It has come down to this in the 2022 NBA Play-In Tournament. We are down to four teams that will battle for the No. 8 and final Playoff spots in the Eastern and Western Conference respectably for the opportunity to take on the Top Seed in their respective conferences just 24 hours before the start of the 2022 NBA Playoffs.
(9) Atlanta Hawks versus (8) Cleveland Cavaliers
7:30 p.m. ESPN
(43-39) (44-38)
Season-Series won by Hawks 3-1
In the first win-or-go-home tilt will be
the 2021 Eastern Conference runner-up Atlanta Hawks at the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The 2021 East finalist Hawks took down the
Charlotte Hornets (43-39) 132-103 on n Tuesday night behind the 24 points and
11 assists of All-Star floor general Trae Young, with 14 of those points coming
in the third quarter, overcoming a four-point first quarter on 1/9 shooting and
a rough first half scoring just eight points with six assists on 3/13 from the
field as he made plays for his teammates all game long when the help defender
came to Young.
That precision passing by Young when he
drew two defenders to him all night long against the Hornets led to the wide
open looks for Bogdan Bogdanovic (13 points, 3/7 3-Pt.), Kevin Huerter (13
points, 3/4 3-Pt.), and Danilo Gallinari (18 points, 2/5 3-Pt.) on the
perimeter, especially from three-point range, and wide-open lob dunks for rim
runs for Clint Capela, who had 15 points, 17 rebounds, and three blocks.
“If you can make two guys guard you, it
only opens up the floor for everybody else,” Young said postgame after the win
versus Hawks. “I have to embrace it.
De’Andre Hunter also had strong third
quarter scoring 16 of his 22 points in the period as the Hawks used a 27-8 run
the final 5:15 of the third quarter to blowout the game open as they outscored
the Hornets 42-24 in the period and were up late in the second half by 33
points.
Hawks blew the game wide open out scoring
the Hornets 42-24 in third quarter, going 16/24 from the floor, scoring a
season-high 26 points in the paint in the period, registering 10 assists and no
turnovers.
Defensively in the third quarter held the
Hornets to 24 points on 8/21 from the field and forcing three turnovers and
holding them to just 12 points in the paint in the quarter.
Hawks for the game outscored the Hornets
54-40 in the paint; 40-24 in bench points; had 31 assists; shot 16/32 from
three-point range; and had just 12 turnovers.
Defensively, the Hawks held the Hornets to
37.8 percent from the floor, and out-rebounded the Hornets 54-41.
“We’re a good team and we’re clicking at the
right time,” Young said.
The Hawks were especially clicking against
the Cavaliers during the regular-season going 3-1 in their four tilts, winning
one of those three meetings at the Cavaliers (121-118) on Dec. 31, 2021 in a
close one. The Hawks won all three games after dropping the first contest at
the Cavaliers 101-95 on Oct. 23, 2021. Young in the four-game set against the
Cavaliers averaged 32.5 points and nine assists on 48.8 percent from the field
and 36.4 percent on his threes.
That lone win at the Cavaliers now is something
that the Hawks can hang onto because the Hawks were only 16-25 on the road on
the season, the worst amongst the eight squads in the 2022 Play-In Tournament, which
includes a dismal 6-11 mark their final 17 road games. If they plan on making
to the playoffs for the second straight season, they will have to do in the
Cavaliers house.
Young in that victory on the last day of
2021 at the Cavaliers had 35 points and 11 assists on 11/28 shooting, including
5/12 from three-point range and 8/10 at the foul line, hitting two crucial free
throws with 07.4 seconds left in regulation that won the game for the Hawks. Capela
had 18 points and a season-high 23 rebounds, with 11 of 23 coming on the
offensive glass and four block shots.
They were without on that night John
Collins, Bogdanovic, and Huerter due to health and safety protocols.
Aside from Collins, who is out because of
sprained right foot and sprained right middle finger, Bogdanovic and Huerter
will be available on Friday night at the Cavaliers and if they shoot as well as
they did versus the Hornets, they will be back in the playoffs.
For the Cavaliers, they dropped their Play-In
contest 115-108 at the Brooklyn Nets falling behind 40-20 after the first
quarter. They did outscore the Nets 88-75 the final three quarters and closed
the gap to six points three times but the Nets made all the right plays down
the stretch to win on Tuesday night.
There is a possibility that the Cavaliers
might have center Jarret Allen from a 12-game absence due to a fractured left
middle finger that has shelved the first time All -Star the final 19 games of
the regular season. The Cavaliers have gone 7-12 without Allen since he was
hurt Mar. 6 versus the Raptors on ESPN.
The return of Allen would slide rookie big
man Evan Mobley back to power forward, meaning he would not have to tangle inside
with Hawks’ Capela.
Right now, it’s “just kind of in a wait-and-see”
if Allen can play according to head coach J.B. Bickerstaff.
If Allen cannot go, it will be up to
Mobley to use every inch of his long, rangy, athletic build to keep Capela off
the offensive glass.
Mobley and the rest of his teammates will need to be on the same page when it comes to slowing down Young very alert to slow down Young.
Perhaps the best defense against Young is
for fellow first-time All-Star Darius Garland, who averaged 24 points in his
last two outings against the Cavaliers to go right him at the offensive end and
get him in four trouble possibly.
“What he does on the court impacts everybody,”
Coach Bickerstaff said of Young. “We have a ton of respect for that team. Not
by any means is it a one-man show. It’s a balanced team.”
The winner between the Hawks and the
Cavaliers will punch their ticket to the 2022 NBA Playoffs and a date with the No.
1 Seeded Miami Heat. The loser begins vacation early.
Last season, the Atlanta Hawks made it the
2021 Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2015. They got off to a
rough start this season with a 17-20 mark their first 37 games.
For the Cavaliers, they were 35-21 after
56 games this past regular-season. The went just 9-17 to close out this past
regular-season. But a win versus the Hawks would give them their first spot in
the playoffs in 2018, the final season for now Los Angeles Lakers four-time Kia
MVP LeBron James led them to The Finals but lost to the back-to-back Golden State
Warriors.
(9)
New Orleans Pelicans versus (8) Los Angeles Clippers 10:00 p.m. TNT
(36-46) (42-40
Season-Series won by Pelicans 3-1.
On Friday night at Crypto.com Arena in
L.A., there will be an NBA Play-In tilt with one team trying to make the
playoffs for the first time since 2018. The other squad, which made it to the
Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history will looking to
punch their ninth playoff ticket in their last 10 seasons.
The Pelicans began this season without
their headliner Zion Williamson, who has been out all season after having
surgery to repair his fractured right foot. They began the season 1-12 and were
3-16 their first 19 games of the season. They concluded their regular-season
portion of the campaign going 33-30 their last 63 games of this past regular-season.
In their 113-103 win versus the Spurs, CJ
McCollum, who was acquired from the Portland Trail Blazers in early February
led the way with 32 points, seven assists, and six rebounds on 12/23 from the
field. Brandon Ingram had 27 points with five rebounds and five assists on an efficient
11/19 from the field. Jonas Valanciunas had a double-double of 22 points and 14
rebounds.
“It shows how far we came, staring off 1-12,” Ingram said postgame after the win versus the Spurs. “Having a chance to make the playoffs is a blessing. We just have to keep going, keep our focus.”
First-year head coach Willie Green’s squad
created separation between themselves and the Spurs in the second quarter when
McCollum scored 19 of his 27 first half points in the period putting the
Pelicans up 61-50 at the half and held off a furious comeback from 21 points
down by the Spurs.
McCollum by himself outscored the entire
Spurs starting five in the first half 27-25.
The duo of Ingram and McCollum have been
the two major reasons why the Pelicans are one win away from their first
postseason in four years. When McCollum and Ingram, who returned versus the
Spurs from a three-game absence (hamstring strain), the Pelicans have gone 9-2
their last 11 games both have been in the lineup.
Along with his ability to score and make
plays for his teammates, McCollum has provided a steadiness and veteran
leadership that has been a huge reason the Pelicans in prime position to earn a
trip to the postseason.
“This is the start of something, for sure,”
McCollum said. “You see the energy. Feel the energy…There’s a lot of talent here.
We’re playing the game the right way. It’s going to be a lot of winning in our
future.”
Along with having talented players who
have been around the NBA block before, the Pelicans also have a roster of young
talented and hungry players eager to prove themselves like NBA All-Defensive
candidate is Herbert Jones, who shined on both ends in the win versus the Spurs
with 12 points, five boards, two steals, and two block shots.
Jones really put the clamps on the Spurs
Dejounte Murray holding him to 5/19 shooting on Wednesday night.
This performance should come as no
surprise because Jones, No. 35 overall pick in 2021 draft has guarded the best
perimeter players in today’s game, particularly a few the NBA’s A-Listers like
Donovan Mitchell of Utah Jazz; Trae Young of Hawks; Ja Morant of the Memphis
Grizzlies
During the regular-season, the Pelicans
took three of the four meetings, outscoring the Clippers per game 107.5 to
98.3. The Pelicans won those three meetings by 24 points (113-89) Jan. 13; 19
points (123-104) Nov. 29, 2021; and 13 points (94-81) Nov. 19, 2021.
The one word to describe the 2021-22 Los
Angeles Clippers is resilient. They have fought uphill for this entire season
as they have been without two-time Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard the entire season
because of torn ACL in his right knee and fellow All-Star Paul George missed 43
straight games with an ulna collateral ligament tear in his right elbow.
The Clippers have reached this point because
of the collective effort on both ends of the floor from the likes of Terance
Mann, Marcus Morris, Sr., Nicolas Batum, Ivica Zubac, Reggie Jackson, Robert Covington,
and Norman Powell.
The Clippers were in prime position to
punch their postseason ticket when they were up 93-83 on Tuesday night at the
Minnesota Timberwolves but were outscored 26-11 from that point on and lost 109-104.
In the Clippers lone win versus the Pelicans
(119-100) on Apr. 3, they put the clamps on McCollum on and Ingram holding them
to 19 and 15 points on 7/18 and 3/11 shooting respectably. They also contained Valanciunas
as he only registered eight points and nine rebounds compared to the career-high
of 39 points and 15 rebounds on 15/24 shooting, including 7/8 from three-point
range at the Clippers on Nov. 29, 2021 . In the Nov. 19 tilt versus the
Clippers, Valanciunas had 26 points and 13 boards on 10/19 from the field, including
5/9 from the three-point line.
After the loss at the Timberwolves, head
coach Tyronn Lue was quick to turn the focus to the Pelicans and put themselves
in position to be on the right side of the scoreboard on Friday night versus
the Pelicans.
“That’s our focus now,” Coach Lue said in
his postgame presser. “Got one game to win to get into the playoffs. We’ll be
ready to go on Friday.”
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