De'Andre Hunter and Trey Murphy Look to Clinch NBA Playoff Berths

Hunter (Hawks) and Murphy (Pelicans) will play in the NBA Play-In games on Wednesday night

Author:
Matt Newton
Publish date:
Apr 13, 2022 12:49 AM EDT

Two former Virginia men's basketball stars will look to help their teams keep their NBA Playoff hopes alive on Wednesday night in the NBA Play-In Tournament.

De'Andre Hunter and the No. 9 seed Atlanta Hawks will host the No. 10 seed Charlotte Hornets in a single elimination game on Wednesday at 7pm. The loser's season will come to an end, while the winner will move on to play at the No. 8 seed Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night. The winner of that game will clinch a spot in the NBA Playoffs and face the Eastern Conference No. 1 seed Miami Heat in the first round.

Similarly, Trey Murphy and the No. 9 seed New Orleans Pelicans will host the No. 10 seed San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday at 9:30pm. The loser will go home and the winner will play one more elimination game at the No. 8 seed Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night. The winner of that game will move on to the NBA Playoffs and will face the Western Conference No. 1 seed Phoenix Suns in the first round.

After a slow start to his rookie season in New Orleans, Trey Murphy closed the season strong and proved to be a sparkplug for the Pelicans down the stretch, proving his value as a sharpshooter, rebounder, and an impressive dunker.

Murphy led all rookies in three-point shooting at 38.2% (minimum 100 attempts) and free-throw shooting at 88.1% (minimum 20 attempts). He averaged 5.4 points and 2.4 rebounds per game and got extended playing time in the final month of the season as the Pelicans made a run and earned a spot in the NBA Play-In Tournament.

Meanwhile, De'Andre Hunter has continued to be a valuable asset on both ends of the floor for the Atlanta Hawks, who will be looking to return to the Eastern Conference Finals. In 53 games this season, Hunter has averaged 13.4 points and 3.3 rebounds per game on 44.2% shooting from the field. He is also shooting a career-high 37.9% from three on 195 attempts in his third season in the NBA. His offensive game is developing well as a scoring option alongside Trae Young and John Collins and Hunter remains Atlanta's primary option to guard the opposing team's best player on defense.

If the Hawks and the Pelicans manage to win both games of the Play-In Tournament, Virginia will have three former players in the NBA Playoffs. Sam Hauser and the Boston Celtics are the No. 2 seed and will face the No. 7 seed Brooklyn Nets in the first round. Joe Harris is still on Brooklyn's roster, but the Nets will be without the star sharpshooter for their playoff run as he continues to rehab his ankle after undergoing season-ending arthroscopic surgery in early March.

Sam Hauser has played in 26 games in his rookie season with the Boston Celtics, with many of those appearances coming in the last six weeks of the season. Hauser has given the Celtics a nice lift off the bench as a perimeter threat, shooting 43.2% from three on 44 attempts. The Celtics will host the Nets in Game 1 on Sunday at 3:30pm.

Good luck to all these former Hoos in the NBA postseason.

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