Good morning to everyone but especially to…
THE NBA PLAY-IN TOURNAMENT TEAMS
Two playoff bids will be clinched tonight — and two other teams will be pushed to the brink — as the NBA Play-In Tournament opens with a pair of games:
The winner of each game will be the No. 7 seed in their respective conferences. The loser will play the winner of tomorrow’s contests on Thursday, and the winner of that game will claim the No. 8 seed. You can see all the details here.
Let’s start with Timberwolves-Lakers, specifically Minnesota, because the biggest storyline is who won’t be there: Rudy Gobert has been suspended one game after punching teammate Kyle Anderson in the regular-season finale.
- Gobert will be available for the Timberwolves’ next game, whether that’s in the playoffs or in the play-in elimination game.
- The Timberwolves will also be without Jaden McDaniels after he fractured his hand punching a wall in frustration earlier in the game.
- Of note, Minnesota has played better recently with Gobert off the court. Over the last 10 games, they have a +5.7 net rating when he’s not playing; only the Celtics had a better net rating than that this season.
The Lakers, on the other hand, are finally fully healthy and…
