Coming into the season, NBA fans across the country were excited to see two of the best trios in the league in the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers. Both the Lakers and Nets have struggled after having big expectations coming into the season. However, both teams had the play-in tournament to their advantage to help them work their way into the playoffs.

As a result of the NBA being shut down on Mar. 11, 2020, the rest of the season could not be played out in the standard way it had in years past. The play-in tournament was introduced when COVID-19 forced the playoffs and eight remaining regular season games in 2020 to be in a central “bubble” location in the Walt Disney complex in Orlando. Previously teams seeded one through eight in each conference advanced to the postseason. However, since the 2020 NBA season came to an abrupt stop due to COVID, the format was changed in order to give teams a fair chance who were not then seeded one through eight when the season paused. The play-in tournament consists of teams seeded 7-10 in both the Eastern and Western Conference. In each conference the seven plays the eight to earn the seven seed and the loser plays the winner of the nine vs 10 in order to grab the eighth and final seed. Since being used in 2020, the play-in tournament will stay for the future. “I like how the play-in tournament has gone these past few seasons; it gives more teams a chance to compete,” junior Owen Lomotan said.

The play-in tournament helped teams like the Nets and Lakers, who were on the edge of the playoff picture. One of the major storylines heading into the current NBA season was the Brooklyn Nets highlighted by their three-star players Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving. Last season the Nets had an unexpected second round playoff exit to the Millwalkee Bucks who would go on to win the NBA finals. So far this season things haven’t gotten any easier for the Nets as injuries,COVID vaccine requirements and lack of chemistry have greatly impacted their season. The Nets star point guard Kyrie Irving up until recently was not able to play in Nets home games because he was unvaccinated. Additionally, guard James Harden was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and Ben Simmons. Previously, in January, Kevin Durant suffered a sprained MCL causing him to miss over a month during the season. So without their star tandem together for the majority of the season, the Nets have struggled to get back to the top of the Eastern Conference. 

Another team struggling to get back to the top of the standings are the Los Angeles Lakers. Just two seasons removed from an NBA championship, the Lakers found themselves sitting near the 10th and final playoff spot in the western Conference. Last season the Lakers had promising expectations following an NBA title but similar to the Nets, underperformed in the playoffs last season and were struggling heading into this year’s postseason. The Lakers this past season were looking to add more star power to their team after finishing just seventh in the Western Conference a year ago. With the addition of point guard Russel Westbrook, the Lakers were looking to collectively improve as a team. However, just recently they were officially eliminated from playoff contention and head coach Frank Vogel was fired as a result. Junior Ethan Berman, who is a big NBA fan, speculated that the Lakers underwhelming season was due to “ their lack of depth and their big time star getting older,” Berman said.