NBA Play in Tournament
Written By: Andrew Felton
With the first NBA play-in tournament started, let's take a look at what happened in the first four games.
Eastern Conference
Indiana Pacers (9th Seed) vs Charlotte Hornets (10th Seed)
All or nothing for both of these teams as the 9th seed Indiana Pacers took on the 10th seed the Charlotte Hornets. With the Hornets being one of the most watched teams this season thanks to their rookie star Lamelo Ball, dreams of reaching the play-offs were shattered by a Pacers team who were hungry for the win after putting up 144 points to 117, progressing in the play-in tournament. Leading the way in scoring for the Pacers was Oshae Brissett scoring 23 points with 8 Pacers players scoring 12+ points and Sabonis notching 21 rebounds and 1 assist off a triple-double. All in all, this was not a disappointing season for the Hornets who will look to build around their star player and push for play-offs next season.
Boston Celtics (7th Seed) vs Washington Wizards (8th Seed)
The Washington Wizards and their walking triple-double, Russell Westbrook, were no match for the Boston Celtics who came out victorious 118-100 in this game, mainly thanks to a monster performance by Jayson Tatum. Scoring 50 points, backed up by Kemba Walker's 29 points, he helped clinch a play-off spot against favorites to win the NBA Championship the Brooklyn Nets. Leaving the Washington Wizards one more chance against the Pacers, where the winners will grab the last play-off spot.
Western Conference
San Antonio Spurs (10th Seed) vs Memphis Grizzlies (9th Seed)
The Memphis Grizzlies were able to send the Spurs packing in the 9th vs 10th seed match for the Western conference, with three Grizzly players dropping 20+ points including a 23 point, 23 rebound game for the big man Valanciunas. With what is still a rebuilding process for a very successful franchise like the Spurs, will they see big changes next season? Maybe with DeRozan moving on? Only the off-season will tell.
Los Angeles Lakers (7th Seed) vs Golden State Warriors (9th Seed)
An absolute treat for the NBA fans being able to see two very successful franchises go head to head in a one off play-in game and see Lebron vs Steph again, with this one not disappointing fans. With Golden State’s Steph Curry being crowned the scoring champion once again his 37 point performance just was not enough to beat AD and Lebron of the Lakers which might have been expected, with the Lakers only winning this thanks to a clutch three point shot from Lebron, over the head of Steph Curry, which seemed to be a fitting way for this game to end as the Lakers secured a play-off spot to defend their championship against the highly rated Phoenix Suns, with Golden State taking on the Grizzlies for the final Western conference play-off spot.
Predictions
Washington Wizards vs Indiana Pacers
With the last play-off spot up for grabs between the Wizards and Pacers, Russell Westbrook will be fired up and in the mood to fill the stat line up and post a huge triple double to show the NBA that he is still here and will be looking to cause damage, advancing his Wizards into the last play-off spot against the Philadelphia 76ers, leaving the Pacers to go home and reset for next season.
Winner - Washington Wizards
Golden State Warriors vs Memphis Grizzlies
This could end in a no contest, with the way Steph Curry is handling business as of late and will not go down without a fight, especially with a play-off spot up for grabs. We could see a Curry masterclass with plenty of three’s and another 30+ point game, setting up a round one play-off game for the Warriors against the best team currently in the NBA, the Utah Jazz.
Winner - Golden State Warriors
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