BBNBA Play-In Preview: Playoff Rondo, KAT's feast, Johnson's debut

Karl-Anthony Towns celebrates — Photo by Kathryn Riley | Getty Images

At last, we made it past the final few droll days of the regular season and are on to the NBA Playoffs. But first, we start with the play-in round of games, which feature a slew of former ‘Cats. In fact, all four of the initial play-in games involve Kentucky guys. So let’s go game-by-game previewing what to expect from our guys on Tuesday and Wednesday’s Play-In rounds.

The Return of Playoff Rondo

Tuesday, 7 p.m. (TNT) | (8) Cavaliers @ (9) Nets

Playoff Rondo is back, folks. He missed over half of the regular season and is currently making headlines as a potential Lakers assistant coach next season — BUT, there’s still postseason basketball to be played for Rajon Rondo. And anybody who’s kept up with his lengthy NBA career knows that Rondo is notorious for upping his game in the playoffs.

For his career in the postseason, Rondo averages 12.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 8.5 assists per game, and led the NBA in assists per game in the playoffs in both 2012 and 2018. He’s also a two-time Finals champion, winning in 2008 with Boston and in the 2020 bubble with the Lakers. He was arguably the third- or fourth-best player on both of those squads. He’s 35 years old heading into the 2022 Play-In games, but make no mistake: Rondo is a difference-maker.

At this point in his career, Rondo was brought to Cleveland as some nice insurance as a possible rotation player come playoff time. Good thing the Cavs covered their butts, because they lost two guards — Collin Sexton and Ricky Rubio — to season-ending injuries earlier in the season. They acquired Caris LeVert from Indiana near the deadline, but still, they’ll need productive minutes from Rondo in order to stand a chance in either of their Play-In games.

The game against the Nets presents a mountain of a task, but I predict Rondo will come up big in the postseason once again. Brooklyn is miserable on defense, especially in the backcourt. Give me a full vintage Rondo game. Let’s see him and Darius Garland cut the Nets up at the point of attack and feed the big guys for dunk after dunk. Also, expect Rondo to hit some timely 3-pointers. It wasn’t a strong point for him in his prime, but in the latter half of his career, he’s shot the ball fairly well overall, and above 40% in his last three playoff runs.

Realistically, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and the Nets bury this ailing Cleveland team, but to have any chance, Playoff Rondo needs to show up and show out.

It’s time for Karl-Anthony Towns to earn some respect

Tuesday, 9:30 p.m. (TNT) | (8) Clippers @ (9) Timberwolves

Barring a colossal blowout or a last-minute stomach bug wiping out the Clippers backcourt, Brandon Boston Jr. is unlikely to see the court. So let’s talk about the opportunity Karl-Anthony Towns has in front of him.

2022 is KAT’s first postseason appearance since 2018, when he and Jimmy Butler led Minnesota to a four-loss sweep in the first round against one-seeded Houston. Finally, the T-Wolves made it back to the playoffs with an overhauled roster and only Towns leftover from the ’18 group. And this year’s team is better — much better.

With Towns, Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell, the Wolves boast a trio of scorers unrivaled by other Western Conference foes, with KAT leading the charge. Frankly, it’s a shame that this group, which went 46-36 in the regular season, has to play its way into the playoffs alongside teams such as the Spurs and Pelicans, who were nowhere near .500. Either way, Minnesota just has to win one game at home in two tries against teams with worse records. There’s no excuse not to get the job done.

For Towns, this is his debut as the lead man in a playoff setting. He was Butler’s sidekick in ’18 and endured losing seasons in every other year of his career prior to this one. The regular season is for the stat-stuffers, the young wonders like KAT and Devin Booker were for so long. The postseason is where stars actually earn their respect. Against a Clippers team that spreads defenses out and plays small, I want to see Towns humiliate Nic Batum, Marcus Morris or whatever feeble forward Ty Lue deploys as his small-ball center. Let the BIG KAT EAT.

Let’s not forget Jarred Vanderbilt either. The fourth-year forward is in the midst of his best season as a pro, making his mark as a dependable rebounder, defender and overall hustler. He does the gritty work. Allowing Towns, Edwards and Russell to shine on the scoreboard while the team succeeds as a whole. The Clippers deploy a ton of wings, including Paul George. So Vando will be assigned a mammoth defensive task vs. LAC. His play on that end could be equally as important as KAT’s on the other end.

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Charlotte can tread water or make progress vs. hungover Hawks

Wednesday, 7 p.m. (ESPN) | (10) Hornets @ (9) Hawks

Last year, the Hornets finished 33-39, were the 10-seed and final team in the East Play-In games. This year, the Hornets finished 43-39, were the 10-seed and final team in the East Play-In games. Obviously, the team was much better in 2022, by 10 extra wins, to be precise. But their position in the East hardly budged.

Here’s where the Play-In games are beneficial. After a stellar regular season by Charlotte standards, instead of sitting on the sidelines two seeds out of the playoff entirely, the Hornets have a chance to play into the eight-seed and face a Heat team that’s far from dominant. The first task for PJ Washington and co. is taking down 2021’s East runner-ups. Easy, ha!

Hawks players openly admitted they found the regular season “boring” following last summer’s unexpected run to the sixth game of the Eastern Conference Finals. The result was a season spent flirting with .500 and now in need of two straight wins just to make the 2022 playoffs. Trae Young is still masterful at point guard but the surrounding talent fell apart like cracked paint throughout the year.

Atlanta is more than capable of winning two in a row, but I give the edge to Charlotte — the younger, hungrier team, epitomized by a guy like PJ Washington. They aren’t riding the coattails of winning two playoff series in 2021. They’re ready to make their mark in 2022.

Spurs back in the postseason, but should they be?

Wednesday, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN) | (10) Spurs @ (9) Pelicans

Two bad basketball teams will play a standalone, primetime game on ESPN Wednesday night. That’s the downside of the Play-In games. While they give good teams like Charlotte and Atlanta a chance to make postseason noise when they otherwise wouldn’t, it also allows crappy squads like the Pelicans and Spurs a chance at the playoffs despite collectively going 24 games under .500 in 2022.

Of course, I’m thrilled Keldon Johnson and his ferocious energy will grace the Play-In games. But do these teams really deserve a chance in the first place? Minnesota finished 10 games above New Orleans and 14 games above San Antonio, yet the fates of all three lie in the results of three games over the next few days. Seriously, the would have finished THIRTEENTH in the East. They stink.

I like the original rules from the bubble Play-In games. Where the lower seed had to be within four games of the higher seed in order to trigger a play-in matchup. Makes sense to me. If the lower seeds are so much worse than the higher seeds, as they are this year, then it’s silly to have a play-in. For example, all four East play-in teams are separated by a single game. The perfect scenario for a play-in. But the West features a 14-game difference. Not all situations are created equal here.

I’ll be excited for Keldon Johnson if he and the Spurs cause some chaos and win a couple of games. If it’s at the expense of an exciting Timberwolves season, I’ll curse the system.