NBA Playoff Rooting Guide for Tuesday, April 5: Eastern Conference Play-In Scenarios
By Reed Wallach
After taking Monday night off, the NBA is back in full swing and the final push towards the postseason gets underway.
The Eastern Conference playoff picture is far from set with all four teams bound for the play-in game in flux with no more than four games remaining for each team: Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets and Brooklyn Nets.
All four teams are in action tonight so let's see what's at stake for everyone.
Eastern Conference Playoff Standings
- No. 7 Seed: Cleveland Cavaliers,43-36, --
- No. 8 Seed: Atlanta Hawks. 41-37, 1.5 GB
- No. 9 Seed: Charlotte Hornets, 40-38, 2.5 GB
- No. 10 Seed: Brooklyn Nets, 40-38, 2.5 GB
Cleveland Cavaliers Fans Should Root for Bucks Win on Tuesday
Just to win.
The Cavs are 8.5-point road favorites against the Orlando Magic, so oddsmakers are expecting them to maintain their cushion on hosting the first of a double elimination game in the Play-In Tournament.
The Cavs have one less game than the other 3 teams, the other two are against the Nets and Bucks, so taking care of business on Tuesday is imperative.
It's also worth keeping an eye on the Bucks result, who play the Bulls as well and can keep the Cavs alive to jump out of the No. 7 seed and into the No. 6, out of the Play-In.
Atlanta Hawks Fans Should Root for Rockets Tuesday
The Hawks are winners of five straight, but are 4.5-point underdogs in Toronto on Tuesday night.
The team scored a huge win over the Nets at home over the weekend to give them a bit of a breathing room in the No. 8 hole for now. However, if the Hawks lose and the Nets win, the two will flip flop once again considering the Nets have the tiebreaker.
It's worth noting that if the Hawks, Hornets and Nets all finish the season with the same record, the order will go: Hornets-Nets-Hawks
Charlotte Hornets Fans Should Root for a Win and More Tuesday
Of course, win, but also the team can use some help by way of a Hawks and Nets loss.
Again, the Hornets don't control their own destiny just yet, but would benefit from a 3-way tie with the Hawks beating the Nets on Saturday. The team holds the head-to-head tiebreak over Brooklyn, but doesn't over Atlanta.
Brooklyn Nets Fans Should Root for Heat, Raptors Tuesday
The Nets have not made their lives any easier with losses to the Hornets and Hawks over the past week, but they do have the easiest schedule left in the entire league, per Tankathon.
The Nets of course need a win as 17.5-point favorites against the Rockets, but a loss to anyone else ahead of them can help. Brooklyn would leapfrog both Atlanta and Charlotte into the No. 8 seed with a win and a pair of losses.
It's worth keeping an eye on Cleveland as well. If the Cavs drop two more games, including the one to the Nets, while Brooklyn runs the table, they will jump them as well in the standings. That will be for Friday though.
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