On April 13, Beijing time, the NBA play-offs officially began, when you will be videocast 2 wonderful games, the Seventh Nets in the East and the Eighth Cavaliers meet again, Durant and Irving also hope to lead the team to advance; the Seventh Timberwolves in the West and the Eighth Clippers meet in a narrow road, who can win the two teams? Look at the NBA, just at Tencent Sports, the following is a preview summary (home team is behind).
7:00 Cavaliers vs Nets
Both teams ended the regular season with a 44-38 loss, with the Nets outriding the Cavaliers in seventh place with a 3-1 head-to-head record. It was also the second time the two teams had met in four days, and in the April 9 matchup, the Nets beat the Cavaliers with a 35-19 offensive wave in the final quarter, and Durant scored 36 points in that game.
For the Nets, Ben Simmons will miss the playoffs, Seth Curry, who missed the regular season finale due to ankle pain, will return, and Dragic has also lifted the health and safety agreement to play in this game. Cavaliers starting center Jarrett Allen will miss the play-off because of a finger injury. In terms of game strategy, Durant and Irving are bound to become the focus of the Cavaliers, and other players need to seize the opportunity of the vacant position. On the defensive end, the Nets' interior defense will have some problems, and in that meeting a few days ago, they let the Cavaliers score 60 points in the box.
With the Celtics locked in second place in the East, the ultimate winner of this game will make it to the playoffs as seventh in the East, against the Greens in the first round. The losing side will decide the final place with the winner of the Eagles and Hornets.
9:30 Clippers vs Timberwolves
The Timberwolves finished 46-36 in the regular season, their second win in the last 17 seasons with a winning percentage of more than 50%, and in the final 10 games of the regular season, the Timberwolves lost six games, which made them miss the top six and had to compete for playoff spots through playoffs. The Timberwolves have only made one playoff game since 2004-05, and they want to seize the opportunity this time, and Downs' performance will be key, averaging 24.6 points and 9.8 rebounds per game in the regular season, and Edwards and Russell also need to play their respective roles and play a key role in the playoffs.
Unlike the Timberwolves, who have a three-headed monster, the Clippers will lead the team with a single core due to the lack of Leonard, Paul George, and since the return of the "Bubble Pepper" injury, the Clippers have shown good form in seven games, excellent depth and chemistry, coupled with the on-the-spot scheduling of Lu's guidance, which makes the Clippers extremely resilient.
Four meetings in the regular season, the Timberwolves face the Clippers 1-3, this game also has some grievances, Timberwolves guard Beverley was still playing for the Clippers last season, and he will also show his toughness on the defensive end against his old club this time.
The winner of this game will finish seventh in the West, the first round of the playoffs against the second place Grizzlies, and the losing side will meet the pelicans and Spurs again, and the winner will qualify as eighth.