Matthew Adams
Managing Editor
The NBA regular season is winding down and teams are gearing up for playoffs.
As the season winds down, teams are looking forward to competing for a chance at a championship.
Both conferences have struggling teams participating in the play-in, which consists of the 7th through 10th seeded teams. Then there is a loser bracket that has the loser of the 7th vs 8th matchup going against the winner of the 9th vs 10th seed matchup.
After those games, the winner of that game is considered the 8th seed and is now in the playoffs.
The Eastern Conference play-in matchups are the Chicago Bulls vs the Toronto Raptors and the Miami Heat versus the Atlanta Hawks.
The Western Conference play-in matchups are the Minnesota Timberwolves versus the Los Angeles Lakers and the New Orleans Pelicans versus the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The play-in schedule starts with the Chicago Bulls versus the Toronto Raptors.
The Bulls enter the game with a record of 40-42. The Raptors enter the game even with a record of 41-41.
This game was a true test of tenacity and grit for the Chicago Bulls
At one point Chicago was down by 19 points. The Raptors were able to accomplish this feat by simply capitalizing off missed shots. They would also have a great defensive performance for a duration of three quarters but this didn’t last long.
In the fourth quarter, Chicago was able to rally back in the fourth quarter. Coming from a 19-point deficit the Bulls were able to win the game 109-105. The Bulls stars would end the game with note-worthy stats.
Zach Lavine ended the game with 39 points, 3 assists, and 6 rebounds. Demar DeRozan would end the game with 23 points, 3 assists, and 7 rebounds.
The next game in the Eastern Conference would be the Miami Heat vs the Atlanta Hawks.
The Heat enters into this game with a record of 44-38. The Hawks enter the game even with a record of 41-41.
The Hawks would start the first half with a great offensive performance and had a commanding lead of 15 points to finish the first half. The second half would mirror the first half. The Heat would try to put together a comeback run but the Hawks were able to overpower the Heat.
This loss would put the Heat in the loser bracket and they would face off against the Bulls. The loser bracket for the Eastern Conference would be the Bulls vs the Heat.
Chicago would stand no chance as Miami was playing on all cylinders for the entire duration of them the game. The end score was 102 to 91.
This would place the Heat as the 7th seed and this put them up against the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Western Conference play-in schedule would begin with the Los Angeles Lakers vs the Minnesota Timberwolves. Two teams who have promising futures go head-to-head with each other.
This was a close game that pulled the best out of each player on each team. Stars from both teams were able to contribute.
With hard-fought defense and smart shot selections, the Lakers mustered up enough strength to win the game 109 to 102. The Lakers would advance to the playoffs after defeating the Timberwolves to play the Memphis Grizzlies as the seventh seed.
The next game would be the loser bracket. The matchup would be between the Oklahoma City Thunder versus the Minnesota Timberwolves.
This game would mirror the previous games as the Timberwolves would have a dominating performance with a win of 120 to 95.
The win would be the Timberwolves at the 8th seed and they will play the 1st seed Denver Nuggets. After the play-in, the playoffs would commence.
The teams that are in the playoffs in the Western Conference are the Denver Nuggets, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Phoenix Suns, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Sacramento Kings, the Golden State Warriors, the Memphis Grizzlies, and the Los Angeles Lakers.
The teams in the Eastern Conference are the Milwaukee Bucks, the Miami Heat, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the New York Knicks, the Philadelphia 76ers, the Brooklyn Nets, the Boston Celtics, and the Atlanta Hawks.
Jackson State students have come up with predictions for the upcoming playoff games.
The Lakers and Grizzlies series is one for the ages. Two teams with multiple all-stars who look to claim a championship.
Jalen Brown, a sophomore biology/pre-med major from Houston, Texas, has an interesting prediction.
Brown stated, “With Ja’s (Morant) status if he is out for this upcoming game, I am going to say Lakers in 7.”
Another series that viewers look forward to is the Phoenix Suns versus the Los Angeles Clippers.
Thomas Rankin, a junior civil engineering major from Mobile, Ala., foreshadows that he sees the Suns winning the series in seven.
Rankin stated, “I feel like the Suns are going to win the series in 7 games.”
The Western Conference has many games that viewers look forward to and the Warriors versus Kings is one of those games.
Ben Barner, a senior industrial technology major from Clinton, Miss., feels the same way.
Barner stated, “I have the Warriors winning it all.”The playoffs begin April 15 and teams are putting their all into these seven-game series.
