The Whiteboard: Play-In Tournament predictions and final NBA player rankings

Today on The Whiteboard, we're looking at one big question that could help decide each Play-In Tournament matchup, and looking at FanSided's ranking of the 99 best players in the NBA.

Which Philadelphia 76ers show up?

The 76ers played the Heat four times this season but only three regular rotation players — Paul Reed, Tyrese Maxey and Kelly Oubre Jr. played in all four of them. Embiid appeared in just one game in the series, ditto for Tobias Harris, De'Anthony Melton and Patrick Beverley. Buddy Hield and Kyle Lowry were only available for three and two of those matchups, respectively, after getting traded to Philly.

The 76ers did beat the Heat on Apr. 4 with Embiid back in the lineup but Harris and Melton weren't available for that game and would hopefully be available against the Heat.

All that is to say, the 76ers are a mystery box without much of a track record to go on in this matchup. They'll need Embiid to be a force, they'll need Maxey to hit outside shots and they'll need someone to wrestle Jimmy Butler into inefficiency.

Is Coby White ready for the moment?

Coby White is one of the biggest reasons the Bulls are even in the playoff but he was an absolute disaster against the Hawks in three regular-season matchups — shooting 38.3 percent from the field and 15.8 percent from beyond the arc. Looking through the clips, most of that looks like bad luck and he was 3-of-16 on open and wide-open 3-pointers against the Hawks.

He'll need a lot more of those shots to go down, but he'll also need to avoid settling and attack the basket. Particularly if he gets opportunities to work against Trae Young.

Can the Warriors slow down Domantas Sabonis?

The Warriors split their season series with the Kings but the one constant was the complete lack of an answer for Domantas Sabonis. He averaged 17.3 points, 11.3 rebounds and 9.5 assists per game against the Warriors this season, shooting 51.0 percent from the field. Golden State doesn't have anyone who can compete with his size and physicality on the glass and there's only so much they can do about that with scheme and intensity.

But he's also become particularly adept at forcing the Warriors' defense to make a choice and then punishing them based on where they go. He's such a dangerous passer from the elbow but he can also bully single coverage from those spots from high-efficiency looks.

Given how things have gone this season, the Warriors may need to try and take away his drives and back-ins from inside the arc and force him to pass and hope they can outshoot the Kings from the perimeter. But if Sabonis is consistently dictating the action, the Warriors are in trouble.

Who defends Zion Williamson?

The Lakers have to feel good about taking three of four games from the Pelicans during the regular season but matching up with Zion will be their biggest concern. They don't want LeBron or Anthony Davis spending much time in this matchup and Zion has feasted on Rui Hachimura.

Against the Lakers this season, Zion has averaged 20.3 points and 5.5 assists per game, shooting 57.7 percent. Despite that production, his usage has been relatively low and if the Pelicans sense an advantage they might lean into it.

Davis and James are probably the Lakers' best options and give them the best chances of holding off the Pelicans in a single-game scenario. But the Lakers are also planning for a deep playoff run and need to consider how much they want to risk on securing the No. 7 seed knowing there are plenty more games to come.

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NBA99: Ranking the best players in the NBA this season

The FanSided NBA team is excited to share our ranking of the 99 best players in the NBA. These rankings are a living document, updated regularly throughout the year, exploring how each player has carved out their NBA niche and how it is evolving over time.

So, why not 100? Why 99? Well, because it was the jersey number of both George Mikan and Tacko Fall. Because it was the first year of the post-Jordan-Bulls NBA. Because NBA Live 99 had enough foresight to put Antoine Walker on the cover and a 99 player rating is something special. Because the '99 NBA Draft brought us legends like Elton Brand, Baron Davis, Steve Francis and Manu Ginobili. Or, maybe we just couldn't decide who should be ranked No. 100 and gave up early.

Our rankings included blended assessments of both present and future value, keeping players on the list who are currently injured but moving them down based on the severity of their injury and how long we expect them to be off the court. We did not consider any information about salary or contract status. The rankings were built by a panel of FanSided staffers and contributors and represent our collective estimation of the NBA's power structure. Click on each player card to read more about their role, skills, production and more.

• NBA99: Ranking the 6 best contract values in the NBA this season by Lior Lampert
• NBA99: Ranking the best rookies in the NBA this season by Chris Kline
• NBA99: Ranking the most improved players in the NBA this season by Ian Levy

READ MORE:

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