With one of the most exciting, breathtaking, scrutinized regular seasons in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the books, only six days remains before the entre of the season, the NBA Playoffs. Before that four teams in Eastern and Western Conference respectably will battle it out for the final two Playoff spots in the fourth annual NBA Play-In Tournament, presented by SoFi. It begins with the Western Conference on Tuesday night.

Western Conference (Tuesday Apr. 16, 2024: TNT)

(8) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (7) New Orleans Pelicans
                (47-35)                                     (49-33)

Season Series: Lakers won 3-1 (1-0 In-Season Tournament)

What separates talented players from those that are legendary is their ability to handle their business when the lights are at the brightest. On Sunday afternoon the boys from “Hollywood,” who have two such great players added another shining moment of brilliance in the gym of team and their headliner who once again wilted under the bright lights of a big moment in one’s career. The two squads meet up once again in “The Big East” to open the 2024 Play-In Tournament and a chance to punch their ticket to the postseason for a First-Round date with the defending NBA champions from the “Colorado Rockies.”

On Sunday afternoon in front of a national television audience, the Los Angeles Lakers, NBA champions in 2020 flashed their veteran muscles and took down New Orleans Pelicans 124-108 on ESPN.

It was their 11^th win in their last 14 games to close the season to capture the No. 8 Seed and be just one victory away from punching their postseason ticket. This is on the heels of going just 22-23 since winning the inaugural In-Season Tournament (123-109) Dec. 9, 2023 versus the Indiana Pacers (ABC).  

The Lakers, who led by as many as 26 were led by dynamic duo of LeBron James, who continues to be a marvel at age 39 in NBA Season No. 21 and fellow perennial All-Star Anthony Davis, who thanks to good health for majority of this season continues to silence his critics.

James, a four-time NBA champion and four-time Kia MVP was at his absolute best with on both sides of the hardwood with 28 points, 17 assists, and 11 rebounds with five steals on 13/17 from the field.

It was James’ 27^th double-double on the season, including his fifth triple-double on the season and 112^th career triple-double (5^th NBA History).   

The four-time Finals MVP got the Lakers up and running in the opening half with eight first quarter assists. In the second quarter, he got into the scoring column with 13 points in the period with five boards and five assists, and two steals on 6/10 shooting to compile a double-double in the opening half with 13 points, a career-high for a half of 13 assists and six rebounds on 6/12 shooting.

“Just try to put the ball on time and on target for either jump shots or guys at the rim,” James said after the win. “Just trying to be very efficient with my play.”

Davis, who the Pelicans drafted No. 1 overall in 2012 led the Lakers with 30 points and 11 boards with two steals on 13/17 from the floor, registering his 64^th double-double for the season.

The man affectionately called “The Brow” got things started in the first quarter with 14 points on 7/10 shooting and had 18 points and six rebounds on 9/12 shooting in the opening half.

Davis and James finished things off in the final period scoring 11 and 10 points respectably in the final period. James went 3/5 from the floor and a perfect 5/5 from the foul line in the final period, while Davis was 3/4 from the field and also was a perfect 4/4 at the charity stripe in the final period.

“I just want to win. So, whatever the game present itself for me to be,” James said. “I am a Swiss army knife. I’ve got to do it all on the floor, but none of it is predetermined.”

Davis did leave in the closing minute of the final period walking gingerly to the locker room holding his lower back and said after the victory that his back “locked up” when he was shoved behind in while in the air. But said postgame that his back ailment was “nothing concerning.”

“No doubt that I’m going to play,” Davis added about playing in the Play-In tilt on Tuesday night at the Pelicans. “Get some treatment, keep it loose, just see how I feel over the next 24-36 hours and be ready.”

Along with the stellar performances by Davis and James, the Lakers got 20 points on 8/12 from the field from Austin Reaves, including 3/7 from three. D’Angelo Russell added 19 points on 5/10 from three-point range. Rui Hachimura scored 11 with seven rebounds.

The Lakers performance on Sunday at the Pelicans was reminiscent of how they dominated the boys from “The Big Easy” in the NBA In-Season Tournament Semifinals back on Dec. 7, 2023, where the Lakers won in dominant fashion 133-89.

In leading by as many as 44 in that contest, the Lakers outscored the Pelicans 104-59 the final three quarters after trailing 30-29 after the first quarter.

The Lakers in that contest outrebounded the Pelicans 59-42 (NOP 12-11 Off. Rebounds). They shot 54.7 percent from the floor (47/86 FGs) and 17/35 from three-point range. They had 31 assists on 47 made field goals. They outscored the Pelicans 52-46 in the paint and 23-12 in fastbreak points. They also turned 12 Pelicans turnovers into 19 points.

They had the same level of dominance on Sunday at the Pelicans the Lakers did shooting 55.2 percent from the floor (48/87 FGs), including 11/29 from three-point range and a solid 17/18 at the foul line. The Lakers were even on the glass with the Pelicans (39-39). Had 32 assists on 48 made field goals. They dominated the Pelicans, outscoring them 68-42 in the paint; 19-15 in fastbreak points; and forced 19 Pelicans turnovers, which included 12 assists, that they turned into 27 points.  

As great of a performance it was for the Lakers, it was another example of the Pelicans, who were coming off a four-game home winning streak, following four straight defeats at home to close a six-game homestand.

The Pelicans’ headliner Zion Williamson in perhaps the biggest game of his young professional career in that In-Season Semifinal versus the Lakers shrunk in the moment scoring just 13 points in 26 minutes on 6/8 shooting and was an abysmal 1/6 at the foul line.

Williamson was just as abysmal on Sunday with just 12 points with eight rebounds, and eight assists with two steals and four turnovers on 4/13 from the field.

“I think I was just being too passive if I’m being honest. I don’t think I was super aggressive the whole game,” Williamson said after the loss on Sunday.

“They got whatever they wanted in the paint. They dominated us in the paint.”  

That Dec. 7, 2023, loss setback to the Lakers, the Pelicans other two headliners in All-Star Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum stunk up the joint each scoring just nine points each on 4/13 and 4/14 shooting respectably.

The Pelicans in that Dec. 7, 2023, defeat shot just 35.8 percent (34/95 FGs) and just 7/31 from three-point range and were just 14/20 at the foul line.

After leading 30-29 after the opening period were outscored 38-24 in the second quarter to trail 67-54 at the half and then were outscored 43-17 in the third quarter to trail 110-71 after three quarters.  

The Pelicans did not have it right from the start on Sunday versus the Lakers trailing wire-to-wire, getting railroaded in the second quarter getting outscored 40-29 in the second quarter to trail 70-53 at the half.

Ingram, who returned from a 12-game absence with a left knee contusion scored 13 points with five boards in 23 minutes. 

McCollum led the Pelicans on Sunday with 25 points and seven assists on 9/19 from the field and 4/9 from three-point range. Herbert Jones scored 18 with five rebounds and two steals, going 4/7 from three. Larry Nance, Jr. scored 13 with six boards off the bench. Trey Murphy III scored 11 with two steals on 3/6 from three. Jose Alvarado scored 10.

The loss dropped the Pelicans to the Play-In Round. If they had won on Sunday, they would have clinched the No. 6, and final guaranteed Playoff spot in the Western Conference.

“They punched us right in the mouth and they kept going,” Pelicans head coach Willie Green said after the loss. “We let a really good opportunity slip away.”

The winner of Tuesday’s Play-In tilt will clinch the No. 7 spot in the West and will face the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets as the No. 2 Seed.

Conventional wisdom says how the Lakers played on Sunday at the Pelicans that they will get it done and get their chance of avenging last season’s four-game sweep in the Western Conference Finals against the Nuggets.

The dynamic duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis with a Playoff spot hanging in the balance will bring their best to the hardwood in New Orleans on Tuesday night. The Lakers’ chances of clinching the No. 7 spot will be even higher if they get strong performances from D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, and Rui Hachimura.

The Lakers also know that they do not expect a cakewalk like they had at the Pelicans on Sunday and that they need to be ready for the forceful play that the Pelicans will bring to the hardwood at the Smoothie King Center on Tuesday evening.

“Tuesday’s game is going to be extremely hard, extremely difficult, extremely physical,” James said. “I’ve always known that, when you play a playoff series—and look at this like a two-game series—if you win that first game, a team has multiple days to kind of sit on that feeling or sit with that taste in their mouth of defeat.”

“So, they’re going to be extremely ready for us and we have to come in with the same sense of urgency that we had the previous game.”

To put how the Lakers have fared when Russell has played well for them this season, the Lakers were 15-3 when he scored 25 or more.

For the Pelicans to punch their postseason ticket for the second time in the last three seasons, they need Zion Williamson to play to the level where he dominates scoring wise in the paint and that he is backed up by Brandon Ingram, and CJ McCollum.

“I don’t have to explain it,” Williamson said of the challenge the Pelicans face on Tuesday night versus Lakers. “We all know the Play-In Tournament, the layout. We’ve just got to handle business. Easier said than done, but it’s what we’ve got to do. We’re grateful for the opportunity.”

It will also help the Pelicans if they get off to a good start and they can maintain a lead if they get it.

The Pelicans during the regular season were 45-11 when they were ahead at intermission and 47-9 when they were up after three quarters. When they Pelicans were down at intermission were just 4-20 and were just 2-2 when tied at the half. When they were behind after three quarters, the Pelicans went 0-22 and were just 2-2 when tied after three quarters. On top of that, the Pelicans were just 14-15 in clutch games (games with five points in the last five minutes of fourth quarter/overtime), and blew 14 double-digits leads, tied for the third most in “The Association.”

Even with that, Coach said basically on Monday the Pelicans simply have to be the more forceful squad and come with the right focus and aggressive mindset to win on Tuesday night.

“We have to come back with the right mentality,” Coach Green said. “They were the aggressors. We have to be the aggressive team. We have to be the more physical team. We have to keep them out of our paint and make them take contested shots and rebound the ball.”

“They played with a ton of force. They came out right away. At least for the first half, they punched us right in the mouth and kept going.”

The good news for the Pelicans as well as the Lakers is that the loser of this contest in the No. 8 versus No. 7 tilt is that they will have another opportunity to make the Playoffs taking on the winner of the No. 10 versus No. 9 tilt between the Kings and Warriors on Friday.

(10) Golden State Warriors vs. (9) Sacramento Kings
                (46-36)                                       (46-36)

Season Series: Warriors won 3-1 (1-0 In-Season Tournament)

Last season, the four-time NBA champions from the “Bay Area” and their Pacific Division rivals up California’s Interstate-80 played an epic seven-game series. That epic series was capped by historic scoring performance by a two-time Kia MVP. This season, both squads have had their struggles, especially the upstarts from California’s capital city from last season whose closed the regular season poorly and lost two keys guards dropped them from the running in the guaranteed Playoff spot to now having to win two games in the Play-In Tournament to reach the Playoffs for a second straight season. As for the four-time champs, their strong finish to this season has them in position to get back to the Playoffs or see their reign as the NBA’s current dynasty conclude.

Last season, the Sacramento Kings were the Cinderella story of “The Association” as they registered 48 wins, winning their first Pacific Division title since 2002-03 and were the No. 3 Seed in the stacked Western Conference. They battled the four-time champion Golden State Warriors tooth-and-nail winning Game 6 at the Warriors to force Game 7 back home. The Kings hung tight with the Warriors until the second half where two-time Kia MVP Stephen Curry scored a Game 7 record 50 points on 20/38 from the field and 7/18 from three-point range in leading the Warriors to a Game 7 win.

The Kings were 41-30 and in contention for the No. 6 and final guaranteed Playoff spot in the Western Conference with 11 games left. At 44-31, they were right on the cusp of avoiding the Play-In being just one game on the loss side behind the Pelicans at the start of April. A 2-5 finish to this season, which included losing streaks of two and three games dropped the Kings to the No. 9 spot in the West and having to now win two games just to make their second straight postseason appearance after an NBA-record 16-year absence.

Along with dropping five out of their final seven games to close the season, the Kings will enter this postseason without a starter and the leading candidate for Kia Sixth Man of the Year.

Back on Mar. 18, 2024 in the Kings’ 121-111 overtime win versus the Memphis Grizzlies, they lost starting guard Kevin Huerter late in the first quarter to a left shoulder injury when he made contact with Grizzlies’ guard Desmond Bane sending him to the floor.

Huerter, who came over from the Atlanta Hawks last off-season underwent season-ending surgery to repair that torn labrum in his shoulder.

To make matters worse, 11 days later in the Kings’ 107-103 loss to the Dallas Mavericks (NBATV) lost leading candidate for Kia Sixth Man of the Year Malik Monk to a right knee injury after perennial All-Star guard of the Mavericks Luka Doncic landed on him on a drive to the hoop. Monk left the game and did not return. Monk, who the Kings signed in free agency in the summer of 2022 and will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason was diagnosed with a sprained right MCL, which is expected to keep him out 4-6 weeks. That means that if Monk is going to play anymore in 2024 it will be if the Kings make a deep postseason run.

For that to happen, the Kings will have to take care of business on Tuesday night versus a Warriors squad that they have had thrilling, nail-biting encounters against this season.

Outside of the Warriors 122-114 victory Oct. 27, 2023 (ESPN), the last three contest the Interstate rivals played against one another were one-point decisions. The first one went to the Warriors 102-101 when Klay Thompson hit what ended being the game-winning jumper with less than one second left for the 102-101 victory versus the Kings on Nov. 1, 2023.

At the close of the November 2023, the Kings won their In-Season Tournament bout versus the Warriors 124-123 when Monk capped a 24-point comeback hitting a fadeaway jumper with seven seconds left that advanced the Kings to the quarterfinals of the In-Season Tournament.

The Kings evened the season-series with another thrilling one-point triumph, this time on the Warriors home floor 134-133 Jan. 25, 2024 (TNT) thanks to the go-ahead dunk by All-Star Domantas Sabonis with 22 seconds left. That game-winner by Sabonis is not possible if not for the performance by former Warrior Harrison Barnes, who scored a career-high of 39 points on 14/24 shooting, including 7/12 from three-point range.

The Kings, who won their regular-season finale (121-82) Sunday versus the Portland Trail Blazers see this moment of having to win two games in the Play-In Tournament to punch their postseason ticket as an opportunity while those on the outside and even their vociferous fanbase as a monumental collapse where they stand one loss away from not making the Playoffs after being there a season ago. That is what head coach Mike Brown touched on following the Kings 135-123 loss last Thursday night versus the Pelicans (TNT).

“We all should be embracing this. 100 percent for sure guys, I want to freaking win and trust me, I go home and bang my head against the wall just like everyone else in that locker room on these losses,” Coach Brown said in reference to some of the losses the Kings have suffered this season against sub .500 teams and to teams they led by double-digits against.

“But I’m excited about it. I’ve embraced it. If we could’ve finished in sixth, I would have wanted that more than anything else or fifth (place). But at the end of the day, this is where we are and let’s freaking go get it and let’s learn and grow from it and see what happens at the end of the day. But I’m excited about any opportunity to play in the postseason.”

The good news for the Kings is that they will go into this Play-In Tournament led by their dynamic duo of All-Stars De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, who had remarkable seasons.

Fox, the reigning Kia Clutch Player of the Year averaged 20-plus points per game for the fifth straight season. A season ago, Fox proved he can be the head of a winning team leading the Kings to the Playoffs in his sixth NBA season.

His running mate Domantas Sabonis put together perhaps the best season of his career but one of the best all-around seasons in NBA history. For the second straight season, he led the NBA in rebounds per game at 13.7, which was also a career-high to go along with 19.4 scoring average and a career-high 8.2 assists (6^th NBA).

Sabonis, who set a career-highs of 65 double-doubles and 14 triple-doubles, registered a league-leading 77 double-doubles and 26 triple-doubles. From Dec. 2, 2023 to Apr. 9, 2024, Sabonis register 62 consecutive double-doubles, a new NBA record since the 1976-77 NBA/ABA merger.

Even with the stellar seasons that Fox and Sabonis had, they did not make the All-Star team this past season and for much of this season were seen as good players but not championship level players because of how the Kings have slid from the top of the West a season ago to now having to make the Playoffs through the Play-In.

This chance the Kings have to have to win twice to make this postseason is an opportunity for Fox and Sabonis to show their doubters that they can rise to the moment when it is called upon to do. 

It also provides an opportunity for the Kings supporting cast of the aforementioned Barnes, who helped the Warriors win their first of four titles in 2015, Keegan Murray, Davion Mitchell, Keon Ellis, and Trey Lyles to show that they can rise to the moment as well.

“It’s exciting,” Mitchell said after the win versus Trail Blazers. “We get to get a little payback for last year. We know they’re going to come here with energy. It’s a home game. We know it’s going to be loud. It’s going to be physical. I think we are ready for it.”

One team that has been ready for big moments in big games over the past decade-plus has been the Golden State Warriors.

This season however, head coach Steve Kerr’s squad has had to navigate through a lot this season. They had to navigate two suspensions of their heart-and-soul of their team in perennial All-Star Draymond Green of five and 12 games because of chocking fellow perennial All-Star center of the Minnesota Timberwolves Rudy Gobert and for hitting in the head starting center of the Phoenix Suns Jusuf Nurkic. They had to deal with the shooting slump of one half of their “Splash Brothers” backcourt in Klay Thompson, to the point where they decided back in January to bring him off the bench. Then there was the untimely death of beloved assistant coach Dejan Milojevic.

On the court, the Warriors played the most clutch games in the league during the regular season, 47 in total, going just 23-24 in games that were within five points in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter/overtime.

Those ups-and-downs were a part of the Warriors 19-24 start to this season. Those ups-and-downs brought them closer together enough that they finished the season going 27-12 the next 39 games, including a 10-2 mark their last 12 games, which also consisted of a 4-1 mark to close the regular season.

The one constant for the Warriors has been two-time Kia MVP Stephen Curry, whose continued marksmanship from three-point range and ability to perform in the clutch especially this season has the Warriors’ dynasty still alive.

During the Warriors run of winning four titles in six Finals appearances over the past 10 seasons, their mantra was “Strength In Numbers.” That was referencing the supporting cast of the likes of Shaun Livingston, Matt Barnes, Maurice Speights, Andrew Bogut, ZaZa Pachulia, and many others that complimented Curry, Thompson, and Green, and now Suns perennial All-Star forward Kevin Durant.  

When the Warriors won it all in 2022, it was the likes of Jordan Poole, and current Warriors in Andrew Wiggins, Gary Payton II, and Kevon Looney that were the difference in helping the Warriors win their fourth title. This season, Wiggins and Looney have struggled mightily, and Payton II has missed time this season because of injury.

What has helped the Warriors be in position to make the Playoffs through the Play-In this season has been the emergence of Jonathan Kuminga and the steady improvement of rookies Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis is how the Warriors went 9-2 to close this season, holding off a late season charge by the Houston Rockets to earn the last Play-In spot in West.

The Warriors know that at this time of the year, it is all about bringing your best to the table. The Warriors, led by their “Core Three” of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green are primed to get through this Play-In Tournament. Get back to the Playoffs and see how things unfold.

“We just got to win,” Green said. "When this team’s back is against the wall, I like how this group shows up.”

History though is not on their side when it comes to the Play-In because in 2021, they lost at the Lakers and versus the Memphis Grizzlies in overtime and saw their season conclude without reaching the postseason. They hope this appearance in the Play-In Tournament has a different outcome because a loss on Tuesday night at the Kings could bring a conclusion to not just this season but possibly the team as we have known them.

“We have a really good connection on this team, good chemistry, guys pulling for each other. So I’ve got a good feeling about what’s ahead,” Coach Kerr said after the Warriors 123-116 victory in their regular season finale versus the Utah Jazz. “I think we still have a chance to do something special. Now, obviously, it’s NCAA Tournament, we’ve got to get out of the first weekend here, win the first two and get to the First Round, but we have a shot, so we’re excited about that.”    

Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy 4/12/2024 “Locked On Kings: The Sacramento Kings Are On The Edge Of Disaster,” Locked On Podcast Network With Matt George of ABC 10 News In Sacramento; 4/16/2024 www.nba.com story: “Zion Williamson Learns From Mistakes As Play-In Tournament Stage Awaits,” Michael C. Wright; https://www.nba.com/game/lal-vs-nop-0052300121;
https://www.nba.com/game/gsw-vs-sac-0052300131;
https://www.nba.com/game/nop-vs-lal-0022301230; https://www.espn.com/nba/recap/_/gameid/401585826; https://www.espn.com/nba/recap/_/gamid/401585828; https://statsdmz.nba.com/pdfs/20231207/20231207_NOPLAL_book_pdf; https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameid/401607493; https://ww.nba.com/game/lal-vs-nop-022301195; and https://statsdmz.com/pdfs20240414/20240414_LALNOP_book.pdf.