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The NBA’s play-in tournament experiment will start on Tuesday, May 18th and run through Friday, May 21st. Four teams will advance by the end of the week, and below is a look at which franchises have the best chance to find their way into the NBA playoffs.
The Los Angeles Lakers have the second best odds to win the NBA Finals, so they are going to be the clear favorite to make it to the first round. They are getting -5000 odds to advance to the playoffs this week, which is by far the best odds of the others in the play-in tournament. The Boston Celtics have the second best odds at -625 as the top play-in team in the Eastern Conference.
The San Antonio Spurs have the worst chance to reach the NBA playoffs according to the oddsmakers at +650. They will need to advance out of the Western Conference in a group that includes the Lakers, Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies as the No. 10 seed. The Charlotte Hornets have +450 odds as the 10th seed in the East after losing each of their final five games to close out the season.
Odds to advance to first round
Boston Celtics: -625
Washington Wizards: -500
Charlotte Hornets: +450
Indiana Pacers: +320
Los Angeles Lakers: -5000
Golden State Warriors: -500
Memphis Grizzlies: +390
San Antonio Spurs: +650
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