NBA Playoffs 2023: Play-In Tournament Schedule, Bracket, Odds and TV Info
The NBA play-in tournament field was finalized in a wild manner on Sunday.
The Minnesota Timberwolves set up a battle with the Los Angeles Lakers despite losing Rudy Gobert at halftime because of an altercation with Kyle Anderson and after Jaden McDaniels fractured his hand.
Minnesota has two chances to enter the NBA postseason, but it appears to be in the worst shape of the eight play-in participants and that could make life easy for LeBron James and the Lakers on Tuesday night.
The Lakers are 6-1 in their last seven games and seem set to play the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
Los Angeles is the biggest of the four home favorites in the play-in round, which makes perfect sense given the state of the Wolves.
Minnesota could be in line for a rematch against the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday; it beat the Pels at home Sunday. The Pelicans host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday, and New Orleans owns the best home record of the four play-in participants.
The Eastern Conference play-in field is highlighted by the first elimination game that pits DeMar DeRozan and the Chicago Bulls against his former team, the Toronto Raptors.
DeRozan has been frustrated by the Toronto defense in three head-to-head meetings, and that will be the big storyline going into Wednesday's clash in Ontario.
The winner of Wednesday's East clash will likely visit the Atlanta Hawks, who have had a tough time on defense all season and could struggle against Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat.
Play-In Schedule and Odds
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Tuesday, April 11
No. 8 Atlanta at No. 7 Miami (-5) (7:30 p.m. ET, TNT)
No. 8 Minnesota at No. 7 Los Angeles Lakers (-7) (10 p.m. ET, TNT)
Wednesday, April 12
No. 10 Chicago at No. 9 Toronto (-5) (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
No. 10 Oklahoma City at No. 9 New Orleans (-5) (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Friday, April 14
Chicago/Toronto winner at Atlanta/Miami loser (Time TBD, TNT)
Oklahoma City/New Orleans winner at Minnesota/Los Angeles loser (Time TBD, ESPN)
Western Conference
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A lot of NBA experts and fans are probably previewing the Lakers' potential first-round series with the Grizzlies already.
The Lakers come into Tuesday as the far more functional team than the Wolves after what happened Sunday.
Los Angeles is the more stable team, has a strong recent winning run and beat the Wolves at full strength on the road on March 31.
Anthony Davis dominated the matchup with Gobert two weeks ago, as he produced 38 points and 17 rebounds. James also had an 18-10 double-double.
Minnesota sent Gobert home Sunday for his altercation, and his status is unknown for Tuesday. One would assume the Wolves would like to have their best possible roster on the floor to challenge the Lakers.
The Wolves will definitely be without McDaniels, who fractured his hand punching a wall in the tunnel Sunday. He will be a big miss in Los Angeles. He averaged 12.1 points and 3.9 rebounds per game and was a solid defensive presence.
Minnesota needs Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns to match Davis and James' scoring production, but it may be tough to slow down the Lakers' two stars in a playoff-type environment on their home floor.
At least one of Davis and James scored over 30 points in six of the Lakers' last seven games. The Lakers' in-form superstar duo should overwhelm the Wolves and cover the seven-point spread.
The home side should win the other West play-in contest as well, as New Orleans should be determined to set up a rematch with Minnesota.
The Pelicans held a halftime lead and got 42 points out of Brandon Ingram on Sunday, but they went 3-for-21 from three-point range. Minnesota made 10 more three-pointers than them.
Ingram will go head-to-head in a scoring battle with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Wednesday. Ingram has scored over 30 points in six of his last 11 games. Gilgeous-Alexander has gone over 30 points in 11 of his last 13 contests.
New Orleans can neutralize Gilgeous-Alexander's scoring output with Ingram, and it should dominate down low with Jonas Valančiūnas' size against an OKC team that does not have anyone to compare to Valančiūnas' width down low. Add in the Pelicans' playoff experience compared to the youth on the OKC roster and you have the perfect recipe for an easy home victory.
That would set up a New Orleans-Minnesota battle Friday that the Pelicans will think is winnable if they make more three-pointers.
Eastern Conference
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Wednesday's play-in matchup in the East is more fascinating from a narrative perspective because of DeRozan's return to Toronto in an elimination game.
Toronto limited DeRozan's production in three regular-season matchups. The Bulls star totaled 42 points in those contests and was held under 15 points in the last two meetings.
If the Raptors defend DeRozan that well again, they will stay alive for two more days in the play-in round.
Toronto won both home games against Chicago by six and nine points, so that should provide a confidence boost to Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet and Co.
Siakam, VanVleet and OG Anunoby know what it is like to win big playoff games in Toronto from their 2019 NBA Finals title. They can bank on that experience and their 27-14 home record, which is tied for the fifth-best mark in the Eastern Conference.
DeRozan needs to find a way through the Toronto defense to keep the Bulls alive, but Toronto seems to have the right formula to limit the superstar.
Wednesday's winner is likely headed to Atlanta on Friday with the right to play the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round on the line.
Miami is tied with Toronto for the fifth-best home record in the East, and it also knows how to win key postseason games at home from its trip to the Eastern Conference Finals last season.
The Heat defeated Trae Young and Co. 4-1 in the East first round last season to halt the momentum the Hawks gained from their Eastern Conference Finals trip in 2021.
Miami went 3-1 against the Hawks in the regular season and won the two most recent matchups on March 4 and 6.
Atlanta did not have a defensive answer for the Heat, who scored 247 combined points in the March matchups.
The Hawks defense could not only be their downfall on Tuesday, but in Friday's contest against the Raptors or Bulls as well.
Atlanta gave up the most points per game than any of the teams still alive in the East. Miami's defense gave up 8.3 fewer points per game than the Hawks to rank second-best. Toronto's defense is 6.7 PPG better and Chicago's defense is 6.3 PPG better than Atlanta.
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