Updating the NBA Playoff Picture As of 4/11/22

The regular season came to an end yesterday, and the NBA takes a day off before the playoffs begin with the Play-In Round. The #7 and #8 seeds will be determined for both the East and the West conferences. We will handicap and make our picks for those games tomorrow. Let’s take a look at how we did yesterday and update the matchups for the playoffs.

We cashed the Best Bet as Golden State came through for the 2nd day in a row. They beat New Orleans 128-107 and clinched the 3rd spot in the Western Conference.. That raised our Best Bet of the Day record to 70-33 since Jan. 1st.

We knew it would be a crazy day of betting the NBA, with so many games that meant nothing, and so many teams resting their players. Therefore, we didn’t bet much money and went a decent 9-6 betting the MoneyLine. That leaves our overall record at 431-216 for 2022.

As mentioned before there are no games for tonight but action heats back up Tuesday and Wednesday with Play-In games. Let’s look at the playoff picture in both leagues.

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EASTERN CONFERENCE:

PLAYOFF MATCHUPS AS OF 4/11/22:

#1 Miami 53-29 vs. the #8 seed. The Heat are a tough, resilient team who had an abundance of injuries to several star players throughout the regular season. Yet, they still managed to have the best record in the East. They will be heavy favorites in the first round against everyone but the Nets.

#2 Boston 51-31 vs. the #7 seed. The Celtics are playing as well as anyone in the East and they can score against anyone. A first round matchup against the Nets would be very entertaining.

#3. Milwaukee 51-31 vs. #6 Chicago 46-36 The defending champion Bucks fell to the third seed and will take on a Chicago team that is reeling coming into the playoffs. However, Milwaukee hasn’t been very reliable either. But it will be a major upset if they go down in the first round.

#4. Philadelphia 51-31 vs. #5 Toronto 48-34 This should be a very interesting and hard fought series between these two teams. The 76ers are inconsistent and are great one night and so-so the next. Toronto went 14-6 down the stretch and are playing at a high level, They will be a dangerous out in this matchup.

PLAY-IN GAMES SCHEDULE AND MATCHUPS:

TUESDAY 4/12: 6:00 pm CST

#8 Cleveland 44-38 at #7 Brooklyn 44-38 The Nets are clearly playing better basketball and finished the regular season on a 12-4 run. They are healthy and are a threat to any team in the East. On the other hand, the Cavs finished the year on an 8-12 freefall and are playing poorly. The winner of this game will be the #7 seed and play the Celtics in the first round. The loser will await the winner of the Atlanta-Charlotte Play-In game.

WEDNESDAY 4/13 6:00 pm CST

#10 Charlotte 43-39 at Atlanta 43-39 This is an interesting between two teams that are playing. Charlotte went 13-7 down the stretch and are a very good offensive team that sometimes forgets to play defense. The Hawks also finished with a 13-7 record over the last 20 games. They, too, forget what defense is as well. This will come down to who can step up and stop the other team. The winner plays the loser of the 7-8 game, and whoever wins that will be the #8 seed, and play Miami in the first round. The loser of this game will be hitting the golf course on Thursday.

WESTERN CONFERENCE:

PLAYOFF MATCHUPS AS OF 4/11/22

#1 Phoenix 64-18 vs. the #8 seed: The Suns clinched the #1 seed in the Western conference playoffs. They will await the results of the Play-In games to find out who they will play in the first round. Currently the Clippers are the 8th seed.

#2 Memphis 56-26 vs. the #7 seed: The Grizzlies have known for some time they would be the 2nd seed so they let off the gas last week and lost 3 out of 4 games. In my opinion, it is always a little risky to do that. However, they had some injury problems and they should be pretty healthy going into the first round. They will host the 7th seed which is Minnesota heading into the Play-In games.

#3. Golden State 53-29 vs. Denver 48-34: Golden State comes into the playoffs as a very dangerous team. If Steph Curry is healthy, they might be the team to beat. They won their last five regular season games and secured the 3rd seed. On the other hand, The Nuggets are just not a team that can be taken seriously. They have talent, but lack the toughness that is needed. This could be a short series.

#4. Dallas 52-30 vs. #5 Utah 49-33: This has the potential for a very good first round matchup. The Mavericks narrowly missed out on the 3rd seed and they finished the regular season on a 15-5 run. They are very talented and could make a serious run at a title. Utah, when healthy, is a tough out but only went 10-10 down the stretch. Dallas is playing better and should have the edge.

PLAY-IN GAMES SCHEDULE AND MATCHUPS:

TUESDAY 4/12 8:30 PM CST

#8 LA Clippers 42-40 at #7 Minnesota 46-36: The Clippers finished the season on a 5-game winning streak and they are red-hot. They are finally healthy and they are a very dangerous opponent if they can get through the Play-In round. On the other hand, Minnesota is one of those teams that is very hard to predict. They can score points on one end and they give up just as many on the other end. Those kinds of teams don’t usually last long. The winner of this game will be the #7 seed and take on Memphis in the playoffs. The loser will play the winner of the 9-10 game for the 8th seed.

WEDNESDAY 4/13 8:30 PM CST

#10 San Antonio 34-48 at #9 New Orleans 36-46: Obviously, neither of these teams is very good, but both played pretty well down the stretch to get into this game. The Pelicans started off the season with a record of 3-17 rebounded nicely from that horrible beginning. They lost Zion Williamson for the entire year and had to scramble to save the season. So, they deserve a lot of credit. The Spurs went on an 8-2 run to make it into the final spot for the playoffs, but ended the season by losing their final 3 games. That is never a good thing. The winner of this game moves on to play the LA-Minnesota loser for the 8th seed and a spot against the Suns in the first round. The loser is starting an early vacation.

So, that summarizes the playoff situation going into tomorrow. It promises to be full of action as we play our way for the next 2.5 months to find an NBA champion.