NBA Playoff Preview For 2022-2023 Begins Tuesday Night

NBA Playoff Preview For 2022-2023 begins Tuesday night.  The 20 teams comprising the Play-In Tournament and playoff fields are set with the Bucks and Nuggets leading their respective conferences.

Here is how the matchups shape up:

Teams 7-10 make up the Play-In Tournament in each conference. The seven seed faces off against the eight seed with the winner moving on to the 1st Round to face the two seed.

The loser of that game takes on the winner 9-10 matchup for the eight seed. The loser of the 9-10 game is eliminated from postseason contention.

Eastern Conference
(7) Heat vs (8) Hawks
(9) Raptors vs (10) Bulls

Western Conference

(7) Lakers vs (8) Timberwolves
(9) Pelicans vs (10) Thunder

Although it is a small sample size, no team has ever advanced out of the Play-In Tournament and won a series.

In fact, no team seeded 7th or 8th has advanced past the 1st Round since the 76ers in 2012 against the Bulls.

Derrick Rose torn his ACL in Game 1 of the series.

Eastern Conference
(1) Bucks vs Heat/Hawks/Raptors/Bulls
(2) Celtics vs Heat/Hawks
(3) 76ers vs (6) Nets
(4) Cavaliers vs (5) Knicks

Western Conference
(1) Nuggets vs Lakers/Timberwolves/Pelicans/Thunder
(2) Grizzlies vs Lakers/Timberwolves
(3) Kings vs (6) Warriors
(4) Suns vs (5) Clippers

There is know question in my mind that this years NBA champion is coming out of the Eastern Conference.  In my mind it's down to two teams: Milwaukee or Boston.  Both finished top two in the conference.

The Bucks and Celtics are the two deepest teams by far.  I think the Celtics are a tad deeper when both teams are reasonably healthy.  I used to think Denver was close out West but there is something wrong with them.

Not that I put much stock in the regular season but the Celtics went 3-1 against the Bucks this year including a recent 41 point blowout in Milwaukee.

The Celtics would have won all 4 but lost a few weeks ago in Milwaukee in OT with 3 starters on the bench.

After all is said and done it says here get ready for a rematch of the 1976 Finals.  In 2023 Celtics win the title 4-3 over the Phoenix Suns.  Sorry Wig and the Suns but your chance for that first title comes up short again!

We've said it before, and we'll say it again, the Masters Par 3 Contest at Augusta National Golf Club offers up the cutest - and basically the best - photos you'll see all weekend - and this year didn't disappoint.

It's one of the best traditions for Masters Week, when families of the golfers turn into caddies (and sometimes even players) for a fun-filled 9-hole mini tournament on the Par 3 course.

That means you've got adorable little ones running all over the place, and spouses and girlfriends making for some memorable moments.

The Contest itself ended with Tom Hoge taking the title at 6-under par. He had a hole-in-one on the 8th hole, and played well all around.

However, it should be noted that the Par 3 winner has never won the big Tournament in the same week. That "curse" makes it so many of the players end up with no official final score, as they let their loved ones take some of their shots for them.

That's what ends up helping make for some of the best photos. Here's a look at 15 of our favorite from the Par 3 Contest at the 2023 Masters Tournament that gets underway Thursday, at Augusta National Golf Club. Take a look.