Don’t look now, but the NBA Play-In Tournament is just a few weeks away.
What’s the Play-In Tournament? It’s when, at the end of the regular season, teams seeded 6-10 in each conference participate in a mini-tournament to claim the final two playoff spots in their respective conferences.
Still confused? Here is everything you need to know.
Now, let’s check out the odds for which teams will participate in the Play-In Tournament at DraftKings Sportsbook as of March 26.
To participate in Eastern Conference Play-in Tournament
Hawks: -10000 (bet $10 to win $10.40 total)
Bucks: +1500 (bet $10 to win $160 total)
Pistons: +1700 (bet $10 to win $180 total)
Raptors: +5000 (bet $10 to win $510 total)
To participate in Western Conference Play-in Tournament
Clippers: -330 (bet $10 to win $13.03 total)
Suns: -265 (bet $10 to win $13.77 total)
Wolves: -135 (bet $10 to win $17.41 total)
Warriors: +100 (bet $10 to win $20 total)
Mavericks: +150 (bet $10 to win $25 total)
Lakers: +600 (bet $10 to win $70 total)
Grizzlies: +600 (bet $10 to win $70 total)
As of March 26, in the East, of the top four teams on the oddsboard, the Hawks are the 7-seed, the Bucks are the 5-seed, the Pistons are the 6-seed and the Raptors are the 11-seed.
In the West, the Clippers are the 7-seed, Phoenix is the 10-seed, Minnesota is the 8-seed and Golden State is the 6-seed.
DraftKings also dropped odds for Play-In team playoff performance as of March 26.
Play-In team specials
Any Play-In Tournament team to reach the second round of the playoffs: -175 (bet $10 to win $15.71 total)
Any Play-In Tournament team to reach the conference finals: +210 (bet $10 to win $31 total)
Any Play-In Tournament team to reach the NBA Finals: +700 (bet $10 to win $80 total)
Any Play-In Tournament team to win the NBA Finals: +1300 (bet $10 to win $140 total)
So, how did Play-In teams perform last season?
Not well, to put it lightly.
In the West, the Lakers emerged as the 7-seed and New Orleans claimed the 8-seed. L.A. was defeated 4-1 by Denver in the first round and the Pelicans were swept by the Thunder in Round 1.
In the East, the Knicks defeated the seventh-seeded Heat 4-2 in the first round, and the Celtics beat the eighth-seeded Heat 4-1 in Round 1.
However, in 2023, one Play-In team nearly took things all the way.
The Miami Heat landed the 8-seed — they lost their first Play-In game — before making a run for the ages, beating the 1-seed Milwaukee 4-1 in the first round, the 5-seed New York 4-2 in the second round, and the 2-seed Boston 4-3 in the Eastern Conference finals.
The Heat would lose to Denver, the No. 1 seed out of the West, 4-1 in the NBA Finals.
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