The 2024 NBA postseason kicks off with the SoFi Play-In Tournament. Get ready for the action with previews and predictions for Friday’s games that will determine the No. 8 seeds in the Eastern and Western Conferences.
East: (9) Chicago Bulls @ (8) Miami Heat (7 ET, ESPN)
The winner: Advances to face Boston in the first round as the No. 8 seed
The loser: It is abolished
Regular season results: Series tied 2-2
Keep your eyes peeled: Coby White
The Kia NBA Most Improved Player candidate showed exactly why he is one of the favorites in the game on Wednesday with a stunning performance in Chicago’s dominant Play-In Tournament win over Atlanta. In his fifth year, White has shown impressive growth as a scorer, more than doubling his points per game (19.1 ppg) from last season (9.7).
White dropped a career-high 42 points against Atlanta with nine rebounds, six assists and no turnovers. Miami’s heavy backcourt will be forced to turn to depth to deal with White and Ayo Dosunmu with Terry Rozier recovering from a neck injury and Duncan Robinson continuing to build form from a back problem.
Key matchup: Battle between the small forwards
Miami forward Jimmy Butler suffered a knee injury late in the first quarter Wednesday that will sideline him Friday, and Chicago’s Alex Caruso is reportedly dealing with a sprained right leg, so we won’t name names for this potential game.
Butler is one of Miami’s top offensive players, while Caruso is the Bulls’ best defender. Injuries open the door for them to get more minutes than the supporting cast. So expect to see more of rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. in place of Butler, while Chicago will likely turn to Javonte Green, Dalen Terry and Torrey Craig to fill Caruso’s minutes if he can’t go.
Prediction: Taurus
We have admired Miami’s rise from the last Play-In game to the 2023 NBA Finals. Even if Butler returns quickly from injury, it is not likely that we will see a repeat of last year’s magical run. Like the Heat, the Bulls have been snake-bitten all season by injuries. Chicago happens to be more complete now with Dosunmu back after missing the final four games of the season with a bruised right quad. White, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic will cause problems for the depleted Heat.
West: (9) Sacramento Kings @ (8) New Orleans Pelicans (9:30 a.m. ET, TNT)
The winner: Advances to face Oklahoma City in the first round as the No. 8 seed
The loser: He is expelled
Regular season results: Pelicans, 5-0
Keep your eyes peeled: Pels productivity without Zion Williamson
New Orleans wasted no time in announcing that Williamson would miss Friday’s game because of a strained left hamstring suffered late in Tuesday’s play-in loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft, Williamson was coming off his first career game with 40 points and 10 rebounds and outscored New Orleans’ other four starters 40-34.
So despite the fact that the Pels defeated Sacramento four times in the regular season and once during the quarterfinals of the In-Season Tournament, they stand on shaky ground without Williamson. Second-leading scorer Brandon Ingram and veteran guard C.J. McCollum went a combined 8-for-27 in Tuesday’s loss. Ingram continues to work his way back from a knee injury and was benched for the final 7:38 against the Lakers.
Key matchup: Sacramento’s Keon Ellis vs. New Orleans’ Brandon Ingram
With Williamson out, Trey Murphy III will likely return to the Pelicans’ starting lineup, allowing them to split minutes between Herbert Jones and Dyson Daniels on Sacramento guard De’Aaron Fox. The Kings, meanwhile, are likely turning over the responsibility of defending Ingram to Ellis, who played lockdown defense on Tuesday against the Golden State Warriors.
Ellis had three steals and three blocks in the Play-In win over the Warriors, finishing plus-27. Ingram has the length advantage, but has struggled in two outings since returning from a 12-game absence with a knee injury. Ingram will also be under pressure to try to replace Williamson’s production against Ellis, who is currently high on confidence.
Prediction: Kings
New Orleans would make history with a win, marking the first time since 1994 that a team went 6-0 against a single opponent before the playoffs. But Williamson’s absence, combined with the recent struggles of Ingram and McCollum, could lead to offensive sputtering for the Pels. Defensively, as tough as Jones and Jose Alvarado are, they won’t be able to handle the Kings’ trio of Domantis Sabonis, Keegan Murray and Fox.
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Michael C. Wright is a senior writer for NBA.com. You can send him an e-mail herefind its file here and follow him X.
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