The 2024 NBA Play-in Tournament is more highly anticipated this year than ever before. What teams are playing, when are the games, and how can you watch?
The regular season is over, but a few NBA teams that didn’t finish in the top eight still have a chance to make the playoffs. The NBA Play-in Tournament is back for the fifth time, and this year’s edition of the tournament is more highly anticipated than ever before. Eight teams are in the play-in, but only four will advance. In this article, we will explain everything that you need to know about the 2024 Play-In Tournament.
NBA Play-in Tournament format
While the Play-in Tournament will be in use for the fifth time in the NBA, this will be the fourth season with the current format. The top six teams from each conference have clinched playoff spots, while the five worst teams in each conference have been officially eliminated.
That leaves the 7-10 seeds to duke it out in the Play-in Tournament. The 7th and 8th seeds play each other, with the winner securing the 7-seed. Meanwhile, the 9th and 10th seeds battle it out, with the loser being sent home and the winner playing the loser of the 7/8-seed game. The winner of that game secures the final spot in the playoffs, while the loser is sent packing.
NBA Play-in Tournament schedule
The first two play-in games in the Western Conference will be available on TNT, while the first two games in the Eastern Conference will be on ESPN. The broadcast schedule hasn’t been announced yet for the games deciding the eighth seed. The TNT games will also be available for stream on TNTdrama.com, while the ESPN games will be on fuboTV.
Western Conference:Â
7-8 game: Los Angeles Lakers (8) @ New Orleans Pelicans (7) – Tuesday, April 16 @ 7:30 p.m. ET – TNT
9-10 game: Golden State Warriors (10) @ Sacramento Kings (9) – Tuesday, April 16 @ 10 p.m. ET – TNT
Game three: TBD vs. TBD – Friday, April 19
Eastern Conference:Â
7-8 game: Miami Heat (8) @ Philadelphia 76ers (7) – Wednesday, April 17 @ 7 p.m. ET – ESPN
9-10 game: Atlanta Hawks (10) @ Chicago Bulls (9) – Wednesday, April 17 @ 9:30 p.m ET – ESPN
Game three: TBD vs. TBD – Friday, April 19
Western Conference storylines
For much of the season, it looked like the Lakers and Warriors would face each other in the NBA Play-in Tournament. The matchup between two of the most iconic teams in NBA history was not meant to be, though, as the Lakers got hot and finished the regular season as the 8-seed.
Now, Los Angeles is scheduled to face the Pelicans. These are two teams that have been trending in different directions, and we even saw a preview of this matchup in game 82 of the regular season. The Lakers tend to play their best ball later in the season, and that was once again evident this year. Los Angeles won 11 of their last 14 games, including a 124-108 victory over New Orleans in the regular season finale.
The Pelicans, on the other hand, struggled some while Brandon Ingram was out with an injury. He missed the 12 games prior to game 82, but he returned for the last game of the season and is back to health now. New Orleans is a much different team when Ingram is healthy.
His length helps the defense and he can be a go-to scorer on offense. Ingram will pair with Zion Williamson to form an exciting 2 vs. 2 duo across from the Lakers stars’, LeBron James and Anthony Davis. James and Davis are a championship-winning duo, and they always turn things up a notch in the games that matter most.
The Warriors and Kings faced each other in the playoffs for the first time ever last season, and now they are meeting up in the Play-in tournament. Last season’s first-round matchup was one of the best early-round series’ ever. The two have a strong rivalry, and the playoff matchup last year was highlighted by Draymond Green being suspended after stomping on Domantas Sabonis and by Stephen Curry becoming the first player to ever score 50 points in Game 7 of a postseason series.
That postseason series was the most watched of any first or second-round series this century, so their play-in game this year will surely have a lot of eyes on it. The Warriors aren’t the same team they were when they won four championships, but they still have Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. Those megastars surely have enough left in the tank to win a game like this, and youngsters like Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski have helped keep Golden State’s playoff hopes alive.
Eastern Conference storylines
In the Eastern Conference, the Heat are an even lower seed than they were last year, but they clearly know how to win postseason/play-in games. The Heat lost in the first round of the Play-In Tournament last year before securing the 8-seed and climbing all the way to the NBA Finals. Jimmy Butler and crew will look to pave a similar path this year.
The Heat will play a 76ers team which is a lot better now that Joel Embiid has returned from injury. Embiid looked better than ever after returning from a meniscus injury, and last year’s MVP will be desperate to prove that he can get past the second round in the postseason, and that starts with a win in the Play-in Tournament.
The fourth game of the Play-In Tournament’s first round is between two teams that had playoff ambitions coming into the season but dealt with major injury issues. For the Bulls, Zach LaVine has been ruled out for the season, but for the Hawks, Trae Young returned for the team’s final three regular-season games after missing the previous 23.
The NBA Play-In Tournament is loved by some and hated by others, and this year is a perfect example of why. The Western Conference was stacked, and having the play-in games is nice, considering that the top 10 teams in the conference all had impressive records. Additionally, the play-in games in the West are expected to be super exciting.
In the Eastern Conference, though, the Bulls and Hawks both had losing records, and many feel that they don’t deserve a shot at making the playoffs. Regardless, this is arguably the biggest year to date for the NBA Play-in tournament, and you won’t want to miss a game.
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