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Quit Play-In' 🏀 & bet on the postseason with us
Timberwolves DRAMA + Your postseason guide
Kate Magdziuk
April 11, 2023
Hey you! Did ya hear the news? The NBA postseason has arrived 😈 💪 The play-in tournament starts today, and boy — we’ve got a lot to cover before tipoff! Let’s dive in.
TLDR 📖 How the NBA playoffs work, who made the postseason, and more 🏀
The NBA postseason has officially arrived, with the third-ever play-in tournament tipping off Tuesday, April 11! Let’s dive in.
The play-in tournament
How it works: Teams that finish 7th-10th in each conference participate in the play-in tournament, where two of the four participants in each conference advance to the first round.
Here’s a full look at the field…
No. 7 Miami Heat vs. No. 8 Atlanta Hawks
When: Tuesday, April 11
How to watch: 7:30 p.m. ET on TNT
Bet on the game: Heat -198 (projected winner), Hawks +166 (underdog)
No. 7 Los Angeles Lakers vs. No. 8 Minnesota Timberwolves
When: Tuesday, April 11
How to watch: 9:30 p.m. ET on TNT
Bet on the game: Lakers -330 (projected winner), Timberwolves +265 (underdog)
No. 9 Toronto Raptors vs. No. 10 Chicago Bulls
When: Wednesday, April 12
How to watch: 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
Bet on the game: Raptors -210 (projected winner), Bulls +176 (underdog)
No. 9 New Orleans Pelicans vs. No. 10 Oklahoma City Thunder
When: Wednesday, April 12
How to watch: 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
Bet on the game: Pelicans -220 (projected winner), Thunder +184 (underdog)
Betting Academy odds reminder: When betting on the moneyline, AKA which team will win…
Teams with minus odds (indicated with a “-”) are considered the favorites to win! The number listed after the “-” indicates the amount of money you would have to wager to win $100 in profit if they won.
Teams with plus-odds (indicated with a “+”) are considered the underdogs. The number listed after the “+” indicates how much profit you’d win if you were to wager $100 on that team and they won.
Eastern Conference matchups
No. 1 Milwaukee Bucks vs. No. 8 seed (TBD)
No. 2 Boston Celtics vs. No. 7 seed (TBD)
No. 3 Philadelphia 76ers* vs. Brooklyn Nets
No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers* vs. No. 5 New York Knicks
Western Conference matchups
No. 1: Denver Nuggets vs. No. 8 seed (TBD)
No. 2 Memphis Grizzlies vs. No. 7 seed (TBD)
No. 3 Sacramento Kings vs. No. 6 Golden State Warriors*
No. 4 Phoenix Suns* vs. No. 5 LA Clippers
So much drama to close out the season, omg
Kyle Anderson and Rudy Gobert got into it on the sidelines. Gobert threw a punch… or whatever that was (was it a punch? idk if it counts, to be honest) and is now suspended for their play-in game against the Lakers.
The drama of this season finale is not disappointing 🍿
— Gaming Society (@GamingSociety)
9:02 PM • Apr 9, 2023
Gaming Society co-founder and former NBA superstar Kevin Garnett has a totally positive spin on things. 😭 😭 😭
Nothing like a light scuffle to tighten up the screws before the playoffs! LFG @Timberwolves!
— Kevin Garnett (@KevinGarnett5KG)
9:03 PM • Apr 9, 2023
Then, their teammate Jaden McDaniels punched a hole on the way to the locker room and broke his hand. 🫠 🫠 🫠 Ouchie. Safe to say he’ll be out for the postseason… however long the Timberwolves’ postseason lasts, anyway!
Jaden McDaniels punched a wall on the way to the locker room 😬
He is out the rest of the game with a hand injury
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport)
9:28 PM • Apr 9, 2023
Everything’s fine here… just fine! 😬 😬 😬
Get to know a few teams we ❤️ to root for that made the postseason
All editorial features here come courtesy of our fav NBA contributor, Katie Heindl 💗 (Did you know she has an NBA newsletter called Basketball Feelings that you should also be reading? Suscbribe, pls & thx.)
The Playoff Drought Busters 😮💨
The Sacramento Kings are the best Cinderella story in the NBA right now, having just broken a 16-year playoff drought by straight-up winning the Pacific Division. It’s casual.
Odds to win NBA Finals: +5000. Bet $100 to win $5,000 + your $100 back! AKA, they’re looongshots to win.
Odds to win their series vs. the Warriors: +215 — the underdogs 😤
The takeaway: The lack of respect for the Kings continues on, considering they’re underdogs going against the sixth seed. However, they do lack playoff experience (see the above-aforementioned note on their playoff drought) and went 1-3 against them this season.
Still, we love them and their vibes. A risky team to bet on? Sure. But their 48-34 record over the Suns, Clippers, Warriors and Lakers should be enough to have you bought in, too.
The Ones With Heart 🥹
Wanna know what these guys are playing for? EACH OTHER. That’s what.
Julius Randle, when asked about the team’s connection: “We really love each other. We really spent real time, quality time with each other, getting to know each other, just caring about each other. I think it just translates onto the court.”
I’m not crying, you’re crying. 😭 😭 😭
Odds to win NBA Finals: +13000. If we considered the Kings to be “looongshots” to win the NBA Finals, then we’d consider the Knicks looo-ooo-oooooongshots to win.
Odds to win their series vs. the Cavaliers: +176 — the underdogs!
The takeaway: The Knicks have SOUL, baby. Their players — and more specifically, the relationships they have with each other — make them an easy team to root for.
