NBA Play-In Tournament Delivers With Huge Wins for Blazers and Hornets

The first night of the NBA Play-In Tournament was a huge success.

Not only were fans around the world locked in for a night that featured two excellent games, but it also served as another reminder of why the Play-In has been such a valuable addition to the NBA calendar. It keeps more teams competitive later into the season, creates urgency down the stretch, and gives late-season pushes a real payoff. That was on full display Tuesday night.

The biggest example was Portland. The Trail Blazers spent much of the season hovering around the No. 9 and No. 10 range in the Western Conference, which in older formats likely would have left them on the outside looking in. Instead of bottoming out for draft lottery positioning, Portland stayed in the fight, earned its opportunity with a late push, and made the most of it with a 114-110 win over the Suns to claim the No. 7 seed in the West. The Blazers will now move on to face the San Antonio Spurs in the first round.

Earlier in the night, the Hornets also kept their season alive with a dramatic win over the Heat. That game went to overtime, and Charlotte once again looked like a team that had gained real momentum over the second half of the season. It is another strong example of what the Play-In can do. In a world without it, a team like Charlotte may have had more reason to shift its focus elsewhere late in the year. Instead, the Hornets stayed aggressive, earned the No. 9 seed, and are now one win away from a playoff berth.

Charlotte’s path is still a little longer than Portland’s. The Hornets now move on to face the loser of the Philadelphia 76ers-Orlando Magic game for the No. 8 seed in the East. But that only adds to the larger point. The NBA created a structure that gives more teams a reason to keep pushing, and on Tuesday night, that investment paid off.

It was a big night for the NBA Play-In Tournament, and Portland and Charlotte were the clear winners.