The Warriors and Sacramento Kings, two fierce rivals who live only 86 miles apart, square off in Tuesday night’s second game. In a rematch of their seven-game first-round clash from the previous year, the Kings will be attempting to get revenge on the team that has emerged as the league’s dominant team over the past ten years.
With the Eastern Conference starting Wednesday, there will be more storylines. Jimmy Butler and the Heat will play Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers in a matchup between Butler and his previous team. And then there are the Chicago Bulls and the Atlanta Hawks, two clubs that could be underdogs this season and could pull off the unimaginable if they challenge the top-seeded Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs.
The NBA play-in tournament has begun, and each of the first four contests offers a very different viewpoint. Actually, there is at least one X-factor on each side that has the ability to tip the scales in their favor. This is a detailed explanation of what each club must accomplish in order to win their play-in game.
Six clubs, one from each of the Eastern and Western Conferences, can claim to have qualified for the NBA playoffs in 2024. The NBA play-in tournament, a spectacle that has increased competition and excitement to the back end of the playoff picture each season, will determine the other two slots in both conferences over the course of the next few days. The NBA play-in tournament this year includes the league’s MVP, Joel Embiid, the Miami Heat, the defending Eastern Conference champions, and the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors, two of the last four championship clubs.
The Lakers and Warriors, who came into the 2023–24 season with lofty championship hopes, risk having their seasons conclude without earning a postseason trip. LeBron James and the Lakers haven’t gained anything by winning the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament, and given their troubles this season, the four-time championship core of Steve Kerr, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green may already be a thing of the past.
The NBA play-in tournament will provide important insight into both the futures of two of the league’s most recognizable players, James and Curry, as well as how this year’s playoffs will finally turn out.
Four highly exciting first-round play-in games are scheduled, and two more will follow, depending on the results of Tuesday and Wednesday night’s events. Tuesday will mark the start of the Western Conference when the Lakers take on the New Orleans Pelicans, the team they defeated in the regular season finale to secure the eighth spot. By doing this, Los Angeles eliminated the Pelicans from the running for the sixth slot and sent them to the NBA play-in round.
After defeating the Pelicans 124-108 on the road to end the regular season, the Lakers are undoubtedly feeling confident going into their matchup against the 8-seed. LeBron James, who is 39 years old, has led Los Angeles to victories in 11 of their last 14 games. James may not have much time left, but one thing is for sure: he will give it everything he has on Tuesday night. Brandon Ingram’s return to New Orleans gives their already explosive attack the extra spark it needs to win.
