The 2022-23 NBA regular season is a wrap. But before the Association’s postseason officially gets underway, the 2023 NBA Play-In Tournament will again determine the final seeds in each conference. The tournament, which promises to be exciting, runs from April 11-14.
2023 NBA Play-In Tournament: Evaluating The Teams Strengths and Weaknesses
2023 NBA Play-In Tournament Schedule
Tuesday Night
Eastern Conference: No. 8 Atlanta Hawks at No. 7 Miami Heat, 7:30 p.m. (ET)
Western Conference: No. 8 Minnesota Timberwolves at No. 7 Los Angeles Lakers 10 p.m. (ET)
Wednesday Night
East: No. 10 Chicago Bulls at No. 9 Toronto Raptors, 7 p.m. (ET)
West: No. 10 Oklahoma City Thunder at No. 9 New Orleans Pelicans 9:30 p.m. (ET)
Friday Night
East: Winner of Chicago/Toronto at Loser of Atlanta/Miami
West: Winner of OKC/NO at Loser of Min/LAL
Play-In Tournament Rankings
No. 1 Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers are the most talented team in the 2023 NBA Play-In Tournament, featuring LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The Lakers are also playing the best of the eight teams, having posted the second-best post-all-star break record at 16-7. They are also finally healthy. Los Angeles has used 39 different starting lineups.
A big reason for the Lakers’ improvement is their re-dedication to the defensive end. The Lakers registered the fourth-best defensive ranking at 111.4 points over the final 23 games. They also have one of the best frontcourt and benches.
The team’s other strengths are rebounding, getting to the free throw line, offensive transition, and not fouling. Their frontcourt and bench are also a strength.
The Lakers’ weaknesses are 3-point shooting, free-throw shooting, defending the paint, and transition defense. Their backcourt is also a cause for concern.
No. 2 Miami Heat
Miami has been one of the biggest enigmas all season. The Heat, a top-10 defensive team, ranks second in scoring defense and last in scoring offense, heading into the NBA Play-In Tournament. They play well at home and win close games, earning an NBA-high 14 victories in games decided by three or fewer points. Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, and Bam Adebayo lead the way.
We've had plenty of matchups with Atlanta, but this one is different.
With 1 win needed to qualify for the playoffs @CoupNBA has things in this week's Notebook you should know about both teams ahead of tomorrow night's play-in game.
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) April 10, 2023
Strengths: Shooting Guard, Center, and Power Forward. Protecting the ball, not fouling, and defensive rebounding. Forcing turnovers, transition defense, and guarding the paint are other strengths.
Weaknesses: Point Guard and Small Forward. Their main weaknesses are the bench, shooting, 3-point shooting, and transition offense. Meanwhile, guarding the 3-point line is another area of concern.
No. 3 Minnesota Timberwolves
Minnesota would be fighting for the top spot in the NBA Play-In Tournament rankings, but there are questions surrounding the Timberwolves’ chemistry after Sunday’s fiasco. Rudy Gobert will sit out the Lakers contest, while Jaden McDaniels is out for the foreseeable future with a fractured hand.
Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert isn’t traveling with team to LA and won’t play vs. the Lakers on Tuesday in the Play-In tournament, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/Gey3twxchn
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 10, 2023
The T-Wolves still have Anthony Edwards, who produced a career year, and Karl-Anthony Towns. The good news is that the Wolves are arguably better without Gobert.
The Wolves are an outstanding shooting team, particularly from deep, where they averaged nearly 13 treys a game at a 39% clip since the all-star break. The Wolves are also deep and an excellent passing team overall. Rim protection and forcing turnovers are other strengths.
Free throw shooting and offensive rebounding are the Wolves’ biggest weaknesses. Defending the 3-point line and turnovers are also an issue. Point guard and small forward are positional areas of concern.
N0. 4 Toronto Raptors
Toronto has been up and down all season long. The Raptors have been very good at home but have also been extremely bad on the road. They are also just 4-10 in games decided by three points or less. However, the Raptors have played better with Jakob Poeltl in the lineup, winning 15 of 26 games.
Strengths: Protecting the ball, rim-protection, not fouling, offensive rebounding, forcing turnovers, and offensive transition. Starting lineup, power forward, and small forward.
League leader in steals 👏 pic.twitter.com/Fnlu6AJaYo
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) April 10, 2023
Weaknesses: Shooting (FG%, 3-point shooting, and free-throw shooting), transition defense, and 3-point defense. Bench and point guard.
No. 5 New Orleans Pelicans
New Orleans is a surprise NBA Play-In Tournament participant as Zion Williamson has missed most of the year, and Brandon Ingram has played in a little more than 50% of the Pelicans’ games. The Pelicans are this high due to the Timberwolves’ recent issues.
Historic season for @treymurphy 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/9zxEEHAbTM
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) April 10, 2023
The Pelicans are one of the best home teams in the Association. The Pels also are ranked sixth in the league defensively, but they struggle on the road. It would be a huge surprise if they advanced past the tournament.
Strengths: Shooting (FG%, FT shooting, 3-point shooting), rebounding, defending the 3-point line, and creating turnovers. Depth and frontcourt.
Weaknesses: Turnovers, fouling, and transition defense. Point Guard.
No. 6 Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks were expected to be one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference after acquiring Dejounte Murray to play alongside Trae Young. The Hawks are one of the best offensive teams in the league, but they have struggled on the defensive end all season.
Strengths: Field goal percentage, free throw percentage, limiting turnovers, not fouling, offensive rebounding, and defending the 3-point line.
Weaknesses: 3-point shooting, getting to the free-throw line, defending the paint, and transition defense. Power forward.
No. 7 Chicago Bulls
Thanks to their late run, Chicago earned the last spot in the Eastern Conference Play-In spot. The Bulls went 14-9 post-all-star break. Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Jonas Valaciunas lead the way and are among the top players at their respective positions. The Bulls rank at the bottom of the league in offensive efficiency. However, they are fifth in defensive efficiency.
Strengths: Defensive rebounding, field goal percentage, free throw shooting, ball-handling, forcing turnovers, defensive transition, and protecting the paint.
Weaknesses: Offensive rebounding and 3-point shooting. Point guard and power forward.
Oklahoma City Thunder
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has the Thunder in a position to secure their first playoff appearance in three years. The young Thunder are the surprise of the NBA Play-In Tournament.
Strengths: Backcourt. Free throw shooting, ball-handling, offensive rebounding, drawing fouls, transition offense, and forcing turnovers.
Weaknesses: Center, power forward, and small forward. Field goal percentage, defensive rebounding, defending the three-point line, fouling, and transition defense.
