NEWSLETTER
The first two days of the NBA Play-In Tournament had plenty of surprises. The Hawks upset the Heat in Miami while the Bulls erased a 19-point deficit and came back to beat the Raptors. Both ten seeds advanced after ten seeds were winless in the brief history of the event. Two games are left to round out the NBA Playoffs field.
NBA Play In Tournament Schedule
Bulls at Heat – Friday, 7:00 pm, TNT
Thunder at Timberwolves – Friday, 9:30 pm, ESPN
NBA Play In Tournament Odds
Spread
Bulls +5.5 | Heat -5.5
Thunder +4.5 | Timberwolves -4.5
Moneyline
Bulls +172 | Heat -205
Thunder +166 | Timberwolves -198
Total
Bulls vs Heat: 208.5
Thunder vs Timberwolves 228.5
Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook
There’s nothing overly surprising in the odds because both ten seeds advanced. The road teams are decently sized underdogs. From the Bulls perspective, it’s a good news, bad news situation. The good news for the Bulls? They won all three regular-season games against the Heat. All three wins were relatively comfortable. Chicago won by eight in Miami on opening night. They won the return trip by 10 in December and the Bulls beat the Heat by 14 at home in March.
The bad news? The Bulls will be without their secret weapon. DeMar DeRozan’s daughter was the star on Thursday night. Diar’s ferocious screaming may have been partially responsible for the Raptors missing 18 free throws. Her dad says he doesn’t want her missing school so she isn’t scheduled to go to Miami. I’m sure Bulls fans would gladly sign off on a doctor’s note for her.
The Thunder’s Surprising Run To The Play In Tournament
In the West, the surprising Thunder are 4.5-point underdogs. A team that many thought was aiming for the lottery ended up grabbing the last playoff spot in the West. Led by the dynamic duo of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey they stunned the Pelicans 123-118 on Thursday.
OKC heads to Minnesota to take on the dysfunctional Timberwolves. Minnesota won the season series 3-1, but the teams played two of the first three games of the season with a third in December. The Thunder are a bit different than they were in the early part of the season so it’s hard to take anything away from the season series. It remains to be seen how Minnesota will handle the delicate situation involving Rudy Gobert, who was suspended for Wednesday’s game against the Lakers after an altercation with teammate Kyle Anderson.
The winner of the final Play-In Tournament in the East game advances to face top-seed Milwaukee. The winner in the West advances to face top-seed Denver.
