The 2023/24 National Basketball Association (NBA) regular season concluded last Sunday with a hailstorm of games that saw many teams trying to make the best of the final day.

When the dust settled, the only significant change from the start of the weekend was the Los Angeles Lakers improving to the eighth seed in the Western Conference, dislodging the Sacramento Kings and pushing them to ninth.

The Play-In Tournament began on Tuesday with the Lakers visiting Smoothie King Center to confront the seventh-seeded New Orleans Pelicans, on the same court where they played the last game of the regular season on Sunday night, to seal their seeding. The Lakers, with major contributions from LeBron James (23 points), D’Angelo Russell (21 points, including five 3 pointers), and Anthony Davis (20 points, 15 rebounds), survived a 40-point performance by Zion Williamson to snatch the seventh seed in the Western Conference.

Williamson’s post-season debut was cut short in the final minutes of a very close game as he went to the locker room after tying the game at 95, with 3:19 left to play. With Williamson out, the Lakers rallied to close out the 110-106 win and set up a rematch of last year’s Western Conference Finals with the reigning champion Denver Nuggets. The series kicks off tomorrow evening in Denver and expectations are high. The Nuggets secured victories over the Lakers in the three meetings this season, but while they have been consistent, the Lakers have been surging and this promises fireworks.

The tenth seeded Golden State Warriors travelled to Golden 1 Arena on Tuesday night to oppose the Kings, with both hoping to extend their respective seasons. The first make or break matchup of the post-season ended up being a one-sided affair, with the Kings dishing out some payback to their North California neighbours for ousting them from last year’s play-offs.

Driven by the energy from the home crowd, the Kings built-up a 16-point lead in the second quarter and never looked back. The Warriors did get within one point early in the third quarter, but a 19-5 run by the Kings quelled all hopes of a Golden State threat. Stephen Curry, who scored 50 points in the elimination game against the Kings last year, was under constant pressure and managed only 22 points, and received no assistance from his ‘splash brother’, Klay Thompson, who didn’t score, missing all 10 shots he took.

The Warriors committed 16 turnovers, missed 23 of 33 from the three-point arc and gave up way too many open three pointers. The result meant that Golden State has now been kept out of the play-offs for the third time in five seasons, including being eliminated twice in the Play-In Tournament. Thompson will become a free agent this off-season and it may signal the end of the Warriors as a competitive force.

Sacramento, who broke a 16-season play-off drought last year, had very little time to celebrate their 118-94 payback performance, as they looked toward the matchup this evening in New Orleans against the Pelicans. The Pelicans went 5-0 against the Kings this season and will be looking to go one-better than the 1995/96 Miami Heat who were the last team to go 5-0 against a single opponent in a season (New Jersey Nets).

The Pelicans — Williamson in particular — answered the call against the Lakers on Tuesday night and the pending encounter against the Kings seems exciting on paper, but with Williamson questionable with a reported hamstring issue, a lot of the sting is gone.

In June 2019, the Pelicans traded Anthony Davis to the Lakers in a package deal that included Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball, then a few days later they selected Williamson as the No 1 draft pick. It was an opportunity to start a rebuild with a generational talent, but injury-riddled years have curtailed that plan. Now they enter a pivotal game with the fragility of their centrepiece in question and the uncomfortable position of not knowing if he is healthy enough to play. That said, the Kings should book their ticket to visit the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday afternoon.

On Wednesday, the Eastern Conference entered the fray when the eighth seeded Miami Heat travelled north to Wells Fargo Center to tackle the seventh seeded Philadelphia 76ers.

Wednesday night, the tenth seeded Atlanta Hawks flew to United Center to confront the Chicago Bulls for a win-or-go-home game.

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NBA 2023/24 Champion

Team Odds

Boston Celtics 2.65

Denver Nuggets 4.00

Dallas Mavericks 14.00

Los Angeles Clippers 15.00

Oklahoma City Thunder 15.00

Milwaukee Bucks 16.00

Phoenix Suns 20.00

Philadelphia 76ers 20.00

Minnesota Timberwolves 22.00

Los Angeles Lakers 27.00

*Only Top 10 odds shown (see website for full list)

Note: Odds are subject to change