No. 9 vs. No. 10 contest.
From there, the traditional postseason action tips off on Saturday, starting with the first round where the top teams in both conferences battle the newly-minted No. 8 seeds, the No. 2 seeds take on the No. 7 seeds, and so on.
🪄 No. 7 Orlando Magic vs. 🦅 No. 8 Atlanta Hawks — Tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET: Would you rather have the second-best defense in the league but lackluster three-point shooting or be led by a sharpshooting point guard who struggles on defense? Choose wisely ahead of this Play-In opener featuring the defensively driven Magic (sans Jalen Suggs) and the Trae Young–led Hawks.
🐂 No. 9 Chicago Bulls vs. 🔥 No. 10 Miami Heat — Tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. ET: The Heat danced through the Play-In Tournament all the way to the NBA Finals just two seasons ago — but there’s no one named Jimmy Butler on this roster. And the Bulls find themselves in a similar boat, trading away franchise mainstay Zach LaVine as part of a mid-season retooling effort.
💛 No. 7 Golden State Warriors vs. 🐻 No. 8 Memphis Grizzlies — Tonight at 10 p.m. ET: Warrior Steph Curry was a one-man wrecking crew this season — he hit 12 threes in a single game twice — then the Warriors added the aforementioned Butler. One of the greatest postseason performers ever in Curry paired with a man nicknamed “Playoff Jimmy”? Nightmare fuel.
👑 No. 9 Sacramento Kings vs. 🐴 No. 10 Dallas Mavericks — Tomorrow at 10 p.m. ET: The Kings flipped four of their top eight players into DeMar DeRozan and LaVine this year, while the Mavs made arguably the worst trade ever, sending Luka Dončić to the LA Lakers for a still-rehabbing Anthony Davis — and here both teams are in the Play-In Tournament. Awkward.
⚔️ No. 1 Cleveland Cavaliers: The Cavs have been historically good, posting not one but two 15-game win streaks behind the best offense in the league. But their fearless leader, six-time All-Star Donovan Mitchell, is nursing an ankle injury, and that’s anything but ideal for a squad with title aspirations.
🍀 No. 2 Boston Celtics: The defending champs continue to fire on all cylinders, literally — they put up the most three-point shots in the league, and it’s not close. With sharpshooters up and down the lineup, including superstars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and the defensive tenacity to match, the Cs just might have what it takes to be the NBA’s first back-to-back champs since 2018.
🧡 No. 3 NY Knicks: NY’s talented and boasts the power of friendship with a trio of Villanova college pals that includes standout Jalen Brunson. Not to mention, they added five-time All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns in the offseason. Fifty-two years after their last title, will the Knicks finally return to the promised land? Only if their mediocre defense is up to the task.
👟 No. 4 Indiana Pacers: The Pacers’ dynamic duo of Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam have been lights out this season, leading Indiana to eight wins over their last 10 games. Talk about peaking at the right time. And with a deep supporting cast, last season’s conference finalists are poised for yet another deep playoff run.
🦌 No. 5 Milwaukee Bucks: Any team that has Giannis Antetokounmpo (pronounced ah-det-oh-KOON-boh) shouldn’t be underestimated, especially when the two-time league MVP is playing some of the best basketball of his career — even without the bread to his butter: Damian Lillard, who was sidelined indefinitely last month due to a blood clot.
❤️ No. 6 Detroit Pistons: The Pistons are so back. Cade Cunningham’s done exactly what he was supposed to when he was drafted first overall in 2021: lead the Motor City resurgence. After tallying 14 wins total last season, this is Detroit’s first playoff appearance since 2019 — but unlike that team (who were unceremoniously swept in the first round), these kids are for real.
⚡ No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder: The Thunder aren’t just putting up dubs; they’re dominating, winning by over 12 points per game on average — the best mark in NBA history. And while MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s slicing and dicing is second-to-none, this team hangs its hat on defense, forcing the most turnovers and tallying the second-most blocks in the league.
🚀 No. 2 Houston Rockets: Speaking of D, the Rockets boast similar defensive dominance, and they’ll really have to lean into that grit: The biggest knock on this squad is their lack of playoff experience. That said, young guns Jalen Green and Alperen Şengün, both of whom were born in 2002, have led the Rockets to their first 50-win season since 2019.
💜 No. 3 LA Lakers: The trade that broke the internet catapulted the Purple and Gold back into title contention buoyed by their trifecta of talent — Luka Dončić, the ageless LeBron James, and Austin Reaves. Even if the squad is still figuring each other out only two months post-trade, this is certainly one of the best trios in the league.
⛏️ No. 4 Denver Nuggets: Yes, Denver fired the winningest coach in team history literally last week, normally a major red flag. But hold your horses, the Nuggets have the best player in the world in three-time MVP Nikola Jokić, who’s methodically putting together his best season ever. If anyone can carry the weight of a franchise, it’s the Joker.
💙 No. 5 LA Clippers: Kawhi Leonard is back like he never left, James Harden hasn’t been the drama, and Norman Powell has become a bonafide scoring threat, meaning the Clippers are finally scratching the surface of their potential. Leonard and Powell teamed up in 2019 to snag the Toronto Raptors their first championship — are the Clips the next title-starved franchise on the list?
🐺 No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves: If the Timberwolves had a walk-up song, it’d be Hot N Cold because this team is either cruising to victory or blowing 24-point fourth-quarter leads. The one constant has been Anthony Edwards’ production — he’s shooting the lights out this season, knocking down the most triples in the league.
Sign up for The GIST and receive the latest sports news straight to your inbox three times a week.
