The 2022-23 regular season is coming to a close and four of its eight games are set to be in the first round. The other four will, of course, be decided by the play cycle as the top two seeds in each conference (the Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies in the West, and the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics in the East) wait to see who they draw.
Gameplay reminder: No. 7 plays No. 8 and No. 9 plays No. 10. The winner of the 7-8 game gets the No. 7 seed, while the loser-winner of the 9-10 game plays the No. 8 seed.
Below, you’ll find our staff picks for the first round of play-by-play games as well as the elimination game for the No. 8 seed.
date: Tuesday 11 April | time: 7:30 p.m. ET | TV and live broadcast: TNT
date: Tuesday 11 April | time: 10pm ET | TV and live broadcast: TNT
Featured game | Los Angeles Lakers vs Minnesota Timberwolves
date: Wed 12 Apr | time: 7 p.m. ET | TV and live broadcast: ESPN
Featured game | Toronto Raptors vs Chicago Bulls
date: Wed 12 Apr | time: 9:30 p.m. ET | TV and live broadcast: ESPN
Featured game | New Orleans Pelicans vs Oklahoma City Thunder
8th seed in play (East)
Bill Reiter: Bulls over hawks
Brad Botkin: Hawks over birds of prey
James Herbert: Hawks over birds of prey
Colin Ward Henninger: Birds of Prey over Hawks
Sam Quinn: Heating over birds of prey
Jasmine Wimpish: Hawks over bulls
Jack Maloney: Bulls over hawks
Michael Caskey Blumen: Hawks over bulls
8th seed (West)
Bill Reiter: Timberwolves over thunder
Brad Botkin: swans over wolves
James Herbert: Timberwolves over thunder
Colin Ward Henninger: swans over wolves
Sam Quinn: Thunder over the Timberwolves
Jasmine Wimpish: Thunder over the Timberwolves
Jack Maloney: swans over wolves
Michael Caskey Blumen: Timberwolves over thunder
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