Western Conference Play-In Tournament Betting Preview: LeBron's Lakers Poised For Seventh Seed!
The NBA regular season has concluded and we have now reached the postseason. Before the NBA playoffs officially start we have to get through the NBA Play-In Tournament. Here's everything you need to know about the Western Conference Play-In Tournament including when it is, who's in it, and how it works.
Everything You Need to Know
The NBA Play-In Tournament is a new feature in the NBA that was technically created for the bubble during Covid but was implemented as we know it today the following season. The seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth seeds all advance from the regular season to the Play-in thus keeping more teams in contention and engaged deeper into the year. Teams that would have been eliminated weeks earlier under the old format still have a shot at a playoff spot right down to the wire. For example the Utah Jazz this season in the Western Conference. This year the Western Conference Play-In Tournament will be comprised of the (7) Los Angeles Lakers, (8) Minnesota Timber Wolves, (9) New Orleans Pelican, and the Oklahoma City Thunder. On Tuesday, April 11 the Lakers will host the T-Wolves, and the winner will advance to the NBA Playoffs as the seven seed and take on the Memphis Grizzlies. On Wednesday, April 12, the Pelicans will host the Thunder, and the loser will be eliminated from playoff contention while the winner goes on to take on the loser of the Lakers vs Wolves matchup on Friday, April 14. The winner of the game Friday between Tuesday's loser and Wednesday's winner will win the eighth seed and go on to face off with the top-seeded Denver Nuggets in the NBA Playoffs.
Check out our brand new NBA DFS Optimizer and export up to 150 lineups to your DFS site of choice!
Predictions and Breakdown
Minnesota Timber Wolves @ Los Angeles Lakers
Tuesday, April 11, 2023, 10:00 PM EST on TNT
In our first game of the Play-In Tournament, we have a finally healthy Lakers team hosting a T-Wolves team that appears to be falling apart at the seams. While Los Angeles has all its pieces in place for the first time all year, the T-Wolves had a fistfight in their huddle Sunday during the final day of the NBA season. Their big offseason acquisition Rudy Gobert was sent home during the game for punching Kyle Anderson while starter Jaden McDaniels broke his hand during the game. Things couldn't have gone much worse for the Wolves this weekend. On the other other side of the court, the Lakers after starting 2-10 this season finished with a winning record boasting the NBA's best record since the all-star break while all their trade deadline additions have meshed well, and a healthy Anthony Davis and LeBron James are both playing like top-five players in the world.
This game seems like an easy call. We can't imagine the Wolves going to L.A. and pulling off the upset on the road over AD and King James. Our guess on how this plays out is the game is close at halftime then the Lakers build up a double-digit lead in the third quarter into the fourth. The Wolves will cut the lead to about six before the Lakers pull away and finish the Wolves off for good. This will cement the Lakers as the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference and they will head to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies on Sunday, April 16.
Oklahoma City Thunder @ New Orleans Pelicans
Wednesday, April 12, 9:30 PM EST ESPN
Next, we have a battle for survival and a chance to take on the reeling T-Wolves between the Pels and the Thunder. Shai Gilgeous Alexander will look to will the Thunder past the Pelicans who have put together a nice little squad featuring veterans you know from around the league like Brandon Ingram, C.J. McCollum, and Jonas Valanciunas. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like Zion Williamson's return is imminent any time soon. There is some hope he could return during the first or second round of the playoffs should the Pelicans advance, but if we're being honest with ourselves, we aren't going to see Zion on a court prior to the 2023-2024 season.
This is an evenly-matched game and it wouldn't be a shock to see either team pull this one out. However, we are going to go with the home team here. We got the Pelicans knocking off a young Thunder team that has to go on the road for a pseudo-playoff game. No matter what happens the Thunder far exceeded expectations this season and took a huge step in the right direction. However, we do expect this to be a tight game that goes down to the final minutes and a Thunder upset wouldn't shock us. Still, our money is on the Pels.
New Orleans Pelicans @ Minnesota Timber Wolves
Friday, April 14, ESPN
On Friday the opening-round losing Wolves will host the Pelicans who knocked out the Thunder. We are expecting an upset in this one. We were going with the lower seed regardless of who won the Thunder vs Pelicans game. Things are not going well for the T-Wolves and the way the season ended for Minnesota is a massive red flag. We just don't think they are able to regroup and get it done after the tumultuous end to the regular season followed by the Lakers hanging an L on them and piling on the pressure. This will set up the Pelicans to travel to the top-seeded Nuggets on Sunday, April 16 where they will have a tall task in front of them after locking up the last and final spot in the NBA Playoffs as the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference.
Fantasy SP has worked diligently to bring you next-level sports betting analytics, prop betting tools, public betting splits, and so much more! Become an Edge+ member today!
#nba-playoffs
