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The top six seeds in each conference were claimed during the 2021-22 NBA season.
The No. 7 seeds will be snatched up Tuesday night, and the last two playoff tickets will get locked down Friday night.
It all goes down during the Play-In Tournament, an eight-team, six-game event that sets the Nos. 7 through 10 seeds in each conference. This is the second year of the tournament’s existence, and the contests already look as compelling as any can be.
The action tips Tuesday, when the current Nos. 7 and 8 seeds compete to be crowned the official No. 7. On Wednesday, the No. 9 and No. 10 seeds will square off in a win-or-go-home game with the winner advancing to face the No. 7-8 game loser in another single-elimination clash on Friday night that will settle the No. 8 spot.
After laying out the tournament schedule, we’ll spotlight the eight participants.
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Tuesday, April 12
Game 1: Cleveland Cavaliers at Brooklyn Nets, 7 p.m. ET on TNT
Game 2: Los Angeles Clippers at Minnesota Timberwolves, 9:30 p.m. ET on TNT
Wednesday, April 13
Game 3: Charlotte Hornets at Atlanta Hawks, 7 p.m. ET on ESPN
Game 4: San Antonio Spurs at New Orleans Pelicans, 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
Friday, April 15
Winner of Game 3 at Loser of Game 1, TBD on ESPN
Winner of Game 4 at Loser of Game 2, TBD on TNT
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There were times when the Nets and Cavaliers both looked like championship contenders. Granted, Brooklyn had that look before the season started, and Cleveland held that status before Jarrett Allen fractured his finger, but still—it happened.
Some still see the Nets as title contenders, and it’s not an impossible sales pitch to follow. Kevin Durant ranks favorably among the greatest scorers in NBA history. Kyrie Irving cracks the short list of this generation’s top point-producers. Both reside in Brooklyn, giving this offense such a sky-high ceiling, it can tempt you into quieting any concerns about this group’s 20th-ranked defense, per NBA.com.
Before even entertaining those thoughts, though, Brooklyn must first escape this collision with Cleveland. If the Cavs prevail—not at all a long shot if Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Kevin Love get rolling—then the Nets will draw the winner of the Hornets-Hawks game in a winner-take-all tilt on Friday for the No. 8 seed.
Facing Trae Young in such a high stakes setting doesn’t sound like any fun. For that matter, neither does trying to keep pace with LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges.
The Nets will spark the most conversations this week. Their ceiling is higher than any other tournament participant’s. Still, penciling them into the first round would be selling their competition short. Anything can happen in this environment.
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The Timberwolves have made just a single postseason appearance since Kevin Garnett, Sam Cassell and Co. fell to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2004 Western Conference Finals.
Minnesota will have two chances—if it needs both—to double that number this week.
Bolstered by the NBA’s seventh-most efficient offense, the Timberwolves finished the regular season seventh in the Western Conference standings. That means they’ll host Tuesday’s tilt with a Clippers club still missing Kawhi Leonard (as far as we can tell, at least) and that only got two games out of Norman Powell upon his return from a near-two-month absence with a fractured bone in his left foot.
L.A. still has Paul George, of course, plus a roster that’s not light on playoff experience and a championship coach in Tyronn Lue. The Clippers will surely come to play, so Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell will need to be on top of their game Tuesday night.
If that one gets away from the Wolves, they’ll await the Spurs-Pelicans winner on Friday night. Minnesota may not have a major preference—assuming Zion Williamson remains on the sideline—as New Orleans boasts ignitable scorers in Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum, while San Antonio has a strong collection of active, lengthy athletes, led by 6’4″ All-Star lead guard Dejounte Murray.
Get the popcorn popping now. This should be a thrill ride.
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