The Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks battle for the eighth seed in the Eastern conference, while the Dallas Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies go head-to-head out west on April 18.
Following victories from the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks over its respective opponents on April 16, the two franchises will now take on the Atlanta Hawks and Memphis Grizzlies to find out which teams will claim the eighth seed in the Eastern and Western conferences. Atlanta lost the seven seed battle to the Orlando Magic, while Miami surpassed the Chicago Bulls to clinch an opportunity at the postseason, with the winner moving on to face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round. Memphis, following a hard fought loss to the Golden State Warriors, will now do battle with the Mavericks in hopes of advancing to play the Oklahoma City Thunder which finished with the best record in all of basketball last season.
While none of the Play-In contenders would be even close to favored in a respective matchup with Oklahoma City or Cleveland, the chance to qualify for the postseason could still act as a building block toward next year. Dallas, especially, could use the postseason atmosphere to help dispel complaints about trading superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers prior to the NBA trade deadline, although most fans are probably hoping the season ends sooner rather than later at this point. On April 18, the franchises will meet in an eight-nine matchup to determine which moves on to the first round of the postseason, as Miami stands as a -120 favorite over Atlanta on bet365 while Memphis is a considerable -260 against the Mavericks.
Miami has gone through turmoil all season much like Dallas, having been forced to send away star Jimmy Butler after repeated turmoil between himself and GM Pat Riley could not be solved. Butler was sent to Golden State for Andrew Wiggins and draft compensation, which served as a significant hit to the Heat’s Playoff chances this year, but the franchise was able to rebound enough to earn a spot in the Play-In. Having used the tournament during 2022-2023 to make a run all the way to the Finals against the Denver Nuggets, Miami is no stranger to the possibilities a Play-In victory could bring about. The team was unable to surpass Denver for its first title since LeBron James led the franchise in 2013, and would most likely be bounced by Cleveland in quick fashion throughout the first round.
Against the Hawks, though, Miami could certainly pass one final test before the postseason tips off, as Atlanta is a +100 underdog despite coming into the game as a favorite following the Heat’s win over Chicago. The odds reflect some doubt as to which franchise will walk away with a victory on April 18 from bet365, however, as the -120 to +100 disparity fails to showcase a strong amount of faith in Miami. The Hawks have battled numerous injuries this season and dealt away much of its own talent at the deadline, while Miami seems to be hitting a stride at the right time to at least challenge Cleveland in the first round. Cleveland was excellent during 2024-2025 behind new head coach Kenny Atkinson, helping to turn stars Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley into All-NBA talents.
No matter how the Play-In game is decided between Miami and Atlanta, both franchises are headed toward a defining moment in its history, as it would not be shocking in the slightest to see significant transactions on either end. Miami could look to move on from stars such as Tyler Herro or Bam Adebayo in an effort to rebuild on the fly, while the Hawks will almost assuredly look to see what it could get back in return for point guard Trae Young. Herro and Young would most likely bring the largest return of the three, while Adebayo has struggled compared to his previous statistics throughout 2024-2025.
In the Western conference, Dallas surpassed Sacramento using incredible three-point shooting and defense from playmakers such as Anthony Davis, the main piece in the return for Doncic, Klay Thompson and PJ Washington. Despite not having point guard Kyrie Irving due to a torn ACL, the Mavericks still appeared to have found the form that could propel the franchise to a first round matchup with Oklahoma City. Memphis will not go away quietly, though, especially after firing head coach Taylor Jenkins just weeks before the postseason was set to tip-off, as point guard Ja Morant will look to lead his team past Dallas on April 18. At +210, it seems as if bet365 believes the win over Sacramento was a one-off for the Mavericks, or perhaps the operator has little faith that Sacramento was a worthy Play-In contender.
Even with the confidence displayed by bet365 in Memphis at -260, it is hard to trust the Grizzlies after slipping all the way from the two seed at one point to battling just for a chance to qualify for the postseason. Morant, shooting guard Desmond Bane and power forward Jaren Jackson Jr. are all tremendous talents, but will have to continue progressing as leaders mentally and on the floor if the Grizzlies have any chance at facing the Thunder in round one. Oklahoma City is most likely thrilled with the way the Play-In developed, as facing Golden State would represent an unfortunate level of difficulty for a team that finished with the best regular season record throughout the NBA. Memphis and Dallas are both more set in its ways than either of Miami or Atlanta, with Morant and Davis now being looked upon as the unrivaled leaders of their respective franchises, and a first test set for April 18 to carry their teammates to the postseason.
