The Eastern Conference postseason is set. The Road to the NBA Finals goes through the Milwaukee Bucks, but before we get there, we need to know who the Bucks will face in the playoffs. The East Play-In Tournament will feature the Miami Heat, Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors, and Chicago Bulls.
The Play-In Tournament is where the 7th seed and 8th seed gets determined. The winner of the 7v8 matchup gets the 7th seeds and the loser must play against the winner of the 9v10 matchup for the 8th seed.
This season the 7th seed is Miami, 8th seed is Atlanta, 9th seed is Toronto and 10th seed is Chicago.
The Miami Heat will host the Atlanta Hawks for the right to face the 2nd seed, Boston Celtics in the 1st round of the NBA Playoffs. The Toronto Raptors will host the Chicago Bulls for the right to face to move on to the third and final Play-In Game while the loser is eliminated from postseason contention.
Atlanta Hawks at Miami Heat
The Atlanta Hawks and the Miami Heat will have the star matchup as Trae Young and Dejounte Murray will face off against Jimmy Butler. Trae Young averaged 26.2 points on 43% shooting and 10.2 assists during the regular season. Dejounte Murray in his first season with the Hawks averaged 20.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 6.1 assists. Trae Young and the Hawks are in the Play-In for the second in consecutive years as they earned the 8th seeds by defeating the Charlotte Hornets and Cleveland Cavaliers.
For the Miami Heat, they have three players who averaged at least 20 points per game this season. Jimmy Butler averaged 22.9 points on 53.9 shooting with 5.9 rebounds, and 5.3 assists in the regular season. Bam Adebayo averaged 20.6 points and 9.3 rebounds this season. Finally, Tyler Herro averaged 20.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 4.2 assists. This will be the first time that Heat will through the Play-In stage to reach the NBA Playoffs.
The Heat took 3 out of 4 from the Hawks this season.
The Heat are the overwhelming favorite with a 88.2% chance of winning according to ESPN and are a -5 in Vegas.
The winner will secure the 7th seed and will face the Boston Celtics in the 1st round.
Chicago Bulls at Toronto Raptors
The 9 vs. 10 matchup will have the Chicago Bulls heading up north to face the Toronto Raptors. The Bulls clinched the 10th seed with just three games left in the regular season after the Orlando Magic lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Raptors had a up and down season with injuries that put them in an unfamiliar possession.
The Bulls are led by the duo of DeMar DeRozen and Zach Livine. DeRozen averaged 24.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.1 assists this season. Livine averaged 24.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.3 assists. The Bulls find themselves just as their counterparts and the Heat in their first-ever play-in tournament.
The Raptors also in their first-ever play-in tournament will have the home court in this one. Led by Pascal Siakam, who averaged 24.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 5.8 assists. Fred Van Vleet is second on the team averaging 19.3 points and 7.2 assists this season.
Toronto took 2 of 3 from Chicago with both wins coming in Canada as where this game will be played. However, according to ESPN Analytics, the Chicago Bulls have a 59.3% chance of winning to the Raptors 40.7%, but the Raptors are a -4.5 in Vegas.
Loser is eliminated from postseason contention and the winner will face the loser of the 7 vs 8 game.
Atlanta Hawks at Miami Heat: Tuesday, April 11 7PM TNT
Chicago Bulls at Toronto Raptors: Wednesday, April 12 7PM ESPN