NBA play-in tournament: How does it work? Who will the Raptors face?
The Raptors' opponent for the first game of the play-in tournament is set. Here's what you need to know.
The 2022-23 NBA regular season is rapidly coming to a close, which means the playoffs are right around the corner. But before some teams can punch their tickets to the postseason, they'll have to navigate the play-in tournament.
The Toronto Raptors are one of those teams, as they locked up the ninth seed in the Eastern Conference. That means they'll have to win two games to make it into the official playoff bracket.
How does the NBA play-in tournament work?
The play-in tournament includes the teams that finished between seventh and 10th in each conference. The seventh seed hosts the eighth seed, with the winner advancing to the first round of the playoffs as the No. 7 seed. The loser of that game then hosts the winner of the matchup between the ninth and 10th seeds. The winner of this game advances to the first round of the playoffs as the eighth and final seed, facing the top-ranked team in the conference.
Here's how the Eastern Conference play-in picture looks:
7. Miami Heat
8. Atlanta Hawks
9. Toronto Raptors
10. Chicago Bulls
Who will the Raptors face in the play-in?
The Raptors will host Chicago in their first game of the play-in tournament on April 12 at 7:00 p.m. ET. If they win, they'll advance to play the loser of the game between the Heat and Hawks.
The winner of that game claims the eighth and final playoff spot in the East, and faces the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in the first round.
Head-to-head
Toronto is 1-2 against Atlanta this season, averaging 121.3 points per game and 115.7 points allowed per game.
Toronto is 3-1 against Miami this season, averaging 106.3 points per game and 99.5 points allowed per game.
Toronto is 2-1 against Chicago this season, averaging 104.7 points per game and 104.3 points allowed per game.
