The Hawks, Magic, Bulls, Heat, Warriors, Grizzlies, Kings, and Mavericks didn’t make it to the Top 6 of the Eastern and Western Conferences. However, they still have a lifeline: the NBA Play-In Tournament, which will commence tomorrow.
The winner of the seven versus eight matchup will secure the seventh seed, and the loser takes on the winner of the ninth versus 10th matchup to fight for the final playoff spot as the eighth seed.
Tomorrow, the seventh-seeded Magic will host the eighth-seeded Hawks in the East, while the seventh-seeded Warriors will host the eighth-seeded Grizzlies. Meanwhile, the ninth-seeded Bulls will host the 10th-seeded Heat in the East, while the ninth-seeded Kings will host the 10th-seeded Mavericks in the West.
SBOTOP basketball fans should be excited about the play-in games. Continue reading below to learn more about the latest NBA 2025 updates.
Atlanta Hawks @ Orlando Magic
Tomorrow, the Hawks and Magic will meet for the fifth time this 2024-25 season. These two teams split their previous four regular season meetings, with both teams notching wins in February and April.
They last faced off on Sunday, where both teams gave their key players the night off. Atlanta won 117-105 to close the regular season with three consecutive wins, ending Orlando’s five-game winning streak.
Terance Mann led with 19 points. Jacob Toppin and Daeqwon Plowden had 17 points each. Keaton Wallace became the first Hawks’ two-way player to post a triple-double with 15 points, 15 rebounds, 11 assists, and five steals on 7-for-20 shooting from the field. Dominick Barlow, Vit Krejci, and Garrison Matthews added 15, 13, and 12 points.
The Hawks gave Trae Young the night off since he has been dealing with an Achilles injury for quite some time. They’ve given him the probable tag ahead of tomorrow’s game, and the team needs him to go off. The four-time NBA All-Star averages 24.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, 11.6 assists (league-high), and 1.2 steals on 41.1 per cent shooting from the field across 76 starts this year.
With Clint Capela (hand), Larry Nance Jr. (knee), and Jalen Johnson (shoulder) on the sidelines, the Hawks also need big performances from rookie Zaccharie Risacher, Dyson Daniels, and Onyeka Okongwu.
Orlando sat Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner against Atlanta last Sunday, and they should be good to go tomorrow. Banchero and Wagner led the Magic in scoring at 25.9 and 24.2 points per game this season. However, they’ll need support from Cole Anthony, Wendell Carter Jr., Anthony Black, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Goga Bitadze to dispatch the Hawks.
The Magic enter the play-in tournament in superb form, winning 10 of their final 14 regular season matches. Over that stretch, Orlando boasted the league’s best defensive rating (107.4). They must establish their defensive presence against the Hawks who put up a whopping 118.5 points per game during the regular season.
Betting tip – Orlando Magic Asian Handicap -5.00 @ 1.90
Memphis Grizzlies @ Golden State Warriors
The Warriors haven’t won in the play-in since its inception in 2020, with losses to the Lakers (2021), Grizzlies (2021), and Kings (2024). While the Warriors haven’t succeeded in the tournament, Jimmy Butler certainly has since he became the first player in NBA history to guide his team from the play-in to the NBA Finals in 2023 as a member of the Heat. At the time, Miami lost their first play-in match but won their second, which sparked their improbable run.
Golden State are back in this situation after losing to the Clippers in an overtime thriller at home during the final day of the regular season. Stephen Curry dropped 36 points, three rebounds, six assists, and seven three-pointers on 10-for-20 shooting from the field and a perfect 9-for-9 from the charity stripe. Jimmy Butler poured in 30 points and nine assists on 12-for-20 shooting. Brandin Podziemski and Draymond Green added 19 and 14 points in the losing effort. Green’s crucial missed layup in crunchtime proved costly for the Warriors.
Memphis come into this match in patchy form, so the NBA 2025 odds are against them. The Grizzlies only won one of their last three regular season games. They are fresh from a 132-97 win over the Mavericks as they rested their starters last Sunday.
If the Grizzlies take the seventh playoff spot tomorrow, it’ll likely be on the back of an explosive night from Ja Morant. The mercurial guard is playing his best basketball of the season, averaging 30.2 points and shooting 41.3 per cent from deep this month.
Betting tip – Golden State Warriors Asian Handicap -6.00 @ 1.76
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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