Ja Morant And Steph Curry Face Off Again In Pivotal NBA Play-In Game

Since its 2020 creation, the NBA Play-In Tournament has added a sense of importance to the final week of its regular season while also dissuading a once rampant tanking epidemic.

As an ode to the European Champions League in soccer, commissioner Adam Silver created a two-day pre-postseason tournament that can only be avoided if a team finishes at least in the top-six of the Eastern or Western Conference standings.

The seventh and eighth seeds from both conferences are given a chance to fight for its postseason lives with at least two play-in games. Seeds ninth and tenth are left to win two consecutive win-or-go-home matchups just to make the postseason as no higher than an eighth seed.

Each play-in team has made the postseason at least once this decade, and they’ll now be tasked with returning there once again through a unique path.

No. 7 Golden State Warriors Vs. No. 8 Memphis Grizzlies

How The Grizzlies And Warriors Got Here

The Grizzlies and Warriors have play-in game history dating back to the 2020-2021 season, and the stakes are massive once again.

Golden State went on a 23-7 post-trade deadline run to end the regular season largely thanks to the addition of Jimmy Butler. His versatility as a wing defender and primary decision-maker allows Warriors guard Steph Curry to thrive more off-ball and gain rest on the bench without handicapping the team.

Unfortunately for Golden State, Butler came up gimpy in its season finale versus the Los Angeles Clippers. While Butler has made no qualms about the injury holding him out from Tuesday’s showdown, it’s something to monitor in-game.

During the month of February, Memphis was a top-two seed in the Western Conference led by a team-friendly offense designed to protect the long-term health of point guard Ja Morant. Since the All-Star Break, it has gone 12-16, fired long-time head coach Taylor Jenkins and are jockeying for postseason play under the tutelage of interim head coach Thomas Iisalo.

Player Spotlight (Santi Aldama): Memphis limps into the postseason without its starting small forward Jaylen Wells due to a broken wrist. Minuets will likely go to Aldama who isn’t the point-of-attack defender Wells is and has had inconsistent offensive moments throughout the season.

Against the Warriors, Aldama will have to challenge the defensive prowess of Butler and Draymond Green to allow for Morant to get the lane needed to attack the rack. Throughout the season, the former first-rounder has had career-highs in FG% (48.3), points per game (12.5) and 3pt% (56.8). All those numbers will have to translate Tuesday night for the Grizzlies to move on.

No.9 Sacramento Kings Vs. No.10 Dallas Mavericks

How The Kings And Mavericks Got Here

They Got Here: Last year, the Mavericks were playing in the NBA Finals for the right to win its second NBA Title. Luka Doncic was the franchise player and a versatile core was built around him with guys such as Kyrie Irving, Derek Lively and PJ Washington.

Luka is now a Los Angeles Laker after a blockbuster in-season trade yielded Dallas Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a future first rounder. Davis has played sporadically during his Mavericks tenure due to nagging injuries, but he provides a two-way ability around the basket that gives Dallas a chance.

Sacramento had an in-season trade of its own when it dealt former 2017 first-round pick De’Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs in a seven-player deal that brought Chicago Bulls shooting guard Zach Lavine to the California state capital. With an offensive core featuring Domantas Sabonis, Lavine and veteran Demar DeRozan, Sacramento has leaned into offense under interim head coach Doug Christie.

Both teams have been mostly waddling at the ninth and tenth spots of the West since its trades. For either to have a chance at the eighth seed, complete team efforts will be needed to win two single-elimination games.

Player Spotlight (Keon Ellis): With starting guard Malik Monk sidelined by a calf injury, Keon Ellis becomes an important player in the starting lineup as a floor general and perimeter defender. Dallas will likely pack the paint and contest the two-point line in a way to neutralize the passing ability of Sabonis and midrange scoring of Derozan.

Ellis becomes paramount in hitting the long ball, initiating offense in the halfcourt and leading the break for transition buckets. He’s had a career season for Sacramento and will need to replicate it for the Kings to return to the postseason.

No.7 Orlando Magic Vs. No.8 Atlanta Hawks

How The Magic And Hawks Got Here

The Orlando Magic weren’t always destined for play-in status. The team was 24-17 through 41 games before injuries sent it spiraling to a .500 overall regular-season finish.

Orlando is mostly healthy now and led by combo wings Franz Wagner and Palo Banchero. Both average north of 24 points per game and are depended on to initiate offense for their team and themselves.

Atlanta made the play-in last season but were bounced immediately versus the Chicago Bulls in its first single-elimination game. The Hawks return again with a different core of off-ball players around star guard Trae Young in Dyson Daniels and Zaccharie Risacher.

Daniels has made his mark defensively by leading the league in steals, shooting nearly 50% from the field and averaging a career-high 14 points per game. Risacher emerged during the second-half of the year with six 20-plus point games since the month of March before finishing his rookie season with 12 points per game.

It’s no surprise that Orlando is the likely favorite in this matchup due to their physicality and defensive prowess. However, Trae Young gives Atlanta a chance with his clutch nature in single elimination games.

Player Spotlight (Onyeka Okongwu): Standing at 6’8, Okongwu serves as Atlanta’s undersized big against respective frontcourt matchups. Going up against the interior size of the Magic, he’ll have to control the glass and be an aggressive scorer around the rim to loosen up the defense. In the team’s most recent loss to the magic, Okongwu scored 30 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. He’ll have to duplicate those numbers again for Atlanta to have a chance.

No.9 Chicago Bulls Vs. No.10 Miami Heat

How The Bulls And Heat Got Here

It was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Bulls, but the emergence of guards Josh Giddey and Coby White transformed its fate into a play-in team during the second half .

White posted 20 points per game on 45/37/90 shooting splits in what has been the best year of his career. Giddey shot a career high 37% from three on four attempts a game to pair with his balanced scoring (14.2) rebounding activity (8.1) and assists (7.2). Both young players are the lifeblood of Chicago’s team and make the offense go.

Miami has spiraled throughout the second-half of this year since it traded Jimmy Butler. Its 12-17 record during that span was defined by porous defense and an unknown offensive identity that settled on the scoring of Tyler Herro and balanced versatility of Bam Adebayo.

Herro posted career-highs in scoring (23.2) while Adebayo registered 18 points and nine boards a game with a career-high in steals (1.3 per game). While the two may never be go-to options at the NBA level, they’ve held their own during the team’s changing landscape.

Player Spotlight (Andrew Wiggins): Wiggins was the big player return Miami received from Golden State following the Jimmy Butler trade. In 17 games with the Heat, Wiggins has averaged 19 points on nearly 46 percent shooting from the field.

For Miami to have a chance during the play-in, Wiggins will have to be their reliable third scorer opposite Bam and Herro. He posted eight games of over 20-plus points as a member of the Heat and that output will be greatly needed for Miami to make a deep playoff run.