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The 2024 NBA Postseason begins with the SoFi Play-In Tournament. Get ready for Wednesday's matchup with previews and predictions to determine which teams will play for the Eastern Conference's No. 7 seed and Friday's No. 8 seed.
East: (8) Miami Heat @ (7) Philadelphia 76ers (7 ET, ESPN)
winner: As the seventh seed, they will advance to face New York in the first round.
loser: They will play the winner of Wednesday's Hawks-Bulls game to determine the No. 8 seed in the East.
Regular season results: The series is tied 2-2.
Please take note of the following: jimmy in the playoffs
Next to Nikola Jokic, Jimmy Butler was the talk of the town last spring and summer, elevating his game and pushing his team through the East Mines and out of the play-in tournament, defeating higher seeds along the way. He was a great player.
What's interesting this time? Butler will be playing against his old team, but he has been mum in the past about how the Sixers allowed him to sign with Miami in 2019 (Philly kept Tobias Harris in return).
It's ancient history – or is it? Butler is proud and elated to send the Sixers to repechage. Regardless, Butler brings solid playoff representation to this game and is eager to keep it that way.
Main matchups: Joel Embiid vs. Bam Adebayo
Of all the centers in the NBA, Adebayo holds the most against Embiid. He's a smart, aggressive defender who knows how to make Embiid work hard for the bucket, and that's all he can do against the reigning Kia MVP.
Also, the presence of Adebayo, who was Miami's best player in last year's Finals, will force Embiid to spend his energy on defense. Embiid would hold a huge positional advantage over almost every other team. with this? marginal.
And that's assuming Embiid is in good shape after just returning from a knee injury. The Sixers discovered him in Tyrese Maxey's absence, so they won't have to rely on him as much. But they need him to win.
prediction: 76ers
For some reason, this is not the same Miami team from last season. Maybe it's because of last summer's defection, maybe it's Butler's repeated injury absences, maybe it's Tyler Herro.
But the Heat need to rebuild their team quickly, and they'll need more than Butler to do that. Examples: Jaime Jaquez Jr. rediscovering his rookie form; Terry Rozier (missing tonight's game due to neck spasms) finally fit in after being inconsistent since joining midway through the season. I do things.
The biggest problem for Miami aside from Embiid is Maxey. The young guard is coming off an incredible season in which he shined as a fill-in lead singer without Embiid. And when Embiid and Maxey played this season, the Sixers were 29-7.
(10) Atlanta Hawks @ (9) Chicago Bulls (9:30 ET, ESPN)
winner: The loser of Wednesday's Heat-Sixers game will advance to a matchup to determine the No. 8 seed in the East.
loser: I'm going to Cancun.
Regular season results: Bulls, 2-1.
Please take note of the following: front line battle
The Hawks will be without Jaylen Johnson and, perhaps more importantly, the more physical Onyeka Okongwu, which puts them at a disadvantage against Bulls center Nikola Vucevic. .
Vucevic is a former All-Star and remains a reliable offensive player with a variety of ways to score (he averaged 18 points per game this season). He's very rhythmic, and when he gets going, the Hawks have no one to resist other than Clint Capela.
As a side note, backup center Andre Drummond (questionable on the league's injury report) had 25, 18 and 11 rebounds games against the Hawks. backup.
Main matchups: Alex Caruso vs. (Pick M) Trae Young or Dejounte Murray
Caruso is certain to be named All-Defensive this season. He's alert in the passing lanes (he's one of the league's leaders in steals) and has solid man-to-man chops. This, of course, means he will be placed on the hotter side of Hawk's guard.
He's going to have his hands full. Murray was phenomenal in March when Young was out with finger surgery, but of course Young is one of the best offensive creators in the league.
So Caruso has to choose between a tall guard who excels at pull-ups in the lane, or a diminutive All-Star who has a difficult lob pass and is (sometimes) deadly from deep.
prediction: hawks
This is a matchup of teams depleted by injuries and missing key components, with the winner lucky enough to advance to the playoffs. That's not a shadow cast on the Hawks and Bulls, it's just reality.
DeMar DeRozan is destined to have a solid game. This season, he has scored on nights of the 31st, 29th, and 25th against the Hawks, and is set to become a free agent this summer, which motivates him to extend the season as much as possible. will be given.
But despite the missing pieces, the Hawks bring a little more quality than Chicago (Coby White) and depth (Bogdan Bogdanovic, DeAndre Hunter). A Bulls win isn't surprising, especially at home, but this conversation feels more like Hawk-Hawk.
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Sean Powell has covered the NBA for over 25 years. You can email him here. His archive can be found here and Follow him on X.
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