NBA play-in to start with Warriors v. Grizzlies; Magic v. Hawks

• The NBA play-in tournament, which is in its 5th year, is here to stay. It gives some a second chance at making a deep playoff run.
• Tuesday’s games include the Orlando Magic against the Atlanta Hawks and the Golden State Warriors against the Memphis Grizzlies.
• The winner of game one earns the 7th seed in the big tournament. The loser gets another shot against the winner of the game matching the 9 and 10 seed.

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Call it the playoffs before the playoffs. The NBA play-in tournament starts Tuesday April 15.

Now in its fifth year, the play-in has become a permanent fixture of the NBA post-season.

Why is the NBA play-in tournament still a thing?

The play-in tournament was put in place during the “COVID season” in 2020-2021 to allow more teams a chance to make the postseason. So, why is it still around? One reason is money. More teams mean more interest, more ticket sales and more TV revenue.

As a 7-seed, the Golden State Warriors and head coach Steve Kerr would rather just be in the regular tournament as it was before 2021, but he and his team are prepared to play their way in.

“It is what it is. It’s been great for the NBA and it’s exciting. It creates a race within the race,” Kerr said. “And so that’s what it is and we got to go take care of it.”

Who’s matching up in the Western Conference?

The Warriors will match up with the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday, April 15. The winner makes it into the big tournament as the 7-seed and the loser has one more shot later in the week against the winner of the game between the Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks.

The Grizzlies are still reeling after management fired coach Taylor Jenkins with nine games left in the regular season. The team posted a 4-5 record with interim coach Toumas Isalo, and they realize there’s very little margin for error going forward.

“The play-ins. The tough part about that is you don’t get a second chance,” Isalo said. “You know, you get one game. And then if you lose that you have a second game, but you don’t get the same opponent twice. So, you want to make it count.”

To make it count, the Grizzlies have to deal not only with sharpshooter Steph Curry and defensive player of the year candidate Draymond Green, but “Playoff Jimmy” as well. The Warriors made a blockbuster trade with the Miami Heat for Jimmy Butler at the trade deadline for such an occasion.

“He’s an alpha. He’s just like he’s out there and he wants the ball, and he wants to get to the foul line,” Kerr said. “And you can just throw him the ball, you don’t even have to run any offense. You just have to get space, and what a luxury that is.”

Who’s matching up in the Eastern Conference?

In the Eastern Conference on Tuesday, April 15, the Orlando Magic and Atlanta Hawks will match up in play-in game one. The two teams split four meetings already this season. The winner of Tuesday’s game advances to the big show, while the loser will meet the winner of the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat matchup. Magic guard Wendell Carter Jr. knows the defense, particularly against Atlanta’s Trae Young, is the key to his team’s season.

“No matter what happened in December, January, you know everybody’s going to care about what happens in these last couple months of this season or the postseason,” Carter Jr. said. “We got to turn it up a notch.”

From there, it’s not impossible to make a run. Two years ago, the Miami Heat, led by “Playoff Jimmy,” went all the way from the play-in tournament to the NBA Finals before losing to the Denver Nuggets.