The play-in games are set, as NBA looks to the postseason

It lasted 174 consecutive days, required the use of more players than any previous season, was characterized by the ongoing challenge of playing through an epidemic, and saw playoff-positioning chases down to the final seconds.

Move on, regular season.

The NBA’s postseason is finally here.

Kyrie Irving can now play at home again after a change of heart regarding vaccination rules made a few weeks back by the city. This will have an immediate impact on the race for the NBA championship. Irving and the Brooklyn Nets beat the Indiana Pacers by 134-126 on Sunday. On Tuesday night, they will host the first play in game of the tournament.

This matchup was not scheduled until Sunday. The same goes for the Eastern Conference play-in matchup, No. No. 9 Atlanta will host No. 10 Charlotte on Wednesday evening. The Nets-Cavaliers winner will play the loser on Friday to determine who will face No. 1 Miami in an East series.

The Nets-Cavaliers winner is seeded No. 7 and will face Boston in the first round. The No. The Celtics secured the No. 2 seed with a win at Memphis and a loss to Cleveland.

Charlotte will be without forward Gordon Hayward. The team announced Sunday that Hayward was not available. “out indefinitely with continued discomfort in his left foot.”Hayward’s foot is going to be kept in a cast at least for two weeks. If the Hornets win in the play in tournament twice and make it into the postseason, Hayward will likely miss most or all of Round 1.

MATCHUPS WITH OTHERS

The No. 1 seed will go to Milwaukee, the defending NBA champion. 3 in the East, and will play No. 6 Chicago in a series of first-round matches. Fourth-seeded Philadelphia will meet fifth-seeded Toronto, in an East matchup.

Golden State won the West’s No. 3 seed and will be facing No. Round 1. 6 Denver Dallas, which lost Luka Docic to a strain in his calf Sunday, will play No. 5 Utah in a second West-based first-round series.

TITLE OF SCORING

Joel Embiid, Philadelphia’s scoring champion is averaging 30.6 point per game. He was not able to attend the 76ers’ final Sunday game, but he did not need it for statistical reasons.

Cameroon’s Embiid is the first international player to win this title. Embiid is also first centre to win scoring crown since Shaquille Oleal 1999-2000.

ONE LAST ROUTE

The Los Angeles Clippers defeated Oklahoma City by 138-88 on Sunday. It was the fourth NBA match decided by at minimum 50 points this season, a league record.

RACE TO82

Only five players were able to play Sunday and participate in all 82 regular season games with their teams this season: Phoenix’s Mikal bridges, Detroit’s Saddiq Bety, Washington’s Denia Avdija and Dallas’ Dwight Powell, and the Warriors’ Kevon Loyola.

They all appeared in games on Sunday, completing the 82 game quest.

Only five players reached 82, which was the lowest number of NBA players to ever have played in every game for a full season.

11 players participated in all 72 games during the last season, which was cut short by the pandemic. There were 14 every-game participants in 2019-20. Teams played different numbers of games due to the pandemic. Not all teams made it to the restart bubble at Lake Buena Vista in Florida.