The NBA play-in tournament begins Tuesday, featuring two of the game’s biggest stars each fighting to secure a spot in the first round.
Before LeBron James’ Los Angeles Lakers take on the New Orleans Pelicans and Stephen Curry’s Golden State Warriors face the Sacramento Kings, our NBA experts are making their picks for the play-in games, including Wednesday’s Miami Heat-Philadelphia 76ers and Chicago Bulls-Atlanta Hawks showdowns in the Eastern Conference.
MORE: 20-team preview | Playoff news, schedules and results
Los Angeles Lakers (8) at New Orleans Pelicans (7)
Kendra Andrews: Lakers
Jerry Bembry: Lakers
Jamal Collier: Lakers
Israel Gutierrez: Pelicans
Chris Herring: Lakers
Tim Legler: Pelicans
Tim MacMahon: Lakers
Bobby Marks: Lakers
Dave McMenamin: Lakers
Kevin Pelton: Pelicans
Jorge Sedano: Lakers
André Snellings: Lakers
Marc J. Spears: Lakers
Ohm Youngmisuk: Lakers
Final tally: Lakers 11, Pelicans 3.
Golden State Warriors (10) at Sacramento Kings (9)
Kendra Andrews: Warriors
Jerry Bembry: Warriors
Jamal Collier: Warriors
Israel Gutierrez: Warriors
Chris Herring: Warriors
Tim Legler: Warriors
Andrew Lopez: Kings
Tim MacMahon: Warriors
Bobby Marks: Warriors
Dave McMenamin: Warriors
Kevin Pelton: Warriors
Jorge Sedano: Warriors
André Snellings: Warriors
Marc J. Spears: Warriors
Ohm Youngmisuk: Warriors
Final tally: Warriors 14, Kings 1.
Miami Heat (8) at Philadelphia 76ers (7)
Kendra Andrews: 76ers
Jerry Bembry: 76ers
Jamal Collier: 76ers
Israel Gutierrez: Heat
Chris Herring: 76ers
Tim Legler: 76ers
Andrew Lopez: 76ers
Tim MacMahon: 76ers
Bobby Marks: Heat
Dave McMenamin: 76ers
Kevin Pelton: 76ers
Jorge Sedano: Heat
André Snellings: 76ers
Marc J. Spears: 76ers
Ohm Youngmisuk: 76ers
Final tally: 76ers 12, Heat 3.
Atlanta Hawks (10) at Chicago Bulls (9)
Kendra Andrews: Bulls
Jerry Bembry: Bulls
Jamal Collier: Bulls
Israel Gutierrez: Bulls
Chris Herring: Bulls
Andrew Lopez: Bulls
Tim Legler: Bulls
Tim MacMahon: Bulls
Bobby Marks: Bulls
Dave McMenamin: Bulls
Kevin Pelton: Bulls
Jorge Sedano: Bulls
André Snellings: Bulls
Marc J. Spears: Bulls
Ohm Youngmisuk: Bulls
Final tally: Bulls 15, Hawks 0.
