The NBA postseason has arrived, and this week brings win-or-go-home basketball back to our lives. Before the 2024 NBA playoffs begin in earnest on Saturday, we need to figure out the final two teams on each side of the bracket. That brings us to the Play-In Tournament. Eight teams enter. Four will make the playoffs. Four will be heading home.
Play-In Tournament action starts Tuesday night with Pelicans vs. Lakers and Kings vs. Warriors in the West. It's the East's turn on Wednesday with 76ers vs. Heat and Bulls vs. Hawks. Pelicans-Lakers and 76ers-Heat are both win-and-get-in games as the victors will secure the No. 7 seeds in their respective conferences. The losers of those games will face the winners of the No. 9/10 games on Friday with the No. 8 seeds on the line. Got it? Good.
Before the postseason action tips off, we here at CBS Sports have made our picks for every Play-In Tournament game this week. Let's get to the predictions.
West No. 7: Pelicans vs. Lakers
Botkin: I've watched sports too long to not see a trap game when it shoots up. This is a trap game. Everyone is picking the Lakers because of what they have done to the Pelicans this season in one-game scenarios -- first in the In-Season Tournament semifinal and then on the last day of the regular season with major seed implications for both teams. So in a pure gut call, give me the Pelicans.
Herbert: I don't think the Lakers are the better team, exactly, but this has been a horrible matchup for New Orleans this season. I expect it to be closer than the regular-season finale, though.
Maloney: Anthony Davis' spasms situation does make me a bit hesitant, but this has just been a bad matchup for the Pelicans all season long. Even at this stage of LeBron James' career, there's few players I'd trust more in a one-game situation.
Quinn: The initial fear of Anthony Davis' back made the Pelicans a tempting pick, but as the Lakers are optimistic that he will play, they have to be the pick in this one. They've blown the Pelicans out three times this season. Twice have been in relatively big games: Sunday's regular-season finale and the In-Season Tournament semifinals. Until New Orleans proves it can beat Los Angeles in a big game, I'm trusting the track record.
Ward-Henninger: I know the Lakers just beat them, but New Orleans was welcoming Brandon Ingram back into the fold and coming off a long and successful road trip. This will be Zion Williamson's postseason coming out party, and the Lakers defense outside of Anthony Davis just hasn't been good enough to offer significant resistance.
Wimbish: This is going to be a close one, but I just don't think the Pelicans can slow LeBron James, even with how awesome they've been this season. It's a tough draw because Zion Williamson has been playing some tremendous basketball this season. Anthony Davis' status being up in the air is a concern, and if he's out then I'd lean the other way on this matchup.
West No. 9/10: Kings vs. Warriors
Botkin: End of the road for the Warriors, who will be without Gary Payton II -- their best defensive option on De'Aaron Fox. I think Domantas Sabonis has a huge game as something of a makeup for Sacramento's first-round loss last season when Golden State made him look pretty pedestrian, which he'll have to do without Malik Monk and Kevin Heurter. In what feels like a pick 'em game, I'll go with the home court.
Herbert: While Golden State might have found itself toward the end of the regular season, Sacramento lost two important parts of its rotation. The Gary Payton II injury worries me, but not enough to pick the more severely shorthanded Kings.
Maloney: The Kings have faded down the stretch without Malik Monk and Kevin Huerter, and if this was a series I would pick the Warriors. This is a one-off situation at home, however, and the Kings will have extra motivation after the Warriors eliminated them from the playoffs last season. This is a gut pick that the Kings find a way to get it done.
Quinn: If the Kings were at full strength, they'd be the pick. They aren't. Their offense has just lost too much with the injuries too Malik Monk and Kevin Huerter to keep up with Stephen Curry in a win-or-go-home game. Sacramento's defense has admirably picked up the slack lately, but if the healthy Kings couldn't beat the Warriors a year ago, the hobbled Kings won't now.
Ward-Henninger: The Kings are shorthanded and overall the Warriors have been playing excellent basketball for a couple of months now. Steph Curry loves playing in Sacramento, and this should be no exception.
Wimbish: know the Warriors have not looked like a team that you'd want to place money on this season, but call me a fool because I just think they win this one. The Kings will be without Malik Monk, which is a significant blow, and Golden State has quietly been playing better basketball as of late. There's also the Steph Curry of it all, and he feels about as inevitable in the postseason as Thanos was with the infinity gauntlet.
East No. 7: 76ers vs. Heat
Botkin: Joel Embiid being back and looking pretty damn great is going to unlock Tyrese Maxey to go big in this game and as long as Philadelphia lasts in the playoffs. I have no doubt that Miami will turn this into a slugfest, but Philly still prevails.
Herbert: I don't trust Miami to score enough in this matchup, provided that Joel Embiid is on the floor and functional.
Maloney: Joel Embiid is back and the Sixers are cruising. Their eight-game winning streak to close the regular season wasn't enough to lift them out of the Play-In Tournament, but it did get them home court in the 7 vs. 8 game and they are 19-5 at the Wells Fargo Center with Embiid in the lineup this season.
Quinn: As tempting as it is to simply pick Philadelphia on the basis of Joel Embiid's seemingly renewed health, I actually expect this to be a Tyrese Maxey game. The 76ers and Heat have played three times in the past six weeks and Maxey scored 87 total points in those games. The Heat have one of the NBA's best defenses, but their kryptonite is speed on the perimeter. Maxey is going to lead the 76ers to a win and the playoffs.
Ward-Henninger: There's just no answer for Joel Embiid (sorry, Bam), and I don't trust the Heat to score enough to stay with a team that's gotten most of its pieces back.
Wimbish: Is Joel Embiid playing? Yes? OK, then this was a pretty easy decision. Bam Adebayo will do his best, but having Embiid unlocks so much for the Sixers, and the Heat -- as dangerous as they can be this time of year -- just haven't shown they can be consistent enough for this matchup.
East No. 9/10: Bulls vs. Hawks
Botkin: Trae Young being back makes the Hawks sound more dangerous but in truth they have been better without him. He's a decent bet to get traded this summer, which I believe has drained this team of its bravado in these big-stage games. They know it's over. And Chicago has quietly played pretty well for quite a while now.
Herbert: Atlanta has the personnel to give the Bulls' defense trouble, but if it's close late, Chicago will likely execute better.
Maloney: This one is pretty much a pick against the Hawks, who have lost six games in a row and are extremely untrustworthy. Would it be shocking if Trae Young and Dejounte Murray went off and they won? No, but I do not have any confidence in them whatsoever.
Quinn: The Hawks finished the season 14-14 without Trae Young compared to 22-32 with him. He's a complete defensive liability in a matchup against an opponent with two high-end scoring guards in Coby White and DeMar DeRozan, and the Hawks too quickly devolve into your turn, my turn offense when he shares the floor with Dejounte Murray.
Ward-Henninger: Basically, this is a bet on Trae Young. The teams are relatively equal, in my opinion, but Young has the experience and ability to take the game if it's close late.
Wimbish: The Bulls have been the better team, but I feel like we're going to get a monster game from Trae Young who just returned from injury last week. The Bulls also have a tendency to fall flat on offense, and their 27th-ranked defense since the All-Star break doesn't exactly inspire confidence. The Hawks aren't much better on the defensive side of the ball, but they've had the 12th-ranked offense all season, so I'm going with the team that can score in bunches against a defense that has been porous lately.
East No. 8 seed
Botkin: Just like last season, the Heat squeak past the Bulls for the right to play the No. 1 seed in the first round. But that's where it will end for Miami this season. The Celtics are just too good.
Herbert: Miami underachieved in the regular season, but it was much better than the Bulls and has a higher ceiling -- sometimes you just pick the team you think is superior.
Maloney: The Heat have been weird all season, but they usually took care of business against bad teams, racking up a 27-9 record against sub-.500 opponents. They're just better than the Bulls and should win this game should it come to pass.
Quinn: We did this dance last year. The Bulls pushed the Heat to the brink in the final Eastern Conference play-in game. The Heat roared back in the fourth quarter and then cruised to the NBA Finals. Obviously, another Finals berth would be unlikely. But I'm just not picking against Jimmy Butler in a do-or-die game.
Ward-Henninger: I mean, let's get real. There's no way the Heat are losing a win-or-go-home game to the freaking Hawks or Bulls. Jimmy Butler will take over and get his team to the playoffs.
Wimbish: The Hawks will beat the Bulls, then immediately run into a Heat team that ranks second on defense since the All-Star break. This one's going to be a low-scoring affair, something Miami excels in. And I also just truly believe in the magic of postseason Jimmy Butler. It's difficult to bet against him when he is legit one of the only players in the league who can sleepwalk through the regular season, and then flip a switch to play like one of the greatest players of all time.
West No. 8 seed
Botkin: The Lakers defeat Sacramento with defense and LeBron James, who will be the best player on the court in this game. Anthony Davis is the second best. And L.A. loves this opportunity to make a run with OKC waiting in the first-round rather than Denver. Lakers get in the dance.
Herbert: Maybe I'm overindexing on the most recent game between these two teams, but I don't love this matchup for Golden State. I can see New Orleans making the Warriors uncomfortable offensively, leading to turnovers, leading to dunks and 3s the other way.
Maloney: Sometimes the regular season series between teams means nothing, and sometimes it means everything. In this case, it's the latter. The Pelicans went 5-0 against the Kings this season; two of those wins were by 30-plus points and only one was by single digits. Plus, the Pelicans would be at home while the Kings would have to travel across the country on short rest.
Quinn: The Pelicans just have too many answers for Curry. Herb Jones and Jose Alvardo will hound him all night. The Pelicans can run a switch-heavy defense with Larry Nance at center to slow him down if needed. The Pelicans are simply a deeper, more versatile team.
Ward-Henninger: The Lakers are the Warriors' kryptonite, largely because of Davis' ability on both ends. They're just too big for Golden State, and the inconsistency will catch up to the Warriors in a do-or-die matchup.
Wimbish: The same reason I picked Golden State to beat the Kings is why I have them against the Pelicans. It won't be an easy matchup for Golden State, and they're gonna need Klay Thompson to turn back the clock and for Draymond Green to turn in one of his best defensive performances. But this core has the experience of showing up in huge moments so I'm going with that.
