Gobert's move is of course never excusable but just before play ins, it is utterly unbelievable. We all know things can get heated in sports world, these players have huge egos etc. but he could just deal with it in the locker room. I'm sure much much more things happen behind the scenes. They must be fighting it out or even become enemies or something but have to be done after the game, without cameras. I am sorry to say this to anyone but Gobert might have some problems with his iq or some kind of problem in his brain. What he did with the covid business was also utterly crazy. I don't find him offensively or defensively good also. In the last game, the opponent just played pick and rolls on him with success. With his physical abilities, he should be a much much better player but he is not at all. Still, Timberwolves have a good chance in advancing to the playoffs. They should solve their problems and just focus on basketball.

The good thing about the Lakers in their next game is they are complete and ready for the NBA playoffs, they just need to win this one in order to secure their spot and go against Memphis and I think that would be a hard match-up for them going against young guns and super fast and athletic team. Their advantage is their experience and when they can somehow get through that, then the rest will surely be easy.

He is hungry. That's all I can think of this season with the Clippers. Expect him to do triple-doubles again. With Kawhi around and some chemistry with Eric Gordon from being a Houston Rockets before, it might become a hard-fought game for the Suns.
KD might be on their side but there's also Batum who could defend him well with a reach that could suffice to put a hand in the face of Durant.

I have seen some speculations that the Warriors would finish it in 4 but I really doubt that. I think basketball analysts like Stephen A. Smith is forgetting that Mike Brown was the assistant coach of Steve Kerr. He knows what they are planning, he knows their plays, and he knows what they can do next in crucial games.
I would not underestimate the Kings yet. They might even win this series if all goes well. Plus, they have the homecourt advantage at 4 against 3.

The Los Angeles Lakers facing the Minnesota Timberwolves is almost a no brainer because the latter almost got no depths at all and speaking of experience, they won't last against the enduring Lakers especially now that the Wolves roster is in a hot mess. But facing the Grizzlies on the 1st round? That sounds interesting because I'm sure that the Lakers will be tested how much they can endure as the Grizzlies is not an easy team to beat and they are just too unpredictable. That just shows how tight the West is.

Good point, it's really undeniable that the Phoenix Suns have improved their chances to reach further this time by having KD on their side and whoever the team will face, they will surely have a hard time grabbing a win because the Suns are quite stacked right now especially if all four core players are present, their offense and defense is just hard to penetrate. For the Clippers, their chemistry will be heavily tested in the first round and I look forward that they will give an interesting game because PG and Kawhi are there to lead the whole roster plus there's WB and Powell on the sides who are always available when the duo needed them.

It will be an interesting matchup with the Lakers as we see that they are really aiming to move forward, against Minnesota
yeah it can be an easy game for them considering the healthy squad now.

But facing the Grizzlies, they will be tested here if how good the coach is and how the players will blend when facing an unpredictable team.

I would like to see how Ja and LeBron take their responsibilities for being the alpha of both squads.

To be fair, the reason why Lakers are ranked so low right now is not because they are a bad team, it is because they WERE a bad team along with the fact that they had injuries all season long. Now that they made a good trade sending away Westbrook and getting some defenders and giving minutes to some good players, along with Lebron and AD dominating, I would guess that they are a much better team than the standings show.

Obviously this is playoff basketball and anything could happen, we could see them even lose right away and not even be in playoffs, but if you ask me they are definitely high up there along with Nuggets this year in the west. They will probably got as further as western conference finals which would be awesome.

Also, include the fact that the Wolves suspended Gobert for one game for what happened between him, and Anderson. I mean that game is against the Lakers, but anyway if they will lose to the them, they still have a chance to retain that 8th seed if they will win against the winner of 9th-10th seed.

Now assuming that the Lakers will face the Grizzlies as the 2-7 seed. It really sounds interesting, but I think that the Grizzlies will win on this one, but in 6-7 games, or at least they will be having a hard time defeating the Lakers. A young Grizzlies team against a veteran, and full of experience Lakers team. TBH, I'm rooting for the Grizzlies, but I still think that the Lakers has a chance knowing how they improved after the trade deadline. The problem with them is the inconsistency of their main players, and injuries since we know that LeBron and Davis are prone to injuries already. If both of them alongside other main players will play the whole series, I think they will have a chance, but I'll go with Grizzlies with this one.

I would love to see the Grizzlies advancing to the second round as well as the Warriors, so we will see an interesting match-up in the second round.

Aw! I didn't notice that, thank you for correcting me.
So it's Pelicans versus the Thunders and the Lakers versus the hot-blooded Timberwolves with Gobert punching his teammates.  I think the Pelicans might have a chance to steal that 8th spot if ever they win against the Thunder and play with the Timberwolves afterward.

How about the Eastern Conference?
If there are still people who are confused about how the play-in tournament works, here is the image created by NBA to understand it easier.

https://www.nba.com/bulls/news/the-2023-nba-play-in-tournament-format-explained

My prediction: Miami Heat will take the 7th spot and Chicago Bulls will take the 8th spot and upset the Hawks after defeating the Raptors. We will see.

Correction on the image shared. NYK should be ATL.

Nope, Gobert was reportedly suspended in the play-in tournament, and I think we won't be seeing him play again this post season.

Timberwolves suspend Rudy Gobert for Play-In game vs. Lakers

Yes, they need him, but what he did was unacceptable. It would be a shame if the team simply let what happened pass by, as that would be selective justice.