2024 Playoffs: Around the League Round 1 News Thread

[ShelC]

Eastern Conference
No. 1 Celtics vs. No. 8 seed
No. 2 Knicks vs. No. 7 seed
No. 3 Bucks vs. No. 6 Pacers
No. 4 Cavaliers vs. No. 5 Magic

Western Conference
No. 1 Thunder vs. No. 8 seed
No. 2 Nuggets vs. No. 7 seed
No. 3 Timberwolves vs. No. 6 Suns
No. 4 Clippers vs. No. 5 Mavericks

Play-In Tourney Schedule
Tuesday, April 16th
Play-In Game 1: (8) Lakers at (7) Pelicans, 7:30 p.m. ET, TNT
Play-In Game 2: (10) Warriors at (9) Kings, 10 p.m. ET, TNT

Wednesday, April 17th
Play-In Game 3: (8) Heat at (7) Sixers, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN
Play-In Game 4: (10) Hawks at (9) Bulls, 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

Friday, April 19th
Play-In Game 5: Loser of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4, TBD on ESPN
Play-In Game 6: Loser of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2, TBD on TNT

[Flagrant Fowl]

I've already made a small wager on Orlando to win their series at +170, and a little 3-team teaser for Game 1 (ORL+9, IND+6, DAL+6).

I can't wait to realize how bad I am at gambling again!

[Split T]

This has been the most convincing argument to me that I was wrong to have SGA MVP haha

[carey]

This has been the most convincing argument to me that I was wrong to have SGA MVP haha

LMAO. Got a good chuckle out of that.

[Mori Chu]

Maybe this has already been posted here, and it was widely expected. But OKC's Daigneault has won Coach of the Year.

[Split T]

That is the one where the other coaches vote…not the official media vote one for the record…though I feel like the coaches vote should hold more water.

[ShelC]

The Pacers went 4-1 against the Bucks this season....

[Mori Chu]

If the Bucks lose in the 1st round, do they fire Doc Rivers? His brief tenure there as head coach has been bumpy to say the least.

[ShelC]

I felt like the Bucks had a similar season as ours, albeit more dysfunctional for sure. But both top heavy with talent, just couldn't seem to get on the same page and play to their potential, which led to some disappointment and frustration. We seemingly have a lot more going for us at the moment tho.

[Cap]

If the Bucks lose in the 1st round, do they fire Doc Rivers? His brief tenure there as head coach has been bumpy to say the least.

If Giannis isn’t available, that might get him a reprieve.

[Split T]

He’ll probably get a reprieve regardless…hard to come in mid season and make an impact

[Split T]

You seeing this stuff where a guy like Donte Divencenzo is ineligible for MIP because he didn’t have enough games where he played 20 minutes? So dumb…he played 81 games, but ended up 1 game short of the minimum because he was a bench guy for awhile and didn’t play 20 minutes. Happened to Kuminga too.

I kinda think the 65 game rule did make more players play, but the 20 minute part of it is real dumb. Especially for an award like MIP

[Mori Chu]

Anybody watching Lakers/Pelicans? This will be really interesting. I heard a lot of folks arguing that the Lakers would actually be better off falling to 8th since they match up well against the young Thunder in a potential first round matchup. That's interesting. If I were the Thunder I certainly wouldn't want to play Lebron and the Lakers as my "reward" for grabbing the 1 seed. I think a problem with the play-in is that if you're in the 1 or 2 seed you may end up getting a better opponent than under the old system. IMO they should let the 1, 2, then 3 seeds pick their 1st round opponent in that order.

[Flagrant Fowl]

The Thunder are going to have the same set of issues playing either the Lakers or Pelicans.

People saying the Lakers should intentionally lose their first game to avoid the Nuggets are idiots or are being obtuse for attention.

[Split T]

Pretty good game…great comeback for New Orleans that fell short with Zion getting hurt in the last couple minutes

[TOO]

Where was Ingram and McCollum? Zion carried big time til he went out.

[TOO]

Can the Kings and Warriors both lose this game? That's be great

[Split T]

Where was Ingram and McCollum? Zion carried big time til he went out.

CJ was out there…Not sure why Ingram was on the bench

[Split T]

Can the Kings and Warriors both lose this game? That's be great

Kinda…if the Pels beat the winner it’s essentially the same

[Flagrant Fowl]

I bet the Lakers to win and Zion to have a mediocre game at 2-1 odds. Dammit.