After a long NBA regular season, we finally have reached the postseason, where we will crown a new NBA Champion.
The 2024 NBA Play-In starts off the postseason festivities, with four teams from the Eastern and Western Conferences hoping to keep their seasons' alive.
Will the Heat beat the 76ers? Can LeBron James take the Lakers to the Conference Championship game again? Will the Kings light the beam through to the Playoffs or will the Warriors dampen their hopes yet again? And most importantly, who will be destroyed by the Celtics, the Bulls or the Hawks?
Here are our picks and predictions for the 2024 NBA Play-In slate.
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2024 NBA Play-In: Lakers vs. Pelicans
Date: Tuesday, April 16th
Time: 7:30 PM
Network: TNT
Location: Smoothie King Arena
Both teams have had a strong regular season to get them to this point.
The New Orleans Pelicans finished with their best record since their Anthony Davis era, winning 49 games this year.
While the Los Angeles Lakers have managed to move their way up the standings in the difficult West, going from the 10th seed to finishing the season strong at the 8th. This late season Lakers charge included a dominant win against the Pelicans in their final game.
LA has so far dominated the season series against the New Orleans, beating them in three out of the four previous matchups.
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2024 NBA Play-In: Zion Williamson in the Postseason
All eyes will be on Zion Williamson in his first career postseason game.
Williamson's career has been plagued by injury throughout his first four years in New Orleans.
He missed the Pelicans' surprise postseason run in 2022, and their NBA Play-In game last season. So far this year Zion Williamson has played in 70 games and has a chance to finally play some postseason basketball.
Williamson looked really good throughout the final stretch of the regular season, posting 25.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game.
The question is, can he lift the Pelicans past the Lakers? Williamson has an all-time 1-7 record against LeBron James and the Lakers, having struggled during all their matchups this season.
Zion Williamson has a big chance now to remind the world why he is still one of the best young players in the NBA.
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2024 NBA Play-In: Lakers and Pelicans Health an X-Factor
The question coming into Tuesday night's game is whether Anthony Davis will be ready.
Davis exited the court with a back injury during Sunday's 124-108 win over his former team.
He has experienced a relatively healthy season for his standards playing 76 games. However, even without Anthony Davis it's not impossible for the Lakers to pick up a win against the Pelicans. Davis has proven to be a difference maker for the Lakers, especially late in the season and will definitely be missed if he is not cleared for the NBA Playoffs.
New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram has returned after missing 12 games with a left knee bone contusion. Sunday was his first game back and he did show some rust in his return.
How Ingram performs is pivotal for the Pelicans. Throughout the season, he has proven to be New Orleans' second-best player behind Zion Williamson.
Brandon Ingram had a solid year averaging 20.8 points per game. If completely healthy, he could be a major key for the Pelicans if they have any hope of winning.
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2024 NBA Play-In: Final Verdict
Both teams are no strangers to the NBA Play-In.
The Lakers last season managed to make a deep playoff run coming from the NBA Play-In. The same could be said for the Pelicans, who are joining the Play-In slate for the third season in a row now.
Despite a lot of talk coming into Tuesday's game, the Lakers could take a dive against the New Orleans Pelicans to avoid having to play the Denver Nuggets in favor of a series against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
It's hard to bet against LeBron James in a win-and-get-in scenario, especially against a young Pelicans team that he has dominated so far throughout his Lakers tenure.
Our Winner: Los Angeles Lakers because of postseason experience this year's previous matchups.
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2024 NBA Play-In: Kings vs. Warriors
Date: Tuesday, Apr. 16th
Time: 10:00 PM
Network: TNT
Location: Golden 1 Center
The Golden State Warriors finished the season on a high note, winning their final 10 of 12 games, and only losing 10 games in the second half of the season. The Sacramento Kings have lost seven of their final 11, defeating the Portland Trailblazers to close out the season.
The Kings managed to limp their way to the finish line, having been berated by injuries; losing Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk, two key rotational pieces who have played a major role in their success this season. While the Warriors have dealt with several lineup changes due to poor play, one notably being Klay Thompson now coming off the bench.
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2024 NBA Play-In: Kings Need to Contain Warriors Stephen Curry
The key for the Kings to win is to answer who will guard Stephen Curry, as Curry has proven to be hard to stop when he catches fire.
This was evident in several of Curry's biggest games being against the Kings, including his 50-point on 20-38 shooting game seven performance from last season, or his 41-point effort against the Kings earlier in the year.
Sacramento Kings head coach and former Golden State Warriors assistant Mike Brown has to find the right rotation to slow down Stephen Curry if he wants any chance of pulling this one out.
Throughout the season, Chris Duarte, Kevin Huerter, and Davion Mitchell have handled the Curry assignment with little success.
It would be interesting to see if Kings star guard De'Aaron Fox can step up to the task. Or if we will see sophomore forward Keegan Murray take a crack at guarding Stephen Curry.
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2024 NBA Play-In: Kings of the Court, Warriors Defense has to Stand Up
The Golden State Warriors will be tasked with stopping one of the league's most high-flying offenses, the Sacramento Kings.
Despite the dip from last season, the Kings are still pretty dangerous when they get going. They have a shooting up-tempo play style that could be run anytime on the court.
Power forward Domantas Sabonis has also been a force for the inside, and De'Aaron Fox has had another strong season in the young guard's career.
If Fox gets going and his shots are falling, then it may spell doom for the Warriors.
The Warriors will need to ground them early if they have any hope of pulling the victory out.
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2024 NBA Play-In: Final Verdict
If the Warriors' and Kings' encounters during the regular season is any indicator, then this one should be a close one. The Kings and Warriors managed to split the season series, with the final three games having been won by buzzer beaters.
While there is no doubt that Golden 1 Center would be rocking for the Sacramento Kings, the Warriors just have too much NBA postseason experience to not be able to pull out this one-game scenario.
Our Winner: We have the Golden State Warriors taking this one and advancing further.
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2024 NBA Play-In: Heat vs. 76ers
Date: Wednesday, April 17th
Time: 7:00 PM
Network: ESPN
Location: Wells Fargo Center
This is a matchup that could go either way as both teams are capable of making deep postseason runs despite where they fell in the standings.
The 76ers made a strong end of the season push, winning their final eight games to close out the season.
They were at one point sitting at the top of the Eastern Conference before Joel Embiid went down with a knee injury that forced the reigning MVP to miss 30 games of the regular season.
The Heat also managed to stay afloat this season, being without Tyler Herro for most of it and Jimmy Butler missing 20 games.
Their previous matchups saw both teams split the season series 2-2. Joel Embiid and Jimmy Butler have only played against each other in one of their matchups.
If any of their previous encounters can serve as an indication to how this game will go, it would be their Valentine's Day matchup where the Heat pulled out the 109-104 win and their April 14th game that saw the Sixers pull out a 109-105 win; indicating that we could be in store for a close one in Philly on Wednesday.
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2024 NBA Play-In: Matchup in the Paint
The matchup to watch is the war in the paint between Joel Embiid and Bam Adebayo.
In the five games since his return, Embiid has posted 30.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.2 blocks in 30.5 minutes per game.
Adebayo is one of the best defensive bigs in the NBA but will have his hands full in trying to slow down the Process. He did a solid job neutralizing Joel Embiid when they last met in the 2022 NBA Playoffs, but Embiid has only gotten better since that series.
Bam Adebayo will need another big night defensively if the Miami Heat have any hope of beating the Philadelphia 76ers.
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2024 NBA Play-In: Final Verdict
Both teams met in the 2022 NBA Playoffs, with the Heat taking down the 76ers in five games; and now they meet again with generally the same rosters.
The Heat are in familiar territory, having made the NBA Finals coming from the NBA Play-In last season. Still, they will likely have their hands full with a 76ers team that is peaking at the right time.
The 76ers were given home court advantage and the Heat are missing some key players such as Duncan Robinson and Josh Richardson.
Our Winner: The Philadelphia 76ers off a strong Joel Embiid performance.
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NBA Play-In: Bulls vs. Hawks
Date: Wednesday, April 17th
Time: 9:30 PM
Network: ESPN
Location: United Center
Both teams are entering Wednesday's matchup pretty banged up.
The Chicago Bulls, who started the season shaky, going 5-14, quickly turned it around despite several injuries to vital rotational players like Zach LaVine (right foot) and Patrick Williams (left foot).
The Bulls will likely also be without Ayo Dosunmu (bruised quad) and big man Andre Drummond (sprained left ankle).
While the Hawks, who finished the season with a modest 36-46 record, have dealt with their own injury issues this season as well. Trae Young has missed several games after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left hand finger.
Atlanta Hawks rising stars Jalen Johnson (Knee) and Onyeka Okongwu (toe) will also be missing Wednesday's game.
Still, anything could happen with both teams in desperation mode, looking to keep their seasons' alive.
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2024 NBA Play-In: Chicago Bulls Backcourt
Coby White has come into his own this season as a scorer and is the leader for the Most Improved Player Award, while DeMar DeRozan remained consistent with another solid year.
DeMar DeRozan torched the Hawks last season, averaging 26.4 points, 4.8 assists, and 2.4 rebounds in his last five games against Atlanta.
Coby White has had some big games too, dropping 20 and 21 points in their last matchups.
How the Hawks approach these two players defensively is essential.
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2024 NBA Play-In: Play-In Trae Young
A strong performance from the Atlanta Hawks' dynamic point guard Trae Young will give them their best chance of stealing the win.
Young has missed 23 games so far this season but despite the injury he has had another All-Star year, posting 25.7 points and 10.8 assists per game.
Last season in the NBA Play-In, Trae Young averaged a colossal 31.0 points and 10.0 assists per game, helping the Hawks clinch the seventh seed.
Young has torched the Bulls throughout his career posting 24.6 points, 9.9 assists, and 3.8 rebounds in their matchups. If the Chicago Bulls want any hope of winning, neutralizing Trae Young should be their number one priority.
Bulls backup point guard Alex Caruso has done a solid job on Young defensively in games played between the Hawks and Bulls during the regular season, keeping Trae's shooting under 40%. Caruso would likely get the Trae Young assignment in this all-important NBA Play-In game.
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2024 NBA Play-In: Final Verdict
The Atlanta Hawks' experience in the NBA Play-In should elevate them past the limping Chicago Bulls.
The Hawks have played in the last three, going 3-0 during the Trae Young era, as Young has proven to be clutch in moments like these.
Our Winner: Atlanta Hawks through Trae Young's performance.
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