Tag: play-in tournament

Warriors clinch top-10 finish in Western Conference, spot in play-in tournament

With the Rockets loss to the Mavs on Sunday, the Warriors have locked up a top-10 seed in the Western Conference.

Before hosting the Utah Jazz on Sunday evening in the Bay Area, the Golden State Warriors received good news. With the Houston Rockets’ loss to the Dallas Mavericks, the Warriors (42-35) officially clinched a top-10 finish in the Western Conference.

That assures the Warriors a ticket to the play-in tournament in the Western Conference.

Via @warriors on X, formerly known as Twitter:

The Warriors are two games behind ninth-place Sacramento (44-35) and three games behind eighth-place Los Angeles (45-33).

Starting Sunday against the Jazz, the Warriors have five games left in the regular season. The play-in tournament is April 16 to April 19. The playoffs officially open on Saturday, April 20.

This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and X! 

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Play-In Tournament has made Chicago Bulls complacent

The Chicago Bulls have become complacent because of the Play-In Tournament.

When the Chicago Bulls completely changed up their team in 2021, they set their sights on competing. They were sick of rebuilding and brought DeMar DeRozan, Lonzo Ball, and Alex Caruso on board, all following their massive trade deadline deal with the Orlando Magic that landed them Nikola Vucevic.

At the start of the 2021-22 season, they were solid, but since Ball went down with an injury, they’ve been the definition of average. The Bulls have won just a single playoff game with their new core, and they are in danger of missing the playoffs for the second year in a row this season.

The Bulls Central YouTube channel recently discussed how the Play-In Tournament has made the Bulls okay with being average.

Because the Play-In Tournament gives relatively bad teams a chance to make the playoffs, the Bulls have been okay with being a middle-of-the-pack team for the past few seasons.

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DeMar DeRozan refuses to let up despite Bulls clinching Play-In

DeMar DeRozan said the Chicago Bulls shouldn’t slow down just because they’ve clinched a Play-In spot.

The Chicago Bulls took on the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night in a game that was crucial to their potential seeding in the Play-In Tournament. The two teams are almost certainly going to face each other in the 9-10 game, but it’s still unknown who will have home-court when the regular season comes to a close.

However, despite the Bulls’ losing ground to the Hawks for the nine seed, they have clinched a spot in the Play-In Tournament, meaning there will officially be some semblance of postseason basketball for the Bulls this year. Now that they’re locked into that, should they take their foot off the gas a bit?

Not according to DeMar DeRozan. (H/t Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times)

“I don’t believe that,” DeRozan said. “I just believe all in until it’s all said and done. You can’t baby it from here on out, especially me. I want to go all in, go all out, whatever the circumstances, whatever is called for.”

DeRozan is ready to go full throttle for the rest of the season.

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Celtics Lab 248: On the impact of Joel Embiid’s return on the Boston Celtics’ playoff picture with Ky Carlin

Everything seems to be aligning for Boston to make a deep postseason run fans hope ends in a title. At least, save one.

The Boston Celtics have all but locked up the top spot in the league, as well as home court in the East heading into the 2024 NBA Playoffs. Everything seems to be aligning for Boston to make a deep postseason run fans hope ends in a title.

At least, save one. It seems the path back to the finals might have just gotten considerably tougher for the Celtics with word that Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid is set to return to the court. The perennial MVP candidate will have to play his way into shape as the regular season winds down, but at least as things stands at the time of writing, the Sixers are the leading candidates to face Boston in the first round.

To find out where Embiid and Co. are in terms of health and play, the hosts of the “Celtics Lab” podcast sat down with Sixers Wire editor Ky Carlin to talk all things Philadelphia – Boston.


We also touch on the other likely candidates and get caught up on what little news is still percolating up in the final weeks of the 2024 stretch run.


The Celtics Lab podcast is brought to you by Prize Picks.

If you enjoy this pod, check out the “How Bout Them Celtics,” “First to the Floor,” and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Chicago Bulls outlook for Play-In Touranment is looking rough

With the Play-In Tournament nearing closer, the Chicago Bulls are looking rough.

As the postseason inches closer and closer, the Chicago Bulls should have their eyes on the Play-In Tournament, as that’s where they are going to end up. They are all but certain to be facing the Atlanta Hawks in the 9-10 game of the Play-In, but lately, their outlook for the postseason has been looking brutal.

Chicago has lost four of their last five games, including ugly losses to the Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards, both of which the Bulls would undoubtedly like to have back. Meanwhile, the Hawks, who are trying to steal home-court advantage from the Bulls, just picked up two wins over the Boston Celtics.

The Bulls Central YouTube channel recently spoke about how the Bulls’ outlook for the Play-In Tournament has been looking rough.

Coby White’s struggles have highlighted a rough stretch for the Bulls. It’s not the way they want to be heading into the postseason, but there’s nothing left for them to do but to try to turn things around.

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Billy Donovan says Bulls are aware of importance of 9th seed

Head coach Billy Donovan said that the Chicago Bulls understand the importance of keeping hold of the ninth seed in the East.

The Chicago Bulls have battled all the way back from their 5-14 start to the season and are now close to a lock to being a Play-In Tournament team. While that’s certainly not ideal, all the Bulls can do now is live with the position they’ve put themselves in and work to give themselves the best chance possible moving forward.

It’s almost certain at this point that the Bulls will be in the 9-10 Play-In game in a matchup with the Atlanta Hawks. However, the question is whether or not they are able to hang onto the ninth seed, which would give them home-court advantage over the Hawks in that game.

Ahead of the Bulls’ game against the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night, head coach Billy Donovan said that his team is very aware of the importance of keeping hold of the ninth seed. (H/t Sharif Phillips-Keaton of Nets Wire)

“I think our guys are very much aware of that,” Donovan said. “We’ve talked about how important [it is]. I think the guys even mentioned it at even 12 games remaining.”

The Bulls need to stay focused on the games in front of them.

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Is there a favorable play-in opponent for the Chicago Bulls?

Chicago is currently in ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings, a full game ahead of the Atlanta Hawks, and within 4.5 games of the Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat.

With the NBA’s 2023-24 regular season nearly finished, the Chicago Bulls find themselves in the mix for the league’s 2024 play-in tournament after a very tough season in terms of uneven play and injuries. That in itself is something of an accomplishment, but Bulls fans want and deserve more from their favorite team. Is there a favorable play-in opponent for the Bulls?

Chicago is currently in ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings, a full game ahead of the Atlanta Hawks, and within 4.5 games of the Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat. There’s even a small chance the Indiana Pacers could fall into the range of the play-in tournament.

Which clubs would the Bulls best match up with?

The host of the “Chicago Bulls Central” podcast, Haize, took a closer look at the likely suspects and how Chicago has been playing them so far this season.

Check it out in the clip embedded above!

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How do Chicago Bulls’ strengths and weaknesses compare to other teams?

How do the Chicago Bulls compare to other Play-In Tournament teams?

For the past three years, the Chicago Bulls have been the pinnacle of mediocrity. They created the core of Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic and got off to a hot start. Since then, however, they have won just a single playoff game, and this season, they once again find themselves in the middle of the pack.

But where does this put them in comparison to the rest of the NBA? More specifically, to other teams around their level? How do they compare to the Atlanta Hawks – an offensively-dominant squad stuck in the middle of the East? Or the Miami Heat – a mediocre regular-season team that always turns things up in the playoffs?

The Locked On Bulls podcast recently discussed how the Bulls compare to other teams in the race for the Play-In Tournament.

The Bulls are going to play at least one postseason game, but what does that get them in the long run?

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Can the Chicago Bulls make teams uncomfortable in the play-in or playoffs?

Time will tell, one thing we do know for certain.

Can the Chicago Bulls make other teams uncomfortable in the NBA’s 2024 play-in tournament, or maybe even the actual playoffs? This was a question posed by The Athletic’s Zach Harper in a recent article that acknowledges the Bulls’ late surge in the standings while fairly questioning its permanence.

“Do we feel confident the Bulls can make it through to the playoffs?,” asks Harper, fairly. “They put a massive scare into (the Miami Heat) last play-in tournament, and we’ve seen them pull off some pretty big clutch moments this season. I don’t think beating out (the Atlanta Hawks) to get a chance for the No. 8 seed is crazy.”

But between injury and the inexperience of several players who would be playing heavy postseason minutes for the first time, it’s fair to question whether Chicago’s recent play will translate in the postseason.

The list of potential opponents for the second play-in tilt, as the Athletic analyst notes, could be the Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, or Indiana Pacers, all ball clubs that could be favored to advance.

“If the Bulls get through, can they utilize their size to make Boston work a little bit harder in that first round and maybe even steal a game?”

Or would this team be better off with a higher draft pick after a noble struggle to advance? Time will tell, one thing we do know for certain.

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WATCH: OKC Thunder greeted by fans at airport following season-ending loss

A flock of Thunder fans spent their Friday night standing outside the airport anticipating the Thunder’s return.

Following their season-ending loss, the Oklahoma City Thunder returned to OKC to a flock of fans awaiting their arrival.

The Thunder’s 125-90 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the play-in tournament did not dampen the mood for fans as they awaited until past 3 a.m. CT to show their appreciation for the youngest team in the league advancing as far as they did in the postseason.

Despite the blowout loss, the Thunder concluded their season as one of the biggest overachievers in the league, collecting a postseason win after being projected to finish with one of the worst records in the league.’

It’s evident that this is the beginning of another contending window and fans wanted to show their gratitude by continuing the old tradition of waiting at the airport.

Let’s look at the best videos and tweets of the impromptu celebration.