It lasted 174 days, required the usage of more players than any season in history primarily because of the ongoing challenge of playing through a pandemic, and saw playoff-positioning chases go all the way down to the final moments.
Now, move over, regular season.
The NBA’s postseason is finally here.
Kyrie Irving can play at home again, a change-of-heart regarding vaccination rules that was made a few weeks ago by the city of New York in a move that will have immediate impact on the race to the NBA championship. Irving and the Brooklyn Nets held off the Indiana Pacers 134-126 on Sunday, and will play host to the first play-in game of this year’s tournament when they face the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night.
That matchup wasn’t set until Sunday, nor was the other Eastern Conference play-in matchup: No. 9 Atlanta will play host to No. 10 Charlotte on Wednesday night. The winner of that game will play the Nets-Cavaliers loser on Friday to determine who’ll face No. 1 Miami in an East first-round series.
