NBA Play-In Tournament predictions: Expert picks, odds for Hornets vs. Heat, Suns vs. Blazers and more

Getty Images

The 2026 NBA postseason arrives Tuesday night with the first two games in the Play-In Tournament. In the East, the Hornets and Heat will battle for a chance to play for the No. 8 seed. The winner will face either the Magic or 76ers on Friday, while the loser is eliminated and heads to the NBA Draft Lottery. In the West, the No. 7 seed is on the line Tuesday as the Suns host the Trail Blazers.

The winner of Suns-Blazers moves on to face Victor Wembanyama and the second-seeded Spurs in the first round. The loser will play either the Clippers or Warriors for the No. 8 seed on Friday night.

Here's a full look at the Play-In Tournament schedule.

Play-In Tournament schedule

All play-in games are streaming on Prime

Tuesday, April 14

• No. 9 Hornets vs. No. 10 Heat, 7:30 p.m. ET -- Loser is eliminated from postseason
• No. 7 Suns vs. No. 8 Trail Blazers, 10 p.m. ET -- Winner gets West No. 7 seed

Wednesday, April 15

• No. 7 76ers vs. No. 8 Magic, 7:30 p.m. ET -- Winner gets East No. 7 seed
• No. 9 Clippers vs. No. 10 Warriors, 10 p.m. ET -- Loser is eliminated from postseason

Friday, April 17

• 76ers/Magic vs. Hornets/Heat, 7:30 p.m. ET -- Winner gets East No. 8 seed, loser is eliminated from postseason
• Suns/Trail Blazers vs. Clippers/Warriors, 10 p.m. ET -- Winner gets West No. 8 seed, loser is eliminated from postseason

And here are our staff picks for all six of the play-in games.

Play-In Tournament predictions

Odds via FanDuel

Hornets vs. Heat

Odds: Hornets -6, O/U: 229.5

Botkin: Throw out the first couple months of the season, and Charlotte has been one of the better teams in the league. The Miami Heat... have not. It's one-and-done, so anything can happen, but the Hornets are just a better team. It would be devastating if the Heat won, to be honest. We need this Charlotte team in the playoffs

**Gonzalez:**One team is playing pretty well right now, and the other team is Miami. The Heat lost 10 of their last 15 games to close the regular season. Meanwhile, the Hornets have been one of the hotter teams in the league since the All-Star Break. Over that period, Charlotte is second in offensive rating and seventh in defensive rating.

Herbert: It's kind of crazy that Charlotte is in the play-in, given that it played at an elite level for most of the season. Crazy stuff can happen in a win-or-go-home scenario, but I trust the Hornets here.

Maloney: Since Jan. 1, the Hornets have the fifth-best record in the league (33-16), the best offensive rating (120.7) and the best net rating (plus-10.5). The Heat, meanwhile, have lost 10 of their last 15 games.

Quinn: The Hornets started the season 4-14 and have been among the best teams in the NBA ever since. The Heat didn't exactly close the season on a high note. Their legendary organizational stability and culture can only take you so far when the most fun offense in the NBA starts raining 3s.

Wimbish: If you just take the last few months of the regular season, the Hornets have been one of the best teams in the league. We've heard a lot about their high-powered offense thanks to the trio of LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel.

Suns vs. Trail Blazers

Odds: Suns -3, O/U: 217.5

Botkin: Portland finished the season winning 10 of its last 14 games. Shaedon Sharpe is back, and everyone is healthy. This is a coin flip, but I'm going with the Blazers if only because I think it's more important that they experience the playoffs with this young core and I'm willing it to happen.

Gonzalez: Two teams that exceeded expectations this season. Aside from Mat Ishbia, there weren't many people hyping up this Suns team after they won just 36 games a year ago and then shipped out Kevin Durant. The Blazers are also playing with house money. Replacing their coach due to a gambling investigation should have sunk them. Instead, they have a chance to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2021.

Herbert: Tough one. Portland's defense is awesome, and this could be a real rock fight. When in doubt, go with the home team.

Maloney: The Blazers won 10 of their last 15 games and closed the season in much better form than the Suns, but this game is in Phoenix and the Suns have the best player in Devin Booker. Perhaps I'm leaning too much on home-court advantage here, but the Suns were 25-16 at home and the Blazers were 18-23 on the road.

Quinn: Portland finally rediscovered its defense in the second half of the season. This is the version of the team we've been waiting for all season: several ball-handlers, lots of speed, suffocating defense. They're not perfect, and their shooting will come back to bite them in an actual series, but right now, they're just playing better than the Suns are.

Wimbish: Who would've thought Dillon Brooks would be a non-All-Star All-Star this season? Portland's defense is tough, and I feel like it's going to be a close one, but I have more faith in Devin Booker than anyone on the Trail Blazers to deliver in the clutch.

76ers vs. Magic

Odds: 76ers -1.5, O/U: 221.5

Botkin: The Magic are a way better team than this position indicates. If Franz Wagner was completely healthy I would have no doubt about this, but he's not fully back. Still, in a one-game setting, I'll take the Magic with everyone in the lineup over the Sixers without Joel Embiid.

Gonzalez: As a veteran observer of countless Sixers campaigns, you can almost always count on the dumbest/most painful outcome. The Sixers owe a top-four protected pick to OKC. Instead of throwing themselves on the mercy of the lottery gods and hoping to get lucky for a second straight draft, they'll no doubt win this game without Joel Embiid -- then get embarrassed by the Celtics in the playoffs. Again.

Herbert: This matchup bums me out for a bunch of obvious reasons. I thought Orlando was going to be awesome this season, and I was so, so wrong. It's hard for me to justify picking the Magic to win this one after what they did against the Celtics' backups in their regular-season finale.

Maloney: Neither team has been playing inspiring basketball lately and both have health concerns. Joel Embiid's absence due to a recent emergency appendectomy (he truly has the worst luck of any star player in the league) should swing the game in the Magic's favor.

Quinn: The Magic lost a real game by 52 points like two weeks ago. They just lost a game with real stakes to Boston's C-Team. They broke Indiana's 16-game losing streak. I don't care if Joel Embiid is out. The 76ers have gutted through absences all year. It's felt like the Magic have been sleepwalking through the last month or so. I just don't trust them to rise the postseason occasion.

Wimbish: Even without Joel Embiid I'm still picking the Sixers. Orlando has been perhaps the most disappointing team this season and the Sixers have other players who can pick up the slack without Embiid.

Clippers vs. Warriors

Odds: Clippers -5, O/U: 220.5

Botkin: Stephen Curry is on a minutes restriction in a do-or-die game. That tells me all I need to know. The Warriors don't care about winning this game and I think secretly they want to lose it. Which is smart. Get the lottey pick.

Gonzalez: This is a put-them-out-of-their-misery game for the Warriors. Their season ended when Jimmy Butler blew out his ACL.

Herbert: If Stephen Curry were fully back in the swing of things and ready to play 40-plus minutes, I might feel differently about this one. As it stands, though, the Clippers are the better and much more balanced team.

Maloney: Everyone is picking the Clippers here, and for good reason. The Warriors are both literally and figuratively limping into this game. They lost seven of eight to close the season, and Stephen Curry is going to be on a minutes restriction.

Quinn: Any time a coach goes out of his way to talk about how many minutes his best player won't play, it's hard to feel too optimistic about their chances. The Warriors have been ready for this miserable season to end for months now. They'll regroup over the summer and try again from there.

Wimbish: Without Stephen Curry fully healthy, I just don't trust this Warriors team. The Clippers have also quietly been one of the better teams the last few months after a disastrous start to the season

East No. 8 seed

Botkin: This is an easy pick for me, so it probably won't happen. But here's the deal: the Hornets are not just the best team in the East play-in, they're the fifth-best team in the conference. Detroit should be rooting wildly for an upset so the Pistons can avoid a first-round battle. I don't think they're going to get one.

Gonzalez: Someone recently said to me that LaMelo Ball plays basketball like he's wearing slides. I can't unhear it. He does four or five things each game that make me want to smash something out of frustration. (Like this.) But whatever you think of him and the Hornets, at least they're not boring.

Herbert: I think Charlotte is closer to the third-best team in the East than the eighth-best team. So yeah, I'll take the Hornets over the seemingly miserable Magic.

Maloney: Again, the Hornets have been one of the best teams in the league for the last four months, while the Sixers will be without their best player. Even though the Hornets will have to go on the road for this one, they will have too much for the shorthanded Sixers.

Quinn: Charlotte has the NBA's best net rating since the beginning of January. By all means, pick against them once they've reached Detroit in the first round, but absolutely no one in this play-in field has played at their level for most of the season. They're a cut above these mediocrities, and they're going to prove it.

Wimbish: The Hornets are one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the league. Meanwhile, despite giving up far too many first-round picks for Desmond Bane the Magic still struggle to keep up in that regard. This loss may be the cherry on top that ends Jamahl Mosley's time in Orlando.

West No. 8 seed

Botkin: The Suns play hard, yes, but the Clippers have Kawhi Leonard. In a one-game setting, that's enough for me.

Gonzalez: If I'm going with my head, I'll take the Blazers. But I have a friend who lives in Portland who would prefer they crash out of the play-in and keep their top-14 protected pick in a loaded draft rather than send it to Chicago. Hoping to manifest that for the Pacific Northwest.

Herbert: I just want to see Kawhi Leonard play in the playoffs. Is that a satisfactory explanation?

Maloney: This pick has everything to do with Kawhi Leonard. He's playing some of the best basketball of his career this season, and it's hard to imagine him letting the Clippers lose this game.

Quinn: I'm not picking against Kawhi Leonard in a single-elimination setting. It's been a fun season, Phoenix, but you got very unlucky with the draw here.

Wimbish: The Blazers match up quite well against L.A., but I'm going with the veteran leadership with the Clippers -- and the belief in Kawhi Leonard -- to pull this one out.