NBA

Despite previously being undefeated in the Play-In Tournament, the magic ran out for Trae and the Hawks in this one. This was their third straight appearance in the Play-In after making the Eastern Conference Finals before that. While Young was able to come away with a 20-point double-double, his inefficient shooting and turnovers certainly weren’t pretty. He was a team-worst -27 in 43 minutes, which means they outscored Chicago by 12 points in his five minutes on the bench. There had already been plenty of rumors suggesting that Atlanta could trae Young this summer, and after a performance like this, those rumors will certainly heat up.

Capela nearly had a double-double before halftime, and he was able to reach 10 rebounds early in the third quarter. He scored 16 points before the break, but he didn’t get many buckets after that. This was a down year for Capela, as he had his worst field goal percentage since his rookie season, which is a big part of his value in 9-cat leagues. He’ll be on the wrong side of 30 to start next season, and it is hard to imagine him bouncing back. He should continue to be a reliable source of big man stats, but he isn’t as dominant in fantasy as he once was. The emergence of Onyeka Okongwu will only continue to hinder that.

While his counterpart in the backcourt struggled in this game, Murray was able to turn in an excellent performance. He had a big first half and entered the break with 23 points. He hit a quick three to open the second half, but he wasn’t able to do much scoring after that. With Murray having an excellent game while Trae Young struggled, rumors will heat up quickly. There had already been plenty suggesting that Atlanta will move on from one of them, and a failed attempt to make the playoffs will not convince anyone that this team deserves another run. One way or another, Murray should be the sole point guard option on his team next year, which will be excellent for his fantasy production.

Caruso briefly exited from Wednesday’s game before returning to play more. He ended up exiting early and only played 17 total minutes in the win. Wojnarowski also added that White’s status is “in doubt”, so if he can’t suit up against the Heat on Friday, Javonte Green will likely start in his place. He logged 22 minutes against Atlanta and finished with 10 points, six rebounds and four assists.

White may not win the league’s Most Improved Player award, but after a breakout season, he went nuclear in their first game of the postseason. The Play-In Tournament doesn’t technically count towards a player’s stats, but this would have been a career-high for points for White, and he did it with ridiculous efficiency. It has been an incredible year for White, but they’ll need one more big game out of him to make it to the playoffs. They’ll travel to play the Heat with a chance to take on the Celtics in the first round on the line.

DeRozan wasn’t the star of the show, but he was able to have an effective night statistically across the board. The Hawks really didn’t have any answers for Chicago’s offense, and DeRozan was no exception. He logged 44 minutes in this game, and he will likely take on a large role once again when they head to Miami to play on Friday. Alex Caruso suffered a foot sprain in this game, and he isn’t expected to play against the Heat, which just means that DeRozan will have to step up even more if they want to make it to the playoffs.

Vooch closed out the regular season with three straight 20-point games, and he was able to keep that up to open up the postseason. He only scored five points when they played Atlanta earlier this month, but he was far more effective in this one. With the win, they’ll head to Miami to face a Heat team that may be without Jimmy Butler after he suffered a knee injury on Wednesday. They haven’t played Miami since December, but Vucevic scored less than 20 in three of their four matchups this year. If they’re able to walk away with another win, they’ll take on Boston in the first round.

Butler was able to play 40 minutes on Wednesday despite suffering a knee injury at the end of the first quarter. He already said that he was planning to get an MRI, and now it appears that there is a chance that he is sidelined for a while. With only two days between games, there should be a clear update given on Thursday. Heat fans will likely be holding their breath until then.

Batum hasn’t been much more than a veteran rotation piece that can come away with some defensive stats and threes this season, but he stepped up in the biggest way possible in this game. He made a big play late with a block on a 3-point attempt from Tyler Herro, and he was able to set new season-highs with 20 points and six 3-pointers. He has started some this season, though he will continue to come off the bench as long as the team is fully healthy. It’s unlikely, but he’ll look to keep the heroics going against New York.

Embiid struggled with his shot, but he still led the team’s scoring because he had an effective night at the free throw line. Philly managed his minutes in his first five games back after having knee surgery, so his 38 minutes in this game were the most that he has played since January. He ended up scoring nearly half of his point in the fourth quarter to help them complete the comeback after they trailed by 12 points at halftime. They’ll need him to play much better than he did in this one when they take on the Knicks in their first round series.