Plus, betting picks, updated playoff matchups and fantasy football buy or sell.
Tuesday’s play-in games were truly a treat.
The Cavaliers-Nets and Clippers-Timberwolves games weren’t win-or-go-home games but they did have the feel of a playoff atmosphere and Brooklyn and Minnesota celebrated accordingly.
The winners of tonight’s play-in games advance for the opportunity to vie for the eighth playoff spots Friday while the losers’ seasons are over, so the stakes are even higher.
See how you should bet Hornets-Hawks and Spurs-Pelicans, the updated NBA playoff matchups and schedules and more.
Play-In, Playoff Preview
The Clippers await the winner of the San Antonio-New Orleans game after L.A. lost Tuesday night. And the Cavaliers will play the victor between Charlotte and Atlanta after Cleveland could not rally in Brooklyn.
There’s less star power overall across the Wednesday night slate, though a Trae Young vs. LaMelo Ball head-to-head could shape out to be rather entertaining and this very well could be Greg Poppovich’s last game if the Spurs lose on the road.
7 p.m. ET (ESPN): Hornets vs. Hawks (-5.5)
Eastern Conference Play-In Preview | Charlotte-Atlanta Bets
9:30 p.m. (ESPN): Spurs vs. Pelicans (-5.5)
Western Conference Play-In Preview | San Antonio-New Orleans Bets
Hakim Wright Sr./AP
The playoff picture is almost complete, aside from the eighth seed in each conference, but Tuesday’s results set the 2-7 matchup in the East and West and both matchups will be appointment TV.
No. 2 Boston vs. No. 7 Brooklyn: These teams met in the playoffs last year and the Nets won in five. That series included former-Celtic Kyrie Irving stomping on the logo at midcourt. Now, the heated rematch is on with Brooklyn fans already clamoring for the C’s with “We want Boston” chants raining down at Barclays Center, and Bruce Brown threw gas on the fire with his postgame comments about the Celtics’ defense.
No. 2 Memphis vs. No. 7 Minnesota: Timberwolves agitator-in-chief Patrick Beverly had a short-lived stay with the Grizzlies, who shipped him off to his current team. So there’s an added angle to what should be a heated series with Ja Morant and Anthony Edwards, two of the best young players in the game, duking it out for (hopefully) seven games.
Click here for the entire NBA playoff schedule.
Fantasy Football Never Stops
The NFL draft is 15 days away. It’s a weak quarterback class, a point that’s been beaten into the ground so hard already that the class is almost becoming underrated.
Shawn Childs broke down the five incoming rookie quarterbacks who might be fantasy relevant in Year 1. Matt De Lima threw some cold water on each and offered comparison. The best-case for one of the five was Mac Jones, who took the Patriots to the playoffs but didn’t do much in the way of fantasy football, or Trey Lance, who we didn’t see much of this past season.
Kendall Warner/AP
Liberty quarterback Malik Willis (-200) has emerged as a heavy favorite to be the first signal caller off the board even though he’s still regarded as very raw and played at a non-Power Five level. Kenny Pickett (+140) has the second-best odds to be QB1 and Matt Corral, Desmond Ridder and Sam Howell are all extreme long shots.
And before the NFL draft and the ensuing rookie draft, De Lima has dynasty buy and sell lists for running backs and quarterbacks with receiver and tight end breakdowns to come.
Is Cam Akers a buy candidate a year after his Achilles tear? How about Chase Edmonds in the Dolphins’ offense? And should you be out on the Lance experience in San Francisco? Or Matt Ryan in his first year in Indy?
De Lima has the answers.
In Other News
NFL Pre-Draft Team Needs: Every team still has holes to fill, and some have more draft capital than others to address those needs. See which position(s) all 32 teams are still looking to fill.
Inside the Mind of Juan Soto: Tom Verducci wrote about the Nationals’ 22-year-old phenom who's “the greatest hitting prodigy since Ted Williams.” Find out how Soto became a genius at the plate.
That's all for today. Thanks for reading Winners Club. I'll be back Friday.