8 former Wildcats set to participate in 2023 NBA Play-In rounds

ZGeogheganKSR

The NBA’s Play-In concept is still a relatively new idea to the league. Introduced during the COVID-plagued season of 2019-20, this will be just the fourth time the league has utilized this format.

How it works is the seven and eight seeds from each conference will face off ahead of the actual playoff tournament in a one-game setting, with the winner immediately securing the seven-seed and a showdown with that conference’s two-seed. However, the loser will have another chance to earn the eight-seed in another one-game setting. Elsewhere, the nine and 10 seeds will also go head-to-head, with the loser knocked out of the postseason completely and the winner taking on the loser of the seven-eight seed matchup. The winner of that final Play-In game will take control of the eight seed and secure a matchup with the conference’s top overall seed.

Hopefully I explained that as simply as possible (the graphic below is also a good reference). Personally, I love the Play-In format and think it brings plenty of additional excitement to both the postseason and the end of the regular season. It also allows four extra teams the ability to crack the playoffs, meaning more and more former Kentucky Wildcats will get the chance to perform on basketball’s biggest stage in the coming years.

Following the conclusion of the NBA’s 2022-23 regular season on Sunday, the Play-In scene has been locked in. A total of eight one-time ‘Cats, spread across four teams, will participate in the pre-playoff rounds, which will take place on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday night. Here’s what we’ve got in store over the next few days from a BBNBA perspective.

Tuesday, April 11

7:30 (TNT): No. 8 Hawks @ No. 7 Heat (Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro)

The Miami Heat have been a tough team to understand this season, going through demoralizing offensive droughts but doing just enough on defense to stay afloat. Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro have had impressive seasons, but without significant improvements from the season prior. Luckily for Miami, the Atlanta Hawks have been equally difficult to decipher. Trae Young can drop 30 points and 10 assists on any given night, but there isn’t much else that team can rely on and his defense is non-existent. Miami’s trio of Adebayo and Herro plus Jimmy Butler is going to be a tough out in any playoff scenario.

Prediction: Heat 99, Hawks 91 –> Heat earn No. 7 seed in East

10:00 (TNT): No. 8 Timberwolves (Karl-Anthony Towns) @ No. 7 Lakers (Anthony Davis, Wenyen Gabriel, Jarred Vanderbilt)

Aside from this game having four former Wildcats on the two rosters, this is easily the must-watch Play-In round. The Los Angeles Lakers are the league’s most popular franchise and needed a late-season push to even make the Play-In, but got healthy enough down the stretch to sneak in as the seven-seed. LA has won nine of its previous 11 games with Anthony Davis averaging 25.3 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 3.0 assists over that span. Jarred Vanderbilt fills in as a limited-usage starter alongside Davis while Wenyen Gabriel is more of a “break in case of emergency” type piece. Having LeBron James certainly helps, too. Meanwhile, the Minnesota Timberwolves are experiencing team turmoil at the worst possible time. Between Rudy Gobert punching his teammate during a timeout and Jaden McDaniels breaking his hand after throwing a punch of his own (all happening on Sunday, by the way), the vibes in Minnesota are at a season-low. Karl-Anthony Towns being back in the lineup is a positive, but there’s going to be a lot on his plate, especially with Gobert getting suspended for the first Play-in game.

Prediction: Lakers 111, Timberwolves 98 –> Lakers earn No. 7 seed in West

Wednesday, April 12

7:00 (ESPN): No. 10 Bulls @ No. 9 Raptors

Prediction: Bulls 105, Raptors 103 –> Raptors eliminated

9:30 (ESPN): No. 10 Thunder (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Olivier Sarr) @ No. 9 Pelicans

Don’t sleep on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder. A projected First-Team All-NBA member, SGA will be the best player in this matchup, and possibly of all the Play-In teams. It should also be noted that New Orleans Pelicans superstar Zion Williamson is not expected to return from injury. OKC has improved down the stretch of the schedule and has one of the league’s top 5-10 players from this past season.

Prediction: Thunder 115, Pelicans 111 –> Pelicans eliminated