The 2021-22 regular season has come to a close and four of the eight first-round matchups are set. The other four, of course, will be decided by the play-in tournament as the top two seeds in each conference (Phoenix Suns and Memphis Grizzlies in the West, Miami Heat and Boston Celtics in the East) wait to see who they’ll draw.
Reminder how the play-in works: No. 7 plays No. 8 and No. 9 plays No. 10. The winner of the 7-8 game gets the No. 7 seed, while the loser plays the winner of the 9-10 game for the No. 8 seed.
Below you’ll find our staff’s picks for the first round of play-in games as well as the elimination game for the No. 8 seed.
(7) Brooklyn Nets vs. (8) Cleveland Cavaliers
Date: Tuesday, April 12 | Time: 7 p.m. ET | TV and live stream: TNT
(7) Minnesota Timberwolves vs. (8) Los Angeles Clippers
Date: Tuesday, April 12 | Time: 9:30 p.m. ET | TV and live stream: TNT
(9) Atlanta Hawks vs. (10) Charlotte Hornets
Date: Wednesday, April 13 | Time: 7 p.m. ET | TV and live stream: ESPN
(9) New Orleans Pelicans vs. (10) San Antonio Spurs
Date: Wednesday, April 13 | Time: 9:30 p.m. ET | TV and live stream: ESPN
No. 8 seed play-in game (East)
Bill Reiter: Hawks over Cavaliers
Brad Botkin: Hawks over Cavaliers
Colin Ward-Henninger: Hawks over Cavaliers
James Herbert: Hornets over Cavaliers
Sam Quinn: Hawks over Cavaliers
Jasmyn Wimbish: Hawks over Cavaliers
Jack Maloney: Hawks over Cavaliers
Michael Kaskey-Blomain: Cavaliers over Hawks
No. 8 seed play-in game (West)
Bill Reiter: Clippers over Spurs
Brad Botkin: Timberwolves over Pelicans
Colin Ward-Henninger: Timberwolves over Pelicans
James Herbert: Timberwolves over Pelicans
Sam Quinn: Pelicans over Clippers
Jasmyn Wimbish: Clippers over Pelicans
Jack Maloney: Pelicans over Timberwolves
Michael Kaskey-Blomain: Clippers over Spurs
