Part one of the play-in is in the books. How did I do? Pretty good! The only game I missed was the San Antonio/New Orleans match-up. The other three went as I thought they might, and what we have left now is the final phase of this opening round. Contest number one pits the Eastern Conference #8 Cleveland vs. #9 Atlanta. Although the Cavs were slightly better in terms of record, power ranking, and point differential during the season thus far, I think I’ll lean towards the experience Atlanta gained last year in their run to the Conference Finals. Yes, they took a step back this year, but they also have the player most likely to take over a game in Trae Young. My pick is Atlanta.

In the Western Conference, it’s the #8 L.A. Clippers vs. # 9 New Orleans. Both teams are missing key pieces, with Kawhi Leonard looking unlikely to play for the Clips and Zion Williamson still not game ready for N.O. The Pelicans added veteran sharpshooter C.J. McCollum during the year to help make up for their missing star . At the time of the trade, the Pels were 22-32. Since then, a slightly improved 14-14. I think having two #1 scoring options in McCollum and Brandon Ingram may give them a slight edge over the currently very Paul George dependent Clippers. As a Detroit fan, I’ve learned that depending on current #2 option for the Clippers Reggie Jackson is not ideal. I’ll go with another upset here and pick New Orleans.

We’ll be back with full first round predictions after these games are decided.