The 2021-22 NBA regular season is in the books. If you had included the Lakers missing the playoffs in your NBA betting for the season, then you just made a lot of money. Now we’re set for the play-in tournament ahead of the start of the first round on Saturday. The play-in features teams seven through ten in the standings of each conference. The seventh seeds host the eighth seeds, with the winner getting the seventh seed in the playoff bracket. The ninth seeds host the tenth seeds for the right to play the loser of the 7 vs 8 game. The winner of that game takes the eighth seed. Let’s take a closer look going into the playoffs as you choose your wagers.
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Eastern Conference
| Play-In Tournament |
|---|
| #8 Cleveland Cavaliers | #7 Brooklyn Nets |
| #10 Charlotte Hornets | #9 Atlanta Hawks |
Western Conference
| Play-In Tournament |
|---|
| #8 L.A. Clippers | Minnesota Timberwolves |
| #10 San Antonio Spurs | #9 New Orleans Pelicans |
First Round
| #1 Miami Heat vs #8 seed #1 Phoenix Suns vs #8 seed |
| #2 Boston Celtics vs #7 seed #2 Memphis Grizzlies vs #7 seed |
| #3 Milwaukee Bucks vs #6 Chicago Bulls | #3 Golden State Warriors vs #6 Denver Nuggets |
| #4 Philadelphia 76ers vs #5 Toronto Raptors | #4 Dallas Mavericks vs #5 Utah Jazz |
In the Eastern Conference, only one game separated seeds 7 through 10, and the top four seeds could have occupied any of the four spots with four games remaining. That’s how close things were in this conference. In the play-in tournament, Brooklyn and Cleveland each finished with 44-38 records, and Atlanta and Charlotte both finished 43-39.
The West was not as tight. Minnesota (46-36) and the Clippers (42-40) were way ahead of New Orleans (36-46) and San Antonio (34-48). Usually, it’s the Eastern Conference that has teh shabbier teams down at the bottom of the bracket, but this time around, it’s the West. If you’re looking for a nine- or ten-seed to make it into the playoff bracket, I’d look for that to happen in the East, as Charlotte has a high ceiling, and Trae Young can make anything happen in a one-game situation. The San Antonio Spurs had a chance to come back on Dallas in the season finale after Luka Doncic left with a calf strain, but the Spurs let Theo Pinson come off the deeper part of the bench and hang 16 on them in the fourth quarter and let Boban Marjanovic back down Jakob Poeltl for a couple of creaky hook shots.
Out of the West play-in, I like the Clippers to advance. They’ve gotten healthy in the last few weeks, as Norman Powell and Paul George are both back – and George is scoring in bunches. The Timberwolves have had a breakout season, at least by their standards, but they will struggle to put the Clippers away. Kawhi Leonard could return, but it wouldn’t be until the second round of the playoffs; for now, though, I see the Clippers snagging that seven-seed, while the Timberwolves take the eight-seed after beating the winner of New Orleans and San Antonio.
What about the East? Sure, Brooklyn has Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, but KD put up 55 points in a loss last week. The Nets don’t have much in the way of defensive identity, and while Kyrie did sink the game-winning dagger to close out the 2016 Finals over Golden State, it’s hard to say he’s been clutch in Brooklyn yet, at least on a consistent basis. Cleveland had a terrific first two-thirds of the season, but they’ve started to take on water down the stretch. The Nets should be thankful that they open with the Cavaliers rather than the Hawks or the Hornets.
Which team wins the 9-10 game? Atlanta gets to host, but the Hawks have had a hard time finishing people off. The Hornets can get big games from a number of people after LaMelo Ball and Mikal Bridges, and they just might be able to pull off this upset. If you want a sleeper, then take Charlotte; either way, Atlanta or Charlotte would represent a solid upset pick in the matchup with the Cavaliers.
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