The NBA play-in tournament kicks off tonight. There’s plenty of opinions around the play-in games, but it allows us another great set of games to watch with plenty on the line for every team. It also gives us another opportunity to make our expert picks on the teams and see how our picks fair against what oddsmakers say about the teams. In all, 20 of the 30 NBA teams will qualify for either the play-in tournament or playoffs.
The Athletic’s writers will provide their picks for every game of the NBA play-in tournament and playoffs from the first round to the NBA Finals.
Tuesday’s action starts at 6:30 p.m. eastern when the Hornets face the Pacers. The winner advances to Thursday’s game vs. the loser of the Wizards-Celtics game that follows on Tuesday night at 9 p.m. Both games will be broadcast by TNT. The winner of the Wizards-Celtics game advances to become the No. 7 seed.
All odds courtesy of BetMGM, as of 11 p.m. ET on Monday. If you want to place some wagers — and get a free year of The Athletic and $100 in free bets — there’s an NBA Playoffs special offer through this link.
No. 10 Charlotte Hornets at No. 9 Indiana Pacers (-3)
Total: 227.5
No. 8 Washington Wizards at No. 7 Boston Celtics (-2.5)
Total: 232.5
(Top photo: Maddie Mayer/Getty Images; The Athletic may receive an affiliate commission if you open an account with BetMGM through links contained in the above article.)
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