2021 NBA Play-In Tournament - The Mix
With yesterday being the last day of this year's 72-game NBA season, the next thing fans have to look forward to on the schedule is the play-in tournament, which officially starts tomorrow, May 18th. This is the first season where they're implementing this format, which grants an extra opportunity for teams who would ordinarily be out of the playoff picture by now.
Here's how it works: the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th seeded teams for each conference will compete for the last two spots in this year's postseason. The 7th seed and the 8th seed will play each other, with the winner claiming a spot in the playoffs, and the 9th and 10th seed will play each other, with the loser being eliminated. The loser of the first game and the winner of the second game will then play each other for the eighth and final spot.
For the Eastern conference, the teams who wound up in this year's play-in tournament are the Charlotte Hornets at 10th, the Indiana Pacers at 9th, the Washington Wizards at 8th, and the Boston Celtics at 7th. The Celtics in particular are a surprising addition; most fans certainly wouldn't have expected them to land the 7th seed with a .500 record at the beginning of the season, just coming off a conferences finals appearance, but here they are. Meanwhile, the Hornets and the Wizards also have a shot at making the playoffs, for the first time in quite a few years.
For the Western conference, the teams who made the tournament are the San Antonio Spurs at 10th, the Memphis Grizzlies at 9th, the Golden State Warriors at 8th, and the Los Angeles Lakers at 7th. The Warriors missed last year's playoffs due to Curry and Klay Thompson being out with injuries; Klay is still out, but the team has bounced back with Steph at the helm. The Lakers, on the other hand, were by no means expected to be here – the defending champs with a roster straight out of 2k who debatably got a better roster in the off-season, at least on paper, are now fighting just for a playoff appearance. But things happen – injury, chemistry issues – especially since both LeBron and AD were out extensively this season. Portland's win against Denver last night was what ultimately cemented them in the play-in tournament.
Everyone has their predictions, but what this season has taught me, with the Knicks in the fourth seed and the Jazz with the best record in the league, is that anything can happen. The play-in tournament starts tomorrow evening with the Wizards @ Celtics and the Hornets @ Pacers.
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