Play-in tournament starts Tuesday, giving 8 teams new life

MIAMI (AP) — Getting to the play-in tournamentprobably wasn’t the goal of any team when training camps openedback in September.

It does, however, beat the alternative.

There are 12 teams with playoff spots right now, 10 teams whoseseasons are over — and eight teams with a second chance. Theplay-in tournament starts Tuesday, with Atlanta going to Miami andMinnesota visiting the Los Angeles Lakers, with the winners goingto the postseason.

Oklahoma City goes to New Orleans and Chicago visits Toronto onWednesday for elimination games; loser goes home, winner moves onto face the loser of Tuesday’s games in another win-or-go-homecontest.

“You have to embrace this new experience,” Heat coach ErikSpoelstra said. “To the old heads in our locker room, each of ushave experienced long NBA careers and not have had thisopportunity. I think it’s been great for the league. How harrowingthis has been, the last six, eight weeks for 16 teams in the Westand the East. It’s just been great for competition and overall.it’s been great for the league.”

The NBA added it to boost end-of-season excitement, give moreteams playoff hope — and discourage tanking. Dallas still had achance at the play-in until its 81st game of the season on Friday,when it held several rotation players out and lost. The NBA isinvestigating the Mavericks’ motivations there and if Dallas lostto protect its draft odds.

The Heat were the No. 1 seed in the East last season and nowneed the play-in just to get back to the playoffs. But they’re alsoplaying perhaps their best basketball of the season — just like theLakers, who went a West-best 16-7 after the All-Star break.

“We put ourselves in a position where we can move on,” Lakersstar LeBron James said. “That’s all we could ask for, to putourselves in a position to be able to move on. We had obviously avery, very slow start, starting 2-10 ... to know where we aretoday, we can be happy about that, but not satisfied.”

No team that has used the play-in tournament — Portland in 2020in the bubble under a slightly different format; Boston,Washington, the Lakers and Memphis in 2021; Brooklyn, Atlanta,Minnesota and New Orleans last year — to reach the actual playoffshas ever won a first-round series.

But it still provides hope, and perhaps a shot in the arm forthose who survive and advance.

“We’re looking forward to it,” Spoelstra said. “Our guys lovecompetition. And this has high stakes to it. And that’s ultimatelywhere you find out about yourself — when there’s stakes to it, whenthere’s consequences to it.”

FORMAT

Even in Year 3 of this format, it still can be confusing. Here’show it works:

— No. 7 plays No. 8. The winner is in and gets the No. 7 seedfor the playoffs. The loser has a second chance.

— No. 9 plays No. 10. The loser’s season is over. The winnermoves on to face the loser of the 7 vs. 8 game.

— The remaining teams (the 7-8 loser and the 9-10 winner) playat the higher seed, with the winner getting the No. 8 seed. Theloser’s season ends.

— All six games either have a team qualifying for the playoffs,or getting eliminated, or both.

MATCHUPS

EASTERN CONFERENCE

NO. 8 ATLANTA (41-41) AT NO. 7 MIAMI(44-38)

Tuesday, 7:30 p.m., TNT

Season series: Miami, 3-1

Previous play-in appearances: Hawks went 2-0 to become No. 8seed in 2022; Heat are in play-in for first time.

At stake: Winner plays Boston in Game 1 on Saturday; loser playselimination game Friday.

Outlook: All four games ended up relatively close (Heat by 8,Hawks by 8, Heat by 8, Heat by 2). ... Miami’s Jimmy Butleraveraged 25 points and Bam Adebayo averaged 24.5 in the seasonseries. ... Trae Young averaged 19.8 points for the Hawks againstthe Heat, but was held to 36% shooting and 21% from 3-point range.... Hawks aiming to become first team in the play-in era to winthree games after going 2-0 last year.

X-factor: Miami’s Caleb Martin shot 64% against the Hawks,averaging 15.8 points and going 8-for-11 on 3-pointers.

NO. 10 CHICAGO (40-42) AT NO. 9 TORONTO(41-41)

Wednesday, 7 p.m., ESPN

Season series: Toronto, 2-1

Previous play-in appearances: Both teams are in play-in forfirst time.

At stake: Winner plays elimination game Friday; loser iseliminated.

Outlook: Home teams went 3-0 in the season series. ... ZachLaVine averaged 23.5 points vs. the Raptors this season, while FredVanVleet averaged 20 points vs. the Bulls. ... Toronto never led bymore than 10 points in any of the three games vs. Chicago thisseason.

X-factor: Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan has played at Toronto seventimes since leaving the Raptors, so he’s dealt with the emotionsbefore — though never in an elimination game in his former homebuilding.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

NO. 8 MINNESOTA (42-40) AT NO. 7 L.A. LAKERS(43-39)

Tuesday, 10 p.m., TNT

Season series: Minnesota, 2-1

Previous play-in appearances: Timberwolves went 1-0 to becomeNo. 7 seed in 2022; Lakers went 1-0 to become No. 7 seed in2021.

At stake: Winner plays Memphis in Game 1 on Sunday; loser playselimination game Friday.

Outlook: Anthony Davis played against Minnesota twice, scoredexactly 38 points in both of those games — the Lakers winning oneof them, the Wolves winning the other. ... LeBron James averaged 23points in two games against Minnesota, shooting only 39.5%. ...Anthony Edwards had 29 points in Minnesota’s win over the Lakers inOctober, then was held to a combined 30 points in two Marchmeetings between the clubs.

X-factor: The dustup involving Rudy Gobert and Kyle Anderson onSunday will either empower the Timberwolves — or fracture them.Gobert has been suspended for Tuesday’s game by the Wolves.

NO. 10 OKLAHOMA CITY (40-42) AT NO. 9 NEW ORLEANS(42-40)

Wednesday, 9:30 p.m., ESPN

Season series: New Orleans, 3-1

Previous play-in appearances: Pelicans went 2-0 to become No. 8seed in 2022; Thunder are in play-in for first time.

At stake: Winner plays elimination game Friday; loser iseliminated.

Outlook: New Orleans’ three wins over the Thunder were by three,three and four points — but the Pelicans held leads of 21, 20 and13 points in those games. ... New Orleans’ Brandon Ingram played injust one of the four games, scoring 34 points in that outing. ...Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 33.5 points against the Pelicansthis season, with high games of 44 and 35.

X-factor: Thunder have nothing to lose except lottery odds.Pelicans were in this exact spot last year and know what ittakes.