Western Conference: New Orleans Pelicans (9th seed) vs. San Antonio Spurs (10th seed)
The New Orleans Pelicans were near the bottom of the West for most of the season. A trade for CJ McCollum brought new energy to the Pelicans. Now the team is in ninth place and has a chance to make the playoffs.
In 26 games played with the Pelicans, McCollum averages 24.3 points, 5.8 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. New Orleans should be happy with the trade they made. McCollum is 30 and still has some solid years left in his career.
Along with McCollum, the Pelicans have star talent in Brandon Ingram. He’s missed 27 games this season, but he still averages 22.7 points per game. The Pelicans have a lot of young talent combined with veteran leadership.
The final team out of the West is the San Antonio Spurs, earning the tenth seed in the Play-In Tournament. Head coach Grep Popovich always seems to find a way to get his Spurs in the playoffs, even if it’s just the Play-In. He doesn’t have a championship-caliber team this season, but the Spurs could still make some noise.
San Antonio is led by first-time All-Star, Dejounte Murray. He averages 21.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 9.3 assists per game. He also racks up 2.0 steals as well. No question that Murray carries a heavy load for the Spurs. Every team needs to have that one guy that they can rely on, and that’s Murray for the Spurs.
Other key contributors for the Spurs are Keldon Johnson, who averages 16.9 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Jakob Poeltl scores 13.5 per game and is the Spurs’ best rebounder averaging 9.3 per game.
New Orleans vs. San Antonio is a toss-up, in my opinion. Either team could get hot and win a one-game series. Don’t expect the loser to go down without a fight.
Prediction: San Antonio wins, and plays the loser of the 7 vs. 8, for the eighth and final seed.
NBA Play-In Final Predictions:
East: 7th seed- Brooklyn Nets, 8th seed- Charlotte Hornets
West: 7th seed- Minnesota Timberwolves, 8th seed- LA Clippers