The matchups are:
#8 Atlanta Hawks at #7 Orlando Magic
and
#8 Memphis Grizzlies at #7 Golden State Warriors
The winners will advance to face the 2-seed (Boston in the East, Houston in the West).
The losers will get one more chance to earn a game against the 1-seed (Cleveland in the East, OKC in the West)
They'd first have to beat the winners of:
#10 Miami Heat at #9 Chicago Bulls
and
#10 Dallas Mavericks at #9 Sacramento Kings
Which play-in team do you think has the highest chance of making the second round? The Magic are red-hot now than Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner are back, but would face an uphill battle against Boston or Cleveland. I could see Golden State upsetting Houston to set up another LeBron vs Steph playoff matchup.
Second round as in Semi-Finals? None of these teams besides the Warriors, if healthy, have a chance at the second round. Boston and Cleveland will wipe the floor with whoever 7&8 will be. However, I can see Golden State snapping back to the 7th seed and defeating an inexperienced Houston team. I'd be able to see Memphis as well, but the spotlight of attention sometimes is on antics rather than performance, and that's a detriment.
@kcoleman Yeah I definitely agree with this. Orlando has the best shot in the east but even then it'll be really tough to take out Boston. Golden State seems like the consensus upset pick right now.
I like Golden State despite recent losses against SAS and LAC. But they have quite the road. They win tonight, they get the #7 spot with a matchup against Houston. But then, if they lose and beat the winner of the 9-10 matchup, their reward is a matchup with OKC.
@jdtillman That loss to the Clippers definitely hurt them, but they can still at least avoid OKC by taking down Memphis tonight. They've certainly got a tough path.
So, it looks like GS will be taking on No. 2 Houston following outstanding performances by JB3 and Stephen Curry. As much as I'd like to see them make a deep run one last time, I am NOT crazy about their chances against the Rockets.
