The NBA play-in has been nothing short of special this season. As these Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Minnesota Timberwolves march towards an inevitable sweep, it’s still fun to know we have do-or-die basketball tonight. After a crushing home loss to the Atlanta Hawks, the Heat will host the Bulls. Chicago won their road game in Toronto thanks to Demar DeRozan‘s daughter, Diar, screaming during the Raptors’ free throw shooting. It must’ve worked, as Toronto shot 18/36 from the charity stripe.
As for the Timberwolves, they weren’t expected to win their play-in matchup on Friday against the Lakers. They have a shot at redemption against the young Thunder, who just took care of business on the road against the Pelicans. We have two great games, but let’s predict how tonight’s games will play out.
Play-In East: Heat VS Bulls
The Miami Heat are looking to bounce back after a bad loss to the Hawks at home on Tuesday. They lost the rebound battle 63-39 and Jimmy Butler did not play well. As for the Bulls, they were outrebounded by 14 and only made seven threes as a team, how did they win? They won by causing turnovers against a bad offense and letting Zach Lavine go to work. In their second-half comeback, Lavine scored 28 points and Alex Caruso showed why he is first-team all-defense.
There are a few questions here. Will Butler play this badly again? Can Lavine keep his hot streak going when his team needs him most? These two are very important questions, but the main one is; Will Bam Adebayo step up on the boards for his team? Nikola Vucevic is walking into Miami off of a 14-point and 13-rebound game. If Adebayo lets them get outrebounded once again, the Bulls will be walking out of this as the eighth seed.
With that being said, I can’t see Butler playing badly in back-to-back play-in games. However, the Heat’s inability to create offense will allow for Patrick Beverley and Caruso to wreak havoc.
Play-in prediction: Bulls win 110-106.
Play-In West: Timberwolves VS Thunder
As mentioned earlier, there wasn’t a path for a Timberwolves victory heading into the game. Jaden McDaniels is out with a broken hand and Rudy Gobert serving a one-game suspension. This meant no matchups for LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Gobert will be back and that will be crucial. The Thunder are riding high as they won a clutch one down in New Orleans and their young stars looked phenomenal.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is only 24 years old and he is the veteran of this squad. With an average age of 23.14, which is the youngest in the NBA. Josh Giddey was fantastic as well, playing 42 minutes and only turning the ball over twice. The rookies, Jaylin Williams and Jalen Williams, also played great in their roles.
This Thunder team is young and fun, but this is their worst matchup possible. Karl-Anthony Towns will not have to take on big defensive responsibilities with Gobert back and the Thunder allowing the 14th most points in the paint. With the two bigs of the Timberwolves and the confidence that Anthony Edwards will bounce back, Minnesota is looking like the win on paper.
Play-in prediction: Timberwolves win 121-110.
Final Thoughts
Take these predictions very lightly. The NBA is the most unpredictable league in these scenarios. Two teams who want nothing more than to win and move in. Anything can happen and that’s why this league is so amazing. The Heat and Thunder could easily win these games and get into the playoffs. At the end of the day, predictions will be made and someone has to be a loser in them.
Follow me on Twitter for more sports news and analysis! Also, tune into the Sideline Summit podcast on all platforms. Follow us on all platforms for sports news and analysis. Be sure to check out some other Belly Up Articles here.
