- The Los Angeles Lakers are the biggest favorites in the Play-in Tournament at -7.5 points versus the Minnesota Timberwolves in the West’s No. 7 vs No. 8 game.
- Los Angeles opened at -5.5 but after the Wolves suspended Rudy Gobert for one game, the spread jumped to 7.5.
- In the East, the No. 7 Miami Heat are 4.5-point favorites to beat the No. 8 Atlanta Hawks.
The NBA’s regular season concluded on April 9th with no big surprises. The Western Conference battle was tight with the possibility of the 5th to 7th seeds trading places on the final day of the regular season.
But those teams in question ended up winning and finishing the day where they started. The same happened in the East, where the seedings were virtually set before the regular season finale.
As it stands, the Play-in Tournament begins on Tuesday night with the two No. 7 seeds hosting the No. 8 seeds.
The winner of these game advance outright to the 2023 NBA Playoffs as the 7th seed while the loser gets another chance to enter the Top 8 when they host the winner of No.9 vs. No. 10 play-in games later this week.
In the short history of the Play-in Tournament, the No. 7 seeds have not lost a game.
Lakers Odds Jump as Timberwolves Suspend Rudy Gobert
The Lakers finished the regular season with a 43-39 SU record, which gave them 7th place in the Western Conference team standings. Los Angeles recovered from a disastrous 2-10 start with a strong finishing kick.
The team made big moves at the trade deadline and they finished with a 16-7 SU record after the All-Star break, which was the best in the Western Conference despite LeBron James missing 11 of those games.
NEWS: The Minnesota @Timberwolves today announced the team has suspended center Rudy Gobert for one game following yesterday’s incident.
Full release: https://t.co/YFuVmjTvhO
— Timberwolves PR (@Twolves_PR) April 10, 2023
Los Angeles opened as 5.5-point spread favorites to beat the 7th-seeded Timberwolves but those odds have jumped to 7.5 points after Minnesota announced that it was suspending starting center Rudy Gobert.
Gobert was punished for punching teammate Kyle Anderson during their final regular season game against the New Orleans Pelicans. Team officials sent Gobert home after the first half of that game and announced afterward that the Stifle Tower would not be traveling with the team due to a one-game suspension.
As if losing Gobert for Tuesday’s game wasn’t enough, Minnesota forward Jaden McDaniels is also out of the Play-in Tournament due to a hand fracture that he suffered after punching a wall on the way to the locker room.
McDaniels was having his best season in the NBA, averaging 12.2 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. He shot 51.7% from the floor and 39.9% from three-point distance. At 6’9”, McDaniels is also one of the league’s top one-on-one defenders with his ability to shut down opposing players.
Minnesota Will Get Another Chance if They Lose on Tuesday
Good thing for Minnesota, they will get another chance at the Playoffs even if they lose to the Lakers on Tuesday night. The Timberwolves would host the winner of the second Play-In Tournament game between the No. 9 New Orleans Pelicans and No. 10 Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Pelicans are currently listed as 5.5-point spread favorites to beat the Thunder at the online sportsbook BetOnline.
Since Gobert’s suspension is just one game, it is presumed that the Stifle Tower will be back for that second Play-In Tournament game.
Although Gobert wasn’t having the same dominant presence he had when he was with the Utah Jazz, he was still averaging 13.4 points and 1.4 blocks per game while ranking 4th overall in the league in rebounding with 11.6 boards grabbed per contest.
The challenge for head coach Chris Finch will be to put his team together amid this adversity. Like the Lakers who had an 8-2 SU finishing kick, the Timberwolves won seven out of their last 10 games, including their last 3 to finish 8th in the Western Conference team standings.
However, the possible turmoil within the team is worth watching out for as they enter Tuesday’s game as the biggest moneyline underdog in this year’s opening Play-In Tournament games at +285 odds.
Miami Heat vs. Atlanta Hawks
Who wins this Play-In matchup? pic.twitter.com/PMy5swBVjR
— Snapback Sports (@snapback_sports) April 9, 2023
Miami Heat vs Atlanta Hawks for the 7th Seed in the East
Overshadowed by the personnel issues surrounding the Minnesota Timberwolves is the No.7 vs No. 8 play-in tournament game between the Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks at the Kaseya Center.
This matchup will be the first Play-In Tournament game to be played this year with the tipoff scheduled for 7:30 P.M. ET.
The Heat finished their regular season campaign with a 44-38 SU mark and came up just one game short of an outright playoff spot after going 6-4 SU in their final 10 games played.
Jimmy Butler finished the regular season strong. The Heat star had the best post-All-Star break performance of his career, averaging 26.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game in March.
Miami opened as 5.5 point spread favorites to beat the Hawks but those odds have now dropped by a point to 4.5 at BetOnline.
The Heat are also listed as the -213 moneyline favorite at the same online sportsbook. The Heat have listed point guard Kyle Lowry as questionable with a knee injury.
Atlanta Hawks’ Interesting .500 Season
Meanwhile, the Atlanta Hawks have had an interesting season to say the least. Since they went 23-24 SU by late December, the Hawks stayed within one game of the .500 mark until they went 41-39 after defeating the Washington Wizards on April 5th. They then lost their final regular season games to finish at the .500 mark.
That long stretch of mediocrity has raised issues on whether or not the Hawks can win a playoff series this year. And, all of this happened while the Hawks underwent a coaching change during the season.
If Atlanta loses to the Heat, they will play the winner of No. 9 Toronto and No. 10 Chicago. BetOnline has the Raptors listed as 5.5-point favorites with a -215 moneyline.
The Hawks finished 3 games behind the Heat at 41-41 SU after splitting their last 10 regular season games and losing their final two regular season assignments.
The Hawks are 1-3 SU against the Heat this season with Trae Young shooting just 35% from the field and 20% from the three-point distance while averaging 5.3 turnovers per game.
Despite that, Atlanta’s moneyline odds of +183 are the shortest among the betting underdogs in the four Play-in Tournament games currently scheduled.
