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The 2022-23 NBA regular season is in the books and there are 8 teams that will participate in the NBA Play-In tournament which will give us the last 4 teams that will advance to the Playoffs.
What is NBA Play-In Tournament?
There are 8 teams that will participate in the NBA Play-In 2023. Those are the teams that finished from 7th to 10th place in both conferences in the NBA. Two of those teams from each conference will advance to the Playoffs as the 7th and 8th seeds.
When does the NBA Play-In Tournament take place?
The tournament will take place from 11-14 April 2023.
How does the NBA Play-In Tournament work?
With the 2022-23 NBA regular season being over, the top 6 teams from each conference have made it straight to the Playoffs. The remaining two teams from each conference that will advance to the Playoffs will be known after the NBA Play-In Tournament. There will be a total of 6 games in the tournament, 3 in each conference. The first round of the tournament will see the 7th seed play against the 8th seed and the 9th seed take on the 10th seed in each conference. The winner of the matchup between the 7th and the 8th seed goes to the Playoffs while the loser of that game will face off against the winner of the matchup between the 9th and the 10th seed playing for the last Playoff spots in the second round of the NBA Play-In Tournament.
Which teams made it to the NBA Play-In Tournament?
The teams that finished from the 7th to 10th place in each conference will participate in the NBA Play-In Tournament in the hope to advance to the Playoffs. The teams from the Eastern Conference that will participate are Miami Heat, Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors, and Chicago Bulls while from the West, those are Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, and Oklahoma City Thunder.
How the teams can get into the Playoffs?
The regular season seeding makes a major difference in the Play-In Tournament. The teams that finished in 7th place in each conference will have the home-court advantage in the game against the 8th seeds. Whoever wins these games advances to the Playoffs while the losers will have another shot. The teams that will lose the game between the 9th and the 10th seed are eliminated and will finish their seasons while the winner of those games will face the losers of the games between the 7th and 8th seeds to play for the final two Playoff spots.
Photo by Icon Sport
NBA Play-In Tournament matchups and scores
(7) Miami Heat vs (8) Atlanta Hawks 105-116
The Atlanta Hawks stunned the Miami Heat winning 116-105 to get the 7th seed in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks lost to the Heat 4-1 last year in the Playoffs but they learned the lesson and dominate the game this time around. Quinn Snyder did a great job with the Hawks in just a couple of months as the team’s head coach. Trae Young was the top scorer on the winning team with 25 points followed by Dejounte Murray who had 18. All four Hawks players that came off the bench scored in double digits. Kyle Lowry was the leading scorer on the Heat with 33 points followed by Tyler Herro who had 26. The Hawks will face the Boston Celtics in the first Playoff round while the Heat will try to get there in the match against the winner of the matchup between Toronto Raptors and Chicago Bulls.
(9) Toronto Raptors vs. (10) Chicago Bulls 105-109
The Chicago Bulls played their best game of the season when they needed it the most. They went to Toronto to face the Raptors who were 27-14 in Scotiabank Arena and proved they have all they need to make the Playoffs. The Raptors had control of the score for most of the game but the Bulls won the last quarter 37-24 to win 109-105 at the end. The Bulls were 19 points down at one point of the game and lifted by Zach LaVine who scored 39 points, they are one game away from reaching the Playoffs. The Bulls will face the Miami Heat on Friday night in the game that will give us the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference.
Western Conference
(7) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (8) Minnesota Timberwolves – 108-102 OT
There is nothing easy for the Lakers this season but at least they made the Playoffs. They had the momentum and the home-court advantage against the Timberwolves who were majorly shorthanded in this one. However, the Wolves had control of the score until the final period. Then, the Lakers took over and limited the Wolves to only 12 points in the final quarter. Dennis Schroder made a corner three to give the Lakers a 98-95 lead with 1.4 seconds to go. Mike Conley Jr. send the game into overtime making three free throws with 0.1 seconds left. The Lakers dominated the overtime and got the 7th seed in the West. They will play the Memphis Grizzlies in the first Playoff round while the Wolves will have a chance to reach the Playoffs in the game against the winner of the game between the New Orleans Pelicans and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
(9) New Orleans Pelicans vs. (10) Oklahoma City Thunder 118-123
The Thunder stunned the Pelicans winning 123-118 on the road to stay alive in the Play-In tournament. They are the only team with a losing record that can still reach the Playoffs in the Western Conference. As usual, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 32 points and made 4 key free-throws in the last minute to seal the deal for the Thunder. Josh Giddey played an amazing game finishing with 31 points, 10 assists and 9 rebounds. The Thunder will go to Minnesota to face the Timberwolves, aiming at the last Playoff spot that will lead them to a matchup against the Denver Nuggets.
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