4 pivotal individual matchups of the NBA Play-in Tournament

CLEVELAND, OHIO – MARCH 19: Darius Garland #10 of the Cleveland Cavaliers brings the ball up court around Dejounte Murray #5 of the San Antonio Spurs during the second quarter at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on March 19, 2021 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement, 4 pivotal individual matchups of the NBA Play-in Tournament. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)

The NBA playoffs are at our doorstep, but before that, the seventh and eighth seeds still need to be decided in each conference.

The NBA Play-In Tournament threw up some surprising results last season. After finishing as the eighth seed in the regular season, the Golden State Warriors nearly took down the Los Angeles Lakers to secure the seventh seed, before falling to the young Memphis Grizzlies at Chase Center to miss the playoffs entirely.

4 pivotal individual matchups of the NBA Play-in Tournament

In these one-off matches that the NBA Play-In Tournament provides, outstanding individual performances can be the tonic to pushing your team through to a playoff berth.

There are plenty of exciting storylines surrounding these first four matches currently scheduled. This includes some tantalizing individual matchups worthy of keeping an eye on.

Whether it be two guards dueling it out, superstars on either side desperately trying to get into the postseason, or former teammates taking each other on, every single game has a key matchup that’s worth watching.

With that in mind, let’s look at one from each game that is bound to play a part in the end result. Here is the best individual matchup to watch during each of the Play-In games.