With the 2022-2023 season regular league, which was more competitive than ever before, the play-in tournament to determine the protagonists of the 7th and 8th seeds of the NBA Playoffs was held from the 12th (Korean time). It begins.
It is news that Carl-Anthony Towns (27, 211cm) will not play due to right calf pain in the match against the LA Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves, which are receiving the most attention in this play-in tournament. In fact, Towns was only placed on the disabled list with a calf injury in the last six games of the season, but continued to play. Given the importance of the game, he is likely to play in the play-in tournament against the Lakers as well.
For Minnesota, where the atmosphere in the team is upset due to locker room issues, it is very important whether or not Towns participates. Starting center Rudy Gobert (30, 216cm) and backup center Naz Reed (23, 206cm) confirmed their absence due to disciplinary action and left wrist surgery, respectively, while starting forward Jayden McDaniels (22, 206cm) came down the wall with attention. He suffered a fracture from Chichi and left a large gap in the front court line.
Assuming Towns will play, the matchup between Towns and Anthony Davis (29, 208cm) is also one of the interesting points to watch. Davis, in particular, has struggled with Towns in recent seasons.
In fact, according to NBA.com, in the last six seasons, when Davis was matched up with Towns, the field goal rate was 38.1%, far below the average field goal rate (55.1%) in this section, and the offense had a lot of ups and downs. However, apart from this, the two players are in a tight confrontation with 8 wins and 8 losses in career head-to-head matches. Considering the importance of this match, the two players are expected to engage in a confrontation without concession. For reference, in the regular league match, Minnesota was ahead of the Lakers with 2 wins and 1 loss.
In addition, the confrontation between the Miami Heat and the Atlanta Hawks, which are attracting attention due to the fight of dignity and ambition, is also attracting many people’s attention. Coincidentally, the two teams faced each other in the first round of PO last season. In the confrontation at the time, Miami overwhelmed Atlanta with a series record of 4 wins and 1 loss.
Despite the difficulties of many injuries this season,온라인바카라Miami has achieved better than expected, finishing 7th in the Eastern Conference with 44 wins and 38 losses, centered on Bam Adebayo (25, 206cm) and Tyler Hiro (23, 196cm). Miami is a team that stands out for its veteran players, originally based on Jimmy Butler (33, 201cm) and Kyle Lowry (37, 183cm). When it comes to the playoffs, attention is paid to what kind of performance Butler, the ‘playoff man’, will show.
Attention is focusing on whether Trae Young (24, 185cm), who showed ups and downs in the field this season and showed jagged performance, will be able to regain his pride. Young’s field goal percentage and 3-pointer success rate were 42.9% and 33.5% all season, the lowest field goal percentage and 3-pointer success rate other than his debut season. Moreover, since Young struggled against Miami in the first round of the PO last season, he must be sharpening a knife for revenge. In terms of this season’s opponents, Miami has a clear advantage with 3 wins and 1 loss, and the match between the two teams, which will announce the start of the play-in tournament, will be held at 8:30 am on the 12th at Miami’s home Miami-Dade Arena. [Injury update as of April 12, 7:30 am Korea time]