The Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors have also clinched, with the Suns in the fourth seed and the Warriors taking the sixth seed. In the Western Conference, the Denver Nuggets clinched the top seed and home-court advantage throughout the Western conference playoffs. The winner of which will earn the final spot in the Eastern Conference with the unenviable task of trying to win four games against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the #1 seeded Milwaukee Bucks. The loser of that game will await the winner of the 9/10 game between the Chicago Bulls and the Toronto Raptors. The Heat have the 7th seed meaning they’ll play the #8 Hawks for the right to the 7th seed in the larger NBA Playoff bracket matching up against the #2 Boston Celtics. Game 5 - Winner of Game 3 Loser of Game 1 (TNT) That leaves the Atlanta Hawks, Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, and Toronto Raptors will battle it out in a one-game winner-takes-all Play-In Tourney. The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers have also clinched top seeds in the East with the Cavs, Knicks, Nets holding onto the 4th, 5th, and 6th seeds. With 58 wins, they have the best record in the league and will have home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. In the Eastern Conference, the Milwaukee Bucks have already clinched. Milwaukee Bucks Top Loaded Eastern Conference The first round of which will start on Saturday, April 15. Once the results of those first couple games are final, the four teams (two from each conference) will advance to the main NBA Playoff bracket. Valanciunas and Gobert will lock horns in the pivot.The playoffs will kick off with the NBA Play-In Tournament from April 11-14. Williamson and Towns were set to square off at the “four” spot Wednesday but Williamson is now out, meaning possibly a larger role for Nance. The NBA is shifting away from power forward/center combinations that do most of their work in the paint, but New Orleans and Minnesota are going against the grain. The Pelicans are 30th in third-period net rating (minus-36.0 per 100 possessions, via NBA.com). New Orleans has not responded well coming out of the locker room after halftime lately, outscored by 12-plus points in each of the last three third quarters (Detroit, Atlanta, at Denver). The challenge Wednesday will come against Minnesota's quality wing defenders. How will Hawkins follow up one of the top nights by any NBA rookie early in the 2023-24 regular season? In just his seventh pro game, the 21-year-old lit up Denver’s Ball Arena with 31 points and seven made three-pointers. The Pelicans’ other experienced reserve big is Cody Zeller. Nance already figured to have a prominent role Wednesday in New Orleans trying to match up with Minnesota’s super-sized and deep frontcourt – and that was before Williamson was ruled out for personal reasons. Ingram registered 22 points Monday and is shooting 50 percent from the field in two appearances since returning from a three-game injury absence. 1 offensive threat Wednesday, because Zion Williamson (21.8) and CJ McCollum (21.7) are out of action. New Orleans’ third-leading scorer (20.8 ppg) this season will be its No. 14 overall in the draft, but injuries have made his production imperative for New Orleans. The opportunity to contribute in a big way wasn’t necessarily guaranteed when Hawkins was picked No. The UConn product and NCAA champion authored perhaps the most eye-opening, non-Wemby rookie performance of the season thus far, going 7/14 from three-point range and racking up 31 points in Denver two days ago.
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