Ranking the NBA's most compelling play-in games
Eight NBA teams still have a chance to make the playoffs through the play-in games. Here's a look at which are the best games coming up in the next week of the NBA's postseason pre-playoff matchups.
1. Miami Heat (8) at Philadelphia 76ers (7)
There have been plenty of exciting matchups in past play-in games, but this is the first one where the two teams are Finals contenders.
The Sixers are one of the NBA's best teams when Joel Embiid plays, while the Heat are the defending Eastern Conference champions, having gone from the play-in to the Finals last season.
Philadelphia was 27-13 when Embiid suffered a knee injury on Jan. 25. It struggled without him, then won its final seven games after his return. The Sixers are 31-8 when Embiid plays and 16-27 without him. If he's able to play, the 76ers are a threat to beat anyone.
Miami swapped Kyle Lowry for Terry Rozier in February. Now, Lowry is playing for the Sixers. The Sixers ditched Jimmy Butler in favor of Ben Simmons in 2019. Two years ago, the Heat knocked the Sixers out of the playoffs.
There's plenty of motivation to go around, even if the main prize is avoiding an elimination game on Friday and the Boston Celtics in the first round.
2. Golden State Warriors (10) at Sacramento Kings (9)
The NBA's two Northern California teams play each other Tuesday in a rematch of last year's grueling seven-game series won by the Warriors. The Kings have home-court advantage, but the Warriors beat them in Sacramento twice last postseason.
Sacramento has reigning Coach of the Year Mike Brown, a former longtime Warriors assistant. Kings owner Vivek Ranadive is a former member of the Warriors ownership group, Kings forward Harrison Barnes and center JaVale McGee won rings with the Warriors and former Warriors player and coach Leandro Barbosa is on Brown's staff.
These teams know each other and they play very tight games. Of their four games this season, three were decided by a single point. Klay Thompson hit a game-winner in November.
Malik Monk hit a game-winner at the end of the month.
Steph Curry had 50 points the last time these teams played an elimination game in Sacramento, a week after Draymond Green got suspended for stomping on Domantas Sabonis's chest.
Barnes whiffed on a game-winning three to lose a game in San Francisco. Sacramento is missing Malik Monk and Kevin Huerter due to injuries, but truly anything can happen in games between these two teams.
3. Los Angeles Lakers (8) at New Orleans Pelicans (7)
At a glance, this matchup looks enticing. It's LeBron James and longtime Pelicans star Anthony Davis going into New Orleans to face All-Stars Brandon Ingram, a former Laker, and Zion Williamson, the Pelicans' other top overall pick.
But the two teams played Sunday with a lot on the line, and it wasn't pretty. Unless you were a Lakers fan. James had a 28-point triple-double with 17 assists and five steals. Davis had 30 points and 11 rebounds. D'Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves combined for 39 points and eight three-pointers.
New Orleans simply couldn't stop the Lakers at all, with starting center Jonas Valanciunas getting benched after turning the ball over four times in seven minutes. Valanciunas has a dismal record against James in the postseason. He is 0-10, with the big man missing a game-winning tip-in at the end of a 2018 game.
The game has potential, but based on Sunday, it looks like a Lakers romp.
4. Atlanta Hawks (10) at Chicago Bulls (9)
The teams in the Western 9-10 game combined for 92 wins. The Bulls and Hawks combined for 75.
These aren't the highest-quality teams, but they do play some exciting games. The Bulls have the most clutch wins in the league with 27.
DeMar DeRozan has the second-must clutch points in the NBA and All-Defensive guard Alex Caruso has the most clutch steals.
Meanwhile, Trae Young has averaged 29 points in three career play-in games, all victories. He's back from injury to join Dejounte Murray on an Atlanta team that's light on defense but scores over 118 points per game. Perhaps that's why they've played the second-most games with clutch situations (scores within five points in the final five minutes), a whopping 47.
It might not be the prettiest basketball with the biggest stars, but there's an excellent chance the game is close and exciting late. The winner's future postseason games may not be.
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