The Play-In has been a treat to watch. Well, some games anyway.

While the Lakers v Timberwolves game went into OT, it was incredibly painful to watch down the stretch. Minnesota couldn’t throw it in the ocean in the final 6 minutes and looked second rate. They were bailed out by Anthony Davis’ awful foul on a Mike Conley 3 which sent the game into OT, only for the Lakers to come away victorious.

Atlanta gave it to Miami in Miami which was pretty impressive to watch. They now head to Boston to face a Celtics team salivating at the thought of not having to put up with the torture chamber that is Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.

Toronto missed 18 Free Throws at home due to DeMar DeRozan’s screaming daughter on the baseline. When you miss that many Free Throws on your home court (screaming Diar or not) you deserve to be sent packing.

Finally, OKC were nothing short of outstanding, with our very own superstar Josh Giddey having the best performance of the Play-In Tournament. Giddey went off for 31 Points, 9 Rebounds and 10 Assists to send the Pels home on their home floor, and set up an enticing battle with Minnesota to make the NBA Playoffs.

Eastern Conference Round 1:

Milwaukee (1) v Miami/Chicago (8): 

Chicago weren’t very good on Thursday in a win at Toronto, and it took a lot of Zach LaVine and Diar DeRozan to get them to this point. Thankfully for them, Miami were also bad on their home floor against Atlanta. Whether it’s Miami or Chicago facing the Bucks, it won’t matter. Milwaukee won’t look to play with their food in this 1st round match up, knowing they’ll need as much rest as possible to save themselves for future match ups the rest of the way. 

Prediction: BUCKS 4-0.

Boston (2) v Atlanta (7):

Boston are in a similar position to Milwaukee where they too will not want to mess around too much. Atlanta have a roster that should be better than a 7 seed, so are very capable to getting this series to at least 6 games. It’s hard to think they will though.

Boston may give a game up in Atlanta due to a Trae Young/Bogdanovic 3 point barrage game, but that’s as good as it’ll get for the Hawks. Boston will have their sights set on their 2nd round match up (more than likely against Philly), so they too will want this over with pretty early. 

Prediction: CELTICS 4-1.

Philly (3) v Brooklyn (6):

Whilst the trend here early has been that the big dawgs will not want to mess around, Philly will have things much tougher in this match up. No one is giving the Nets a chance in this match up, but they actually match up pretty well with this 76ers team.

Brooklyn have finally got their bodies on the court (barring Ben Simmons), and Philly are always capable of a slip up in opening games to start their series. If Brooklyn can snag this 1st game, this series has a chance to go to 6, and I think that’ll be the case. 

It’ll all come down to how much Claxton can limit Embiid, and how much Brooklyn can get out of the likes of Dinwiddie and Bridges to give them a punters chance in this one.

Prediction: 76ERS 4-2.

Cleveland (4) v New York (5):

Arguably the best series in the 1st round. This one has 7 games written all over it, as long as Julius Randle is healthy. Randle comes into the playoffs missing the last 2 weeks of the season, and if he isn’t at 100%, the Cavs front court will reign supreme.

This is what the Cavs brought Donovan Mitchell in for, to bring them back to the promise land and give them a shot at the Bucks in Round 2. Mitchell and Garland are an incredibly good back court, but also go up against some stellar guard play in Jalen Brunson, RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley.

Julius Randle matching up with Evan Mobley is an incredible match up too, and may decide the series if Mobley can do a job on the Knicks All-Star.

Prediction: Cavs 4-3.

Western Conference Round 1:

Denver (1) v OKC/Minnesota (8):

Denver may have been watching the end of the Lakers v Minnesota game and laughing at the fact they would more than likely get the loser of that contest. They loved it even more when they didn’t have to run into LeBron and the Lakers in the 1st round, giving them a Minnesota team reeling on the back of some off court issues, or a Thunder team which could almost compete in the Under 20s National Championships (no disrespect to OKC, it makes what they’ve done even more amazing).

Denver just like the top seeds in the East, will not want to play around, with a potential match up with Phoenix/Clippers to come in round 2. They will want to give the Joker and co. as much time on the sidelines as possible. They’ll likely give up a game on the road, simply because they haven’t been as good finishing this season as they’d hoped.

Prediction: NUGGETS 4-1.

Memphis (2) v LA Lakers (7):

This series just feels like everyone wants to talk about the Lakers and that is it. Fair enough given the star power on their roster and how they’ve turned their season around from the very start. Have we all forgotten how good this Memphis team was?

Memphis once again crushed expectations this season, and this young team continue to get better and better each year together. They just need to prove it on the big stage.

Ja Morant has his moment now to defeat the King, and take this team to the next step, one in which could be a match up with their more recent enemy, Golden State. 

LeBron and AD will not go away easy though, and a Jaren Jackson Jr. v Anthony Davis match up will go a long way in deciding this series.

Morant will also need to hit his outside shots, with Anthony Davis and Jared Vanderbilt elite rim protection a potential issue for the Memphis Point Guard.

This series won’t end early, and may very well go the distance. 

Prediction: GRIZZLIES 4-3.

Sacramento (3) v Golden State (6):

Another series that the media have seemingly decided already.

Sacramento’s playoff draught is finally over, and they’re rewarded with a match up against last season’s reigning champs. A Big congrats for the Kings!

Golden State were nothing short of awful this season on the road, and now have to go through the entire post season (you’d imagine) winning series on the road.

Sacramento were predicted to have a better season than year’s past, but they far exceeded expectations under new head coach Mike Brown, and have been one of the best teams to watch this season.

Everyone wants to put a line through them due to talent disparity, but the Splash Brothers may have met their match this season, and the very first “Upset” is going down here!

Prediction: KINGS 4-3.

Phoenix (4) v LA Clippers (5):

It’s such a shame that Paul George isn’t fit and firing to start this series. All players healthy, this one would be going 7 games. 

Unfortunately, you get the feeling if the Suns jump out to an early 2-0 lead, potentially stealing Game 3 on the road, PG will be put in cotton wool for the year.

Phoenix starting unit is loaded, but they aren’t an overly deep team. Kawhi will have to run the show for this Clippers team, but the 2nd unit help of Norman Powell and Bones Hyland could very well make things difficult on Phoenix.

It’s not going to be as easy as people think for the Suns, with this Clippers team one of the deepest and well coached in the league.

Prediction: SUNS 4-2.

It’s going to be a great first round, let’s get it started!!

Bauky