thelesterlee
The 2025 NBA Play-In Tournament begins this week.
After losing in OT to the Los Angeles Clippers in the final game of the season, the Golden State Warriors have to fight for their lives against a Memphis Grizzlies team, throwing grenades into the bleachers, having the time of their life playing without a coach.
The offensively challenged Orlando Magic, a team poised for the top of the East standings before an avalanche of brutal injuries turned them into slow, methodical losers, clinging to a 7th seed that an Atlanta Hawks team with similar injury woes wants to rid them of.
Jimmy Butler and Zach LaVine, play-in game All-Stars, have finally found new homes elsewhere but the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls remain destined to compete for a chance to compete for a chance to compete in the actual playoffs.
Nico Harrison, walking into arenas surrounded by armed Storm Troopers protecting him from rebel scum, as the Mavericks take on a Sacramento Kings team that decided to become the West Coast Chicago Bulls halfway through the year.
I love the play-in. The most delapotated, hardly adequate, barely functioning teams shed blood, sweat and tears, to be blessed with the fortune of being swept by the 1 seed.
Don’t let the no-fun-havers convince you the play-in is dumb. I love seeing average basketball teams murder each other in high-stakes games with all eyes watching, to maybe, juuuuust maybe, steal a game or two away from a far superior basketball club.
It is the food chain operating in live action. Kill or be killed.
Here are some of my favorite storylines going into my favorite week of the year:
1. Does Anthony Davis want this?
When Luka Doncic returned to Dallas to drop a farewell 45 points in front of an arena full of victims—I could not take my eye off Anthony Davis. His meager, timid, almost scared play was alarming.
The Lakers were doubling him whenever he touched the ball—physically dominating Davis on that end of the floor only for Davis to jog back on D without any semblance of aggressiveness.
Shouldn’t he have a chip on his shoulder? LeBron was cutting to the basket—daring AD to contest him at the rim—and Davis wouldn’t even make an effort.
Now, Davis followed this up with a 23-point triple-double—along with 7 blocks, against the Toronto Raptors—but that’s kind of the problem.
Anthony Davis can’t turn into an MVP against teams preparing for the Draft while quietly backing into a bush like Homer Simpson when the opponents are actually trying and the games matter most.
I know the Mavericks season ended when Kyrie Irving tore his ACL but the Mavs front office bet on Anthony Davis to be as big of a difference maker as Luka Doncic was. They even let him play with centers because even though he’s basically a 7-footer, he’s convinced himself his services require the presence of another 7-footer.
So you’re healthy. You have Dereck Lively and Daniel Gafford. Do you want to win championships or nah?
2. Can Zach Edey stay on the floor?
Since firing their head coach, Taylor Jenkins—who led them to the playoffs 4 of his 6 years with the team (including this year), in the midst of a global economic crisis—7-foot-4 Zach Edey—the biggest guy on the floor, whenever’s on the floor—is far more involved in this Grizzlies offense.
Since Jenkins was handed a brochure for info on the local soup kitchen, Zach Edey’s on-ball screens have jumped up to 17.6 per game—more than double what they were prior to Taylor Jenkins drinking his own piss live streaming on Dumdummies.
Memphis’s personnel is iso-heavy. Everyone’s responsibilities are eased by an 8-footer shaving their defender off them like a left guard opening holes for Saquon Barkley.
But Edey finished 5th in fouls per 36.
I hate foul trouble. I never understand how coaches allow their best players to sit out entire quarters because they have one more foul than they should. Sitting players out long stretches because they might foul out is damn near the same as them fouling out. They’re not on the court in either scenario. Who cares?
But coaches care.
Sure.
So Zach Edey can’t pick up two quick fouls wrestling with Draymond Green or tapping Steph Curry on the elbow after he blows past Ja.
Golden State can’t compete with Memphis’s size. The Warriors are in the 2025 NBA Play-in Tournament because Ivica Zubac had them in shackles.
The Grizzlies need Edey to contest cautiously. Especially considering his frontcourt partner, Jaren Jackson Jr, led the entire NBA in total personal fouls.
Santi Aldama playing major minutes at the 5 is a good way to start your summer vacation early.
3. Can Josh Giddey shoot?
Last time we saw Josh Giddey in a playoff series, he shot 3-for-16 (18%) from 3, as the Dallas Mavericks had a 5-on-4 advantage whenever Giddey was on the floor. His inability to matter kept his courtside folding chair occupied.
But Josh found new life in Chicago, away from his fav local Oklahoma high school, having the best season of his career and finally molding into the exciting young prospect he appeared to be coming into the NBA.
A role player amongst a roster full of them has transformed himself into a foundation piece of a Chicago Bulls team that may be in the play-in game again but fans should be far more excited about their future with Giddey and Matas Buzelis than in previous seasons with Zach LaVine half-assing it.
Since March 1st, the Bulls are 9-1 in games Giddey shoots 33% or higher from 3. The Bulls have the second-fastest offense in the NBA.
Josh Giddey dominates in these play-in games and you’ll start hearing him in the ‘best point guard’ discussions instead of the ‘stop loitering outside of the mall” discussion.
I was going to make this list longer but I can only pretend to analyze the 2025 NBA Play-In Tournament. I’ll have more to say when the real playoffs start.
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