Opinions

This year’s NBA play-in tournament will be one to watch


April 12, 2022

By Jolie Paz-Garcia
Staff Writer

The National Basketball Association’s regular season ended on April 10, and teams near the bottom of the standings will compete for postseason seeding on April 12-15, with a specific focus on the league’s play-in tournament.

This year’s play-in tournament promises fans a thrilling four days with stars such as Lamelo Ball, Kevin Durant, Paul George, Kyrie Irving and Trae Young giving it their all to make the No. 7 and No. 8 spot.

In 2021, the NBA held its first play-in tournament, with seeds No. 7-10 contending for the final playoff spot in each conference. Teams competed for the final slots in the playoff tournament, making it very interesting and exciting to watch as fans.

The way it works is that at the end of the regular season, the No. 7 and 8 seeds in each conference play each other, and the winner will gain the No. 7 seed in the playoffs. A matchup between the No. 9 and 10 seeds is also scheduled. The victor of the 9-10 game will face the loser of the 7-8 game for the No. 8 spot in the playoffs, while the loser of the 9-10 game will be eliminated.

This year’s play-in tournament promises fans a thrilling four days with stars such as Lamelo Ball, Kevin Durant, Paul George, Kyrie Irving and Trae Young giving it their all to make the No. 7 and No. 8 spot.

Currently, the Brooklyn Nets hold the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference followed by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the eighth position. The Atlanta Hawks and Charlotte Hornets hold the ninth and 10th spots in the Eastern Conference. In the Western Conference, the Minnesota Timberwolves hold the seventh spot, followed by the Los Angeles Clippers. The New Orleans Pelicans and the San Antonio Spurs hold the ninth and 10th spots in the Western Conference.

As a Knicks fan, I was sad to see that they did not make it this year, but it is going to be fun watching all these guys with such awesome talent play against each other and see which teams really have it in them to pull through.

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