NBA Play-In Tournament predictions: Who makes it out of the West?
The NBA Play-In Tournament is here and it features some great teams as the Western Conference is loaded with contenders, even at the bottom of the standings.
With the Western Conference being extremely competitive this season, some really good teams were unable to qualify for a top-six seed. Despite having great seasons, the Kings, Lakers, Warriors, and Pelicans are heading towards the Play-In Tournament. In the top half of the tournament, the Lakers and Pelicans are set to fight in New Orleans.
Even though LeBron James and Anthony Davis had All-NBA level seasons and the Lakers won the inaugural In-Season Tournament, the Lakers struggled early and often and needed to get hot in the second half of the season just to avoid the 9-10 matchup. After the All-Star break, the Lakers had a 17-9 record.
Although the Pelicans were one win short of 50 wins for the entire season the franchise was unable to overcome their injuries which forced them to end up being the seventh seed and face off against the Lakers.
The Kings seemed destined to get the sixth seed for the last couple of weeks but ended up struggling down the stretch and now need to win two games in a row to make the playoffs for the second consecutive season.
Finally, the Warriors played extremely well in the early part of the season but injuries and a long Draymond Green suspension led to the team dropping to the 10 seed. With a loaded group of teams, what franchises will make it out of the tournament?
NBA Play-In Tournament predictions: Who makes it out of the West?
Even though there is a debate about whether the Lakers should try to lose this game with AD playing a little bit injured and deadly Nuggets coming ahead, L.A. will likely be able to win this game. If the franchise is playing with full intent, the Lakers should beat a Pelicans squad that they just destroyed on the last day of the regular season.
It's very hard to pick the 9-10 matchup but the Warriors' hot streak over in the last 10 games makes it very easy to pick them to win on the road. In the final game of the tournament, it's very hard to not pick the Warriors with the way that they have played in recent weeks but CJ McCollum's recent play suggests that New Orleans will be able to win this one — Lakers get the No. 7 seed, Pelicans get No. 8.
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