After 82 regular-season games, the top six NBA teams in each conference have already earned a spot in the playoffs. The teams that are seventh through tenth in the standings will have to do a little extra work. 

The original play-in tournament occurred in the bubble in the 2020 season to account for a shortened season. In that season, the ninth-seeded team played the eighth-seeded team, and the winner advanced to the playoffs. 

However, in 2021, a new format was created. The seven-seed plays the eight-seed, with the winner advancing to the playoffs as the seven-seed. The ninth and tenth-seeded teams play, with the loser’s season ending while the winner plays the loser of the seven-eight game. The winner of that game then advances to the playoffs as the eight-seed. These are this year’s play-in games.   

No. 8 Los Angeles Lakers Vs. No. 7 New Orleans Pelicans 

Just like last year, the Lakers are again in the play-in tournament. They took down the Minnesota Timberwolves to lock up the seventh seed, then made a run to the conference finals before getting swept by the Denver Nuggets. 

This season, they will take on the Pelicans, who also were in a play-in situation last year. This time, New Orleans is the seventh seed, which means they have two chances to win one game to secure a playoff spot. 

There has been talk of both teams, but moreso the Lakers, intentionally losing their play-in game to avoid playing Denver in the first round. As made obvious by last year’s defeat to the eventual NBA champions, the Lakers do not match up well with the Nuggets. 

The risk that comes with intentionally losing their first play-in game is that another loss the next night would eliminate either the Lakers or Pelicans from playoff contention. 

While it is true that either team lines up better against the inexperienced top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder, the risk is too great to intentionally lose the first play-in game and put everything into a make-or-break game.

No 10. Golden State Warriors Vs. No. 9 Sacramento Kings

In a rematch of last year’s first-round series, the Kings will again have a home-court advantage over the Warriors. 

Last season, Sacramento took the first two at home before Golden State tied it up by defending their home court. They then took a 3-2 series lead when they stole game five in Sacramento. However, the Kings came right back and stole game six in The Bay to force game seven. In the decisive game seven, Steph Curry scored 50 points on the road to advance to the conference semifinals.

There will be no seven-game series this year, as the loser will be eliminated, and the winner will still have to play another play-in game before being the potential eighth seed. 

Both teams have regressed this season, but the Western Conference is strong, so every team is battle-tested. 

For the Warriors, the game plan will remain the same: run the offense through Curry. He continues to deliver time after time, even as he ages.

On the other hand, the Kings will need to learn from last year and not let Curry drop 50 on them in another elimination game. Sacramento has multiple scorers that it can count on, but sometimes, one Steph Curry can outdo a whole starting lineup.

No. 8 Miami Heat Vs. No. 7 Philadelphia 76ers 

Though these two teams are down in the standings, either one will most likely cause problems for the two-seeded New York Knicks. 

The Heat were right in this spot last year. They lost to Atlanta in the first round of the play-in tournament but then beat Chicago to make the playoffs as the eighth seed. 

Miami took down the No. 1 seeded Milwaukee Bucks before beating New York in the conference semifinals, then Boston in a wild seven-game series, but then lost to Denver in the Finals.

With Eric Spoelstra coaching, the Heat seem to play their best basketball at the perfect time, so being the eighth seed does not mean that they should be counted out.

They do have a tough task at hand, however. The Sixers were performing as expected until Joel Embiid injured his left lateral meniscus, which resulted in him missing multiple months.

Philadelphia slid in the standings and will participate in their first ever play-in game when they face Miami. However, Embiid has played since Apr. 2, and the team is getting back into the swing. Between a Sixers roster with Embiid ready to go and a playoff-ready Miami Heat squad, this game can be the starting point of a deep playoff run for either side.

No. 10 Atlanta Hawks Vs. No. 9 Chicago Bulls

This matchup features a pair of teams that are getting familiar with the play-in tournament. It will be Atlanta’s third straight season in the tournament and Chicago’s second consecutive year.

Atlanta has advanced to the playoffs both times, once as the eighth seed and once as the seventh seed. Chicago’s only appearance in the play-in tournament ended without a trip to the NBA Playoffs, and they will need two wins to change that this time around.

If either team is able to not only win the first game but then defeat either the Heat or the 76ers, their reward will be playing the best team in the league by record, the Boston Celtics. It’s not an impossible task, but for two teams that are sub-.500, beating a 64-18 team is incredibly difficult.

The Miami Heat’s victory over the top-seeded Bucks last year may be some encouragement for whoever has to play Boston this season, but the difference in record is much bigger this year.

There was a sizable 14-game difference between Miami and Milwaukee last year, but that’s nothing compared to the 25-game difference between Boston and Chicago and the 28-game difference between Boston and Atlanta.

When the play-in tournament was announced a few years ago, many fans did not like the change, but it has begun to win over the NBA community.

Demetri Manousos is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].