2024 NBA Play-In Tournament First Round Predictions
Eight total teams, four from both respective conferences, will face off to determine the seventh and eighth seed in the East, and Western Conference. Some of these Play-In Tournament matchups will be highly anticipated, and each team will be motivated to claim a spot in this year’s playoffs. The first round of the Western Conference Play-In will air tonight, with the East premiering on Wednesday night. While the winners of the seventh/eighth seed series will officially take the seventh seed in their respective conference, the losers from the seventh/eighth seed match will face off against the winner of the ninth/tenth seed game Friday night to determine which two teams will clinch the eighth and final spot in the East and West.
Los Angeles Lakers vs. New Orleans Pelicans
The New Orleans Pelicans lost their final regular season game, and three out of four matchups to the Los Angeles Lakers this season. During the semi-finals of the In-Season Tournament, the Lakers absolutely demolished the Pelicans 133-89. However, New Orleans looks to be fully healthy, with Brandon Ingram playing in his first game on Sunday since March 21st. With a healthy squad, depth in their rotation, and the hometown crowd behind them, this could be the opportunity the Pelicans have been waiting for. While the Lakers always find a way to squeak into playoff contention, I believe New Orleans stars Ingram and Zion Williamson will find a way to step it up against one of the league’s best in LeBron James, and Anthony Davis.
Golden State Warriors vs. Sacramento Kings
A rematch of their 2023 first-round playoff series, where we saw the Warriors pull out a Game Seven victory behind star Stephen Curry’s 50 points. Sacramento looked like they were starting to put the pieces together, but before you knew it key pieces like Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk got severely injured. The depth for the Kings is at a minimum and it’s not the same as if Huerter or Monk played. After a severely rough start to the season, Golden State finished the season going 26-12. While it would be nice to see the Kings get their revenge and light the beam, without the scoring power provided by Huerter and Monk from off the bench, I can’t see Sacramento getting the win unless both De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis put up ridiculous numbers in the box score. I’m going to have to roll with the Warriors, as they might have one last fight in them, perhaps even one more championship run.
Miami Heat vs. Philadelphia 76ers
After Joel Embiid got injured and was off the court for a few weeks, the 76ers struggled tremendously. During games when both Embiid and Tyrese Maxey played together, Philly had a solid record of 30-7. Both teams split the season series with two wins a piece, but Embiid only played in one of those matchups. Miami will look to make another deep playoff run, but without guys like Josh Richardson, and Duncan Robinson who can provide a spark off the bench, it will be tough. While Miami has put together incredible playoff runs over the past few seasons, having an MVP-caliber player like Embiid changes everything, and he will be the reason the Sixers clinch the Eastern Conference’s seventh seed.
Atlanta Hawks vs. Chicago Bulls
Probably the least enticing matchup out of the four, both the Atlanta Hawks, and the Chicago Bulls have had a train wreck of a season. Both teams are going into this matchup without key players in the rotation. This matchup will come down to a few key factors. One of those being can DeMar DeRozan score off a defensive-minded De’Andre Hunter? Secondly, can the Hawks dynamic duo of Trae Young, and Dejounte Murray score efficiently? Finally, guys like Nikola Vucevic, and Colby White for the Bulls, while Bogdan Bogdanović and AJ Griffin for the Hawks need to come through for their respective teams. Who will show up? Personally, I believe Coby White’s play will be the reason why the Bulls advance into the next round of the Play-In Tournament. White has been an excellent backup and replacement starter for Lonzo Ball, proving that he’s capable of scoring amongst the best point guards the NBA has to offer.
