2021 NBA Playoffs: What to Know About Play-In Tournament
The NBA postseason is here. After a 72-game regular season, 20 NBA teams are looking to see who is [...]
The NBA postseason is here. After a 72-game regular season, 20 NBA teams are looking to see who is the best in the league. However, this year is a little different as there will be a play-in tournament for four teams in each conference. This tournament will determine who be the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds in the Eastern and Western Conference playoffs, which will begin this weekend.
The play-in, tournament, which was introduced last year when the NBA played in Orlando during the COVID-19 pandemic, is set up like this. The No. 7-10 seeds will be in a mini-tournament starting Tuesday night. The games will be the No. 7 seed vs. No. 8 seed and No. 9 seed vs. No. 10 seed. The winner of the No. 7 vs. No. 8 contest will clinch the No. 7 spot in the playoffs. The loser of that game will play the winner of the No. 9 and No. 10 game, and they will battle for the final spot in the playoffs.
On Tuesday, the Eastern Conference play-in tournament tips off with the Washington Wizards (No. 8) vs. the Boston Celtics (No. 7) at 9 p.m. ET. Before that, the Charlotte Hornets (No. 10) will take on the Indiana Paces (No. 9) at 6:30 p.m. ET. The Western Conference play-in tournament will start with the San Antonio Spurs (No. 10) vs. the Memphis Grizzlies (No. 9) at 7:30 p.m. ET. That will be followed by the Golden State Warriors (No. 8) vs. the Los Angeles Lakers (No. 7). The Warriors and Lakers will be a must-see event as the two teams have won three of the last four NBA Finals. It's also a game where fans will see Steph Curry facing LeBron James in the postseason again.
"It'll be a different scenario, but another chapter in it," Curry said when talking about the matchup with James and Lakers. "At the end of the day, you expect greatness. That's the part I've enjoyed so much about playing in the finals against him … those games that matter, it just brings out another level of intensity and excitement and a sense of urgency about it, because you know how good you have to play to win games like that."
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