- 2022 NBA Playin Preview
Contributors
Santiago Leon – @sleon
Jordan Vargas – @JordanVargas02
- Western Conference: Minnesota Timberwolves (7), Los Angeles Clippers (8), New Orleans Pelicans (9), San Antonio Spurs (10)
- Eastern Conference: Brooklyn Nets (7), Cleveland Cavaliers (8), Atlanta Hawks (9), Charlotte Hornets (10)
The format goes like this: No. 7 plays No. 8 and No. 9 plays No. 10. The winner of the 7-8 game gets the No. 7 seed, while the loser plays the winner of the 9-10 game for the No. 8 seed.
Put another way, the Nos. 7 and 8 seeds get two shots to win one play-in game, while the Nos. 9 and 10 seeds have no margin for error, having to win two straight to get in. One loss, and they’re out.
NBA Standings
East
- Heat (53-29)
- Bucks (51-31)
- Celtics (51-31)
- 76ers (51-31)
- Raptors (48-34)
- Bulls (46-36)
- Nets (44-38)
- Cavs (44-34)
- hawks (43-39)
- hornets (43-39)
West
- Suns (64-18)
- Grizz (56-36)
- GSW (53-29)
- Mavs (52-30)
- Jazz (49-33)
- Nuggets (48-34)
- Timberwolves (46-36)
- Clippers (42-40)
- Pelicans (36-46)
- Spurs (34-48)
Tuesday, April 12
East: No. 8 Cleveland Cavaliers at No. 7 Brooklyn Nets, 7 p.m. ET (TNT)
Key Matchup: Kyrie Irving vs. Darius Garland
the battle of the point guards will be the one to watch here.
Ben Simmons out until at least the first round
West: No. 8 Los Angeles Clippers at No. 7 Minnesota Timberwolves, 9:30 p.m. ET (TNT)
Key Matchup: Paul George vs. Anthony Edwards
George returned to the Clippers lineup on March 29 and averaged 22.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 6.8 assists, 2.8 steals and shot a blistering 52.5 percent from three in five games. With Kawhi Leonard still recovering from a torn ACL, the Clippers will have to continue to rely on George to carry the offensive load.
This doesn’t mean Edwards can’t outplay him, of course.
The second-year guard averaged 23.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists on 46.3 percent shooting in his four games vs. the Clippers this season, taking over the primary scoring duties with Karl-Anthony Towns struggling mightily (15.3 points on 42.1 percent shooting) in the series.
George will likely be tasked with guarding Edwards
Clippers head coach is Ty Lue
Wednesday, April 13
East: No. 10 Charlotte Hornets at No. 9 Atlanta Hawks, 7 ET p.m. (ESPN)
Key Matchup: Trae Young vs. LaMelo Ball
Young shot just 37.7 percent overall in four games vs. Charlotte compared to Ball’s 35.3 percent mark in three games against Atlanta. As the offensive hubs of their respective teams, both will need to do better to pull out a win.
Young led the Hawks to the NBA’s third-ranked offense (118.4) and fifth-best net rating (plus-4.7) while going 26-14.
West: No. 10 San Antonio Spurs at No. 9 New Orleans Pelicans, 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Key Matchup: CJ McCollum vs. Dejounte Murray
McCollum helped save what was once a 1-12 start to the season for the Pelicans, guiding them to the seventh-best net rating (plus-4.4) since the trade deadline. He was highly successful against the Spurs as a Pelican, putting up 29.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 51.5 percent overall in three games.
Murray wasn’t as sharp against New Orleans, even if his Spurs found ways to win anyways. Although he nearly averaged a triple-double during the regular-season series with 18.3 points, 9.8 rebounds and 10.0 assists in his four games, Murray shot just 40.3 percent overall and 26.3 percent from three. New Orleans has enough bigs to challenge him at the rim with Herbert Jones, Larry Nance Jr. and Jonas Valanciunas, making Murray rely more on his mid-range and outside shooting.
Friday, April 15
East: Winner of Charlotte/Atlanta vs. loser of Cleveland/Brooklyn, TBD (ESPN)
West: Winner of San Antonio/New Orleans vs. loser of Los Angeles/Minnesota, TBD (TNT)
Key Matchup: CJ McCollum vs. Dejounte Murray
McCollum helped save what was once a 1-12 start to the season for the Pelicans, guiding them to the seventh-best net rating (plus-4.4) since the trade deadline.
Murray wasn’t as sharp against New Orleans, even if his Spurs found ways to win anyways. Although he nearly averaged a triple-double during the regular-season series with 18.3 points, 9.8 rebounds and 10.0 assists in his four games, Murray shot just 40.3 percent overall and 26.3 percent from three. New Orleans has enough bigs to challenge him at the rim with Herbert Jones, Larry Nance Jr. and Jonas Valanciunas, making Murray rely more on his mid-range and outside shooting.
Predictions
CLE-BYK
JV: CLE
CHA-ATL
JV: CHA
SAS-NOP
JV: NOP
Poll Question
What is your favorite farm animal? #NationalFarmAnimalsDay
Pigs, Chickens, Rooster, Cows
JW: Pigs
Santiago Leon is the Founder and CEO of the Sports Cast. He covers NFL, NBA, and world soccer. He’s also founder of sleon productions, which he specializes in technology and serves clients with solutions to make their business grow.
