The NBA play-in tournament is set to begin on Tuesday, May 18, and will continue until Friday to determine the final two spots for the playoffs.

The Format

The format will be as followed: in both the East and West, the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds will play a single game for the seventh seed in the playoffs. The No. 9 and No. 10 seeds will play a single game to face the loser of the seventh and eighth seed game. So, the loser of the seventh and eighth seed game will go on to face the winner of the ninth and tenth for the final eighth seed in the playoffs. For a more detailed visual of the bracket, click here.

The Teams

For the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Lakers are in seventh place, the Golden State Warriors in eighth place, the Memphis Grizzlies in ninth place and lastly the San Antonio Spurs are in tenth place.

For the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics currently sit in seventh place, the Washington Wizards are in eighth place, the Indiana Pacers reside in ninth place and lastly the Charlotte hornets are in tenth place.

Pacers vs. Hornets

The first of the play-in tournament games is the Pacers versus the Hornets. This game will feature young star guard (and most likely Rookie of the Year) LaMelo Ball versus all-star forward Domantas Sabonis. Expect a fun and competitive game from these two young and hungry teams.

The winner of this game will go on to play the loser of the Wizards versus Celtics game for the eighth seed. The Pacers won the regular-season series 2-1 and are the favorites to win this game. This game will be played in Indiana at 4:30 MDT on Tuesday, May 18.

Celtics vs. Wizards

If any game should excite you, it’s this one. You have the dynamic duo of Washington (Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal) versus the all-stars of Boston in Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker. Westbrook had yet another historic season averaging a triple-double while Beal came in second in scoring this season.

However, don’t count the Celtics out. Right now, the Celtics are the better of the two teams and have more depth and chemistry compared to the Wizards; but unfortunately, they are missing star shooting guard Jaylen Brown who had a season-ending surgery. So really, this game could go either way.

Regardless, the loser will have a chance to secure the eight seed against the winner of the Pacers versus Hornets game. The Celtics won the regular-season series 2-1 and are a slight favorite to win the matchup on Tuesday. This game will be played in Boston at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 18.

Grizzlies vs. Spurs

Just like the other western conference play-in game, this game could go either way. You have all-star veteran shooting guard DeMar DeRozan of the Spurs going up against the young phenom guard of the Grizzlies, Ja Morant. This game should be a fun matchup, and you should expect a battle from both teams.

The winner of this contest will go on to face the loser of the Lakers and Warriors game for the last playoff spot. The Grizzlies won the regular-season series 2-1 and are favored to win on Wednesday. This game will be played in Memphis at 5:30 p.m. MDT on Wednesday, May 19.

Lakers vs. Warriors

Out of all the games being played for the play-in tournament, this game will have the most buzz. You have the NBA’s leading scorer (and most likely the league’s MVP) Steph Curry, versus the two-headed beast of Los Angeles in LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Some questions that have arisen are, “will Anthony Davis and LeBron James be healthy enough to beat Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors?” and “can someone other than Steph Curry help the Golden State offense?” Regardless of those questions this game should be a fun one to watch, and could really go either way. Regardless, whatever team loses will still have a chance to play for the eighth seed and will go on to face the winner of Memphis and San Antonio for the last playoff spot. The Lakers won the regular-season series 2-1 and are favored to win on Wednesday. This game will be played in LA at 8 p.m. MDT on Wednesday, May 19.

Who the Winners Will Face

For the West, whoever grabs the seventh seed will go on to face the Phoenix Suns in the first round while the eighth seed will go on to face the Utah Jazz.

For the East, the seventh seed will go on to face the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the playoffs and the eighth seed will go on to face the Philadelphia 76ers.

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