The flamboyant parquet floors will dazzle hoop fans once again as the NBA In-Season Tournament reaches the quarterfinals. The last eight teams championed hard-fought battles in the group stages and have earned their rightful place to advance to the next round. But they’re not out of the woods just yet as the level of competition only gets tougher as the tournament progresses.
New and old rivalries will set the stage for what will surely be a riveting single-elimination knockout round. The Celtics, Pacers, Pelicans, Kings, Knicks, Bucks, Suns, and Lakers are the only teams left. Already covered in battle scars, they continue their bid to become the first ever In-Season Tournament champions.
Boston Celtics @ Indiana Pacers
The Celtics and the Pacers will be the first to take a crack at it. The Pacers, led by tournament MVP favourite Tyrese Haliburton, dominated East Group A by going 4-0 in round-robin play and were one of the first teams to clinch a spot in the quarterfinals.
Haliburton has been playing out of his mind this season, averaging 27 points, 3.6 rebounds, 11.8 assists, and 1.1 steals, shooting .532 from the field. The Iowa State product is the tip of the spear for Rick Carlisle’s system and has been one of the best floor generals in the league this season.
Unfortunately for the Pacers, Haliburton is currently tending to a bone bruise in his knee and has already missed their game against the Miami Heat. For now, the 23-year-old is considered questionable for their matchup against the Boston Celtics and is listed as day-to-day going forward.
This will be a tough blow for the Pacers if Halliburton does miss their quarterfinals matchup, especially considering they are going up against the NBA 2023 odds favourites, the Boston Celtics.
This brings a great advantage to Jayson Tatum and the rest of the Celtics, who, in this SBOTOP writer’s opinion, are currently the best team in the entire league. Tatum, the top dog in Boston, has been sturdy all season, averaging 27.5 points, 8.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.1 steals, and 3.1 3PTM shooting .499 from the field.
The only scare for the Boston Celtics is their health. With offseason acquisition Kristaps Porzingis already missing three straight games, expect to see more of their lengthy wings crashing the boards.
New Orleans Pelicans @ Sacramento Kings
Speaking of health being their only scare, the Pelicans have taken strides this season with a healthy Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram. Being the only club remaining in the tournament that didn’t make the playoffs the previous season, the New Orleans Pelicans are viewed by many as the dark horse heading into the knockout stages.
It helps their cause that their veteran combo guard, CJ McCollum, has recently returned to the court after sitting out since the first week of November due to a lung injury. He helped the Pelicans humble Embiid and the 76ers last week and already played 38 minutes against the Spurs. He sat out against the Bulls, but that may be just a precaution for their quarterfinal matchup against the Kings.
Meanwhile, the beam may be lit as early as December as the Sacramento Kings edged out the top team in the Western Conference, the Minnesota Timberwolves, and survived 29-point performances by the Warriors’ Steph Curry and Andrew Wiggins to advance to the knockout stages.
De’Aaron Fox has been balling ever since coming back from injury. The Kentucky standout is a walking bucket for the Sacramento Kings, averaging 30.7 points while still dishing out 5.8 assists and grabbing 4.8 rebounds as well. Fox and big man Domantas Sabonis have been the main catalysts for the Kings, and with Malik Monk as a reliable third option, the Sacramento Kings are certainly a team to watch in the In-Season tournament and in the regular season to boot.
New York Knicks @ Milwaukee Bucks
Starting off the second pair of quarterfinal games are the New York Knicks and the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum. The Dame & Giannis pick and roll has been the bread and butter for the Bucks in the early parts of the season, and the doubts over Lillard’s fit in Milwaukee have now vanished into thin air.
Night in and night out, Milwaukee’s dynamic duo has been producing NBA 2023 highlights that would leave even rival fans in awe. Together with proven wing Kris Middleton and big man Brook Lopez, the Bucks could and should fit the bill of being Boston’s rivals in the Eastern Conference.
The Bucks are currently 14-6 this season, only third to the Celtics and the steamrolling Magic. Giannis and Lillard lead the team in scoring with 29.8 and 25.5 points, respectively, while the Greek Freak is the sole leader in rebounds with 10.8 and steals with 1.3 a game. Meanwhile, their defencive anchor, Brook Lopez, leads the team in blocks with 2.7.
Kris Middleton is still slowly but surely getting back to his previous form, as his numbers have considerably dipped this season, but he might have a hard time getting his groove back against a Tom Thibodeau-led Knicks team.
The Knicks currently have the third-best defencive rating in the league with 109.0, behind only the Boston Celtics and the Minnesota Timberwolves. And they plan to put it on full display against a Bucks team with multiple sources of firepower in their arsenal.
Phoenix Suns @ Los Angeles Lakers
Man oh man, where do I start? This, by far, is the marquee matchup of the quarterfinals. The last time the basketball world was spoiled by a Kevin Durant-LeBron James clash of this magnitude was back in the 2019 finals, when LeBron was still playing for the city of Cleveland and Durant was dominating the league with Steph, Klay, Dray, and the rest of Golden State.
This time, LeBron will face Durant donning purple and gold. Now in his 21st season in the league, the King once again bested father time by averaging 24.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.4 steals, shooting .559 from the field, and is still a freight train in the open court. Mama, there goes that man.
With his running mate Anthony Davis being able to stay relatively healthy and guys like Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell balling like they are this season, the Lakers seem to be poised for another deep playoff run and are also convincing contenders to win the In-Season Tournament.
The Lakers, though, have a tall order, as they need to get past Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and the rest of the Phoenix Suns in order to advance in the tournament. KD, like LeBron, is one of the greatest basketball players to ever step on the court, and their longevity at their peak is a marvel to behold. Durant, now 35 years old, is still one of the coldest bucket-getters in the entire NBA. This year, the Suns forward has been scorching the league with 31 points per game while having 50-49-90 shooting splits.In the absence of Bradley Beal, All-Star guard Devin Booker has been taking on the responsibility of being the floor general for the Suns, and he’s doing a stellar job at it, averaging 27 points, 5.4 rebounds, 8.5 assists, and 2.0 3PTM. Even shorthanded, the Suns are a tough matchup for any team in the NBA, even for LeBron and the Lakers.
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