SportsGotNext: Play in Special Night 1
Tonight, we are finally graced with the best time of the year for most NBA fans. The NBA Play-In offers just the right amount of excitement for even the playoff-only NBA fans. Since this will be the first year that SportsGotNext will be covering the playoffs, we will be doing a breakdown and prediction video/write-up for this year’s playoffs! Without further ado let’s get into the first night of the Play-In!
Nets vs Cavs
Brooklyn Nets Preview (44-38)
This year has been a wild and unexpected season for the Brooklyn nets, but some lights started to shine for them near the end. On paper, this team should be a top 3 team in the east. The injuries of Kevin Durant nearing the All-Star Break and a little after it deterred the team. Not to mention the Kyrie Irving vacation saga, he is now allowed to play at home which is a huge boost for the Nets coming into the Play-In and Playoffs. Joe Harris is still out and won’t be active. He has been out since November 15th dealing with an ankle injury. Ben Simmons is likely going to play next season even if the Nets do make the finals this season.
Cleveland Cavs Preview (44-38)
The Cavs being at the 8th seed doesn’t matter when it comes to how great this team has been this season. Even with the injury of Colin Sexton early in the season, many thought that the year was over for the Cavs. They were wrong, everything worked well for the Cavs. Jarrett Allen became an all-star; Darius Garland became an all-star. Evan Mobley has played fantastic this season and is more than likely going to win the ROTY. With Jarrett Allen out, this game will be tough for the Cavs. When the Nets and Cavs played each other on April 8th. They defeated the Cavs 107-118. That game feels more like a preview before the play-in. But I fully expect that game to reflect this play-in game. Meaning, a dominating win from the Nets who in my opinion shouldn’t be this low in the standings in the first place.
Clippers vs Timberwolves
Los Angeles Clippers Preview (42-40)
The Los Angeles Clippers have been able to tread the waters of good and bad the entire season. The Clippers were graced with the return of Paul George as the season was nearing the end. Which, in turn, helped them make the Play-In. Kawhi has been rumored to be making his return if the Clippers do make the playoffs.
Minnesota Timberwolves (46-36)
The Timberwolves are looking to finally make the playoffs again, this time under a promising “big 3” in Anthony Edwards, Karl Anthony Towns, and D’Angelo Russell. The matchups between this team have been very interesting this season because none of the games has been close. In their last matchup on January 3rd, the Timberwolves won 122-104. While in the matchup before that. On November 13th the Timberwolves lost to the Clippers 129-102. This should be an overall great matchup as it’s unpredictable who the favorite in this matchup is. But, with more power in the tank in this matchup. Here at SGN, we predict the Timberwolves to win.
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