2023 NBA Play-In tournament: Preview

The NBA Play-in tournament begins on Tuesday with the Nos. 7 and 8 seeds facing each other for a spot in the playoffs. Here’s everything you need to know.

Update: Apr 10th, 2023 08:26 EDT

The NBA Play-in tournament will begin on Tuesday, April 11 and continue until Friday, April 14. The Nos. 7-10 seeds in each conference will have a chance to fight for a spot in the playoffs. Of the eight teams competing in the Play-in, only four will make it.

How it works

There are three games in each conference:

Game one: First, the No. 7 and No. 8 seed play. The winner of that game wins the No. 7 seed overall and will go on to play the No. 2 seed in their conference in the first round of the playoffs.
Game two: Then, there is the No. 9 vs No. 10 game. The loser of that game will be eliminated while the winner will move on to game three of the Play-in to play the loser of the No. 7 vs No. 8 game.
Game three: The No. 9 vs No. 10 winner plays the loser of the No. 7 vs No. 8 game, and the winner will earn the No. 8 seed and go on to play the No. 1 seed in their conference in the first round of the playoffs.

2023 NBA Play-in: Game Previews

WESTERN CONFERENCE:

Game 1: No. 8 Minnesota Timberwolves at No. 7 Los Angeles Lakers - Tuesday, April 11 at 10 p.m. ET

The Timberwolves have been inconsistent all season, but especially so heading into the playoffs. They won their last three games, but lost the three just before that. And that about sums it up - Minnesota can go either way. Not to mention, they’ve had some drama going on lately. Rudy Gobert punched his teammate Kyle Anderson and Jaden McDaniels punched a wall and broke his hand after. Not exactly setting the right mood ahead of the Play-in. The Lakers, on the other hand, have been on fire. They won 18 of their last 26 games and added some big-name players. And without McDaniels to defend him, LeBron James should be able to take advantage on offense.

The winner of this game will move on to face the No. 2 Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs. The loser will play another game in the Play-in tournament against the winner of the No. 9 vs No. 10 game.

Game 2: No. 10 Oklahoma City Thunder at No. 9 New Orleans Pelicans - Wednesday, April 12 at 9:30 p.m. ET

The Thunder are playing in New Orleans, which could mean trouble for them. OKC has only managed to win 16 of 41 away games this season. The Pelicans are 27-14 at home. During the regular season, these two teams met four times, with the Pelicans winning three of those, although all of them were close games until the very end.

The loser of this game will be eliminated. The winner of this game will play another game in the Play-in tournament against the loser of the No. 7 vs No. 8 game.

Game 3: Winners of No. 9/10 vs Losers of No. 7/8 - Friday, April 14 at 9:30 or 10 p.m. ET

The loser of this game is eliminated. The winner will earn the No. 8 seed and go on to face the No. 1 Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs.

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

Game 1: No. 8 Atlanta Hawks at No. 7 Miami Heat - Tuesday, April 11 at 7:30 p.m. ET

This will be an exciting game as it’s a rematch of last year’s playoffs, when the Heat, who were No. 1 in the East, beat the then No. 8 Hawks to eliminate them in five games. Now it’s time for the Hawks to get their revenge. In the regular season, though, it was Miami who led the series, winning three of their four matchups. Jimmy Butler played in three of those games, leading the team with an average of 25 points. Meanwhile, Atlanta’s Trae Young, typically one of their golden boys, averaged just 19.8 points against the Heat.

The winner of this game will move on to face the No. 2 Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs. The loser will play another game in the Play-in tournament against the winner of the No. 9 vs No. 10 game.

Game 2: No. 10 Chicago Bulls at No. 9 Toronto Raptors - Wednesday, April 12 at 7 p.m. ET

This should be a fun one to watch as well, considering DeMar DeRozan played for the Raptors for eight seasons before moving on to Chicago. He’ll now face his former team in this elimination game. Both teams had an average regular season, never more than two games over .500. The Raptors have home-court advantage and are 27-14 at home this season, including two home wins over the Bulls. With that in mind, the Bulls have played poorly on the road this season.