The 2023 NBA postseason continues on Wednesday with the play-in tournament as the No. 9 and No. 10 seeds in each conference take the court to continue fighting for a playoff berth.
The action tipped off on Tuesday night as the eighth-seeded Atlanta Hawks defeated the Miami Heat to claim the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers held on to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves in overtime for the No. 7 seed in the West.
The Heat will now host the winner of the No. 9 vs. No. 10 matchup in the East on Friday for the eighth seed in the playoffs (7 p.m. EDT, TNT). In the West, the Timberwolves will play the winning team in the No. 9 vs. No. 10 matchup in Minnesota (9:30 p.m. EDT, ESPN).
Once the play-in tournament has concluded, the first round of the playoffs will begin with a jam-packed schedule featuring four games on both Saturday and Sunday.
Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
- Date: April 12
- Time: 7 p.m. EDT
- TV Channel: ESPN
The contest will mark the first play-in game for both teams. Since the start of the play-in tournament, teams seeded ninth are 4-0 against No. 10 seeds. The Raptors won the season series versus the Bulls, 2-1, and have posted three straight wins over Chicago at home.
Betting Lines (via BetMGM)
- Point spread: Raptors -6.5
- Money line: Bulls +180, Raptors -225
- Over-under: 212.5
Injury Report
Chicago: Lonzo Ball (knee), Justin Lewis (knee) and Taylor Terry (two-way contract) are out.
Toronto: Jeff Dowtin Jr. (two-way contract), Ron Harper Jr. (two-way contract) and Otto Porter Jr. (foot) are out.
Projected Starting Lineups
Chicago Bulls:
- F DeMar DeRozan
- F Alex Caruso
- C Nikola Vucevic
- G Zach LaVine
- G Patrick Beverley
Toronto Raptors:
- F OG Anunoby
- F Pascal Siakam
- C Jakob Poeltl
- G Scottie Barnes
- G Fred VanVleet
Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
- Date: April 12
- Time: 9:30 p.m. EDT
- TV Channel: ESPN
The Pelicans took the season series versus the Thunder, 3-1, though their three wins were each decided by four points or fewer. The Thunder picked up their lone win on March 11 as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put up a game-high 35 points.
Betting Lines (via BetMGM)
- Point spread: Pelicans -5.5
- Money line: Thunder +180, Pelicans -225
- Over-under: 226.5
Injury Report
Oklahoma City: Jared Butler (two-way contract), Chet Holmgren (foot), Aleksej Pokusevski (knee), Olivier Sarr (two-way contract) and Kenrich Williams (wrist) are out.
New Orleans: Larry Nance Jr. (ankle) is…
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