The most exciting part of the year is here. The NBA postseason is underway, but before the playoffs get started, we have a couple of Play-In matchups coming our way tonight. The Sacramento Kings will play the New Orleans Pelicans in the West, while the Miami Heat host the Chicago Bulls in the East.

The Play-In started on Wednesday, with the Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers booking a ticket to the playoffs, while the Golden State Warriors and the Atlanta Hawks went home.

The Bulls, who finished 9th in the regular season, set up a meeting with the Heat by beating Atlanta (10th) in the 9-10 game. Miami lost to the Sixers in the game for the #7 seed, but now it will have another chance to keep its title hopes alive.

The two scenarios for the Heat and Bulls tonight

If the Heat beat the Bulls tonight, they will claim the #8 seed in the East to face the Boston Celtics (who finished first in the conference in the regular season) in the first round of the 2023-24 NBA Playoffs. On the other hand, if Miami loses to Chicago tonight, it will be eliminated from playoff contention.

Jimmy Butler #22 of the Miami Heat dribbles against Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers during the second half in Game Six of the 2022 NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference Semifinals at Wells Fargo Center on May 12, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Heat dream of a deep playoff run for the second straight year

The Heat have already been in this situation before, and it wasn’t that long ago. Last year, they claimed a hard-fought win over the Bulls to clinch the #8 seed and last ticket to the playoffs.

Jimmy Butler went on to play with a chip on his shoulder to help his team upset the Milwaukee Bucks in five games en route to an epic trip to the NBA Finals, leaving the New York Knicks and Celtics on the way.

The Denver Nuggets gained the upper hand in the end, but it was still a remarkable run that proved a team coming from the Play-In shouldn’t be underestimated. We’ll have to wait and see if Miami can dream with another deep run this year too.

2024 NBA Playoff Games

East

  • 1 Boston vs No. 8 Seed
  • 2 New York vs #7 Philadelphia
  • 3 Milwaukee vs #6 Indiana
  • 4 Cleveland vs #5 Orlando

West

  • 1 Oklahoma City vs No. 8 Seed
  • 2 Denver vs #7 LA Lakers
  • 3 Minnesota vs #6 Phoenix
  • 4 LA Clippers vs #5 Dallas