Stinar For 3: The 3 Teams That Will Make The NBA Playoffs That Didn't Last Season

Fastbreak on FanNation reporter Ben Stinar sat down with publisher Tom Brew to talk about the three teams who will make the NBA Playoffs (that didn't last season) in Episode 4 of our daily video on hot topics around the league.

Every year 16 teams make the NBA Playoffs (eight in each conference) and last season the NBA also introduced the first ever play-in tournament. 

Now, there is even more of a chance for a team to get into the post-season as four additional teams (two in each conference) have a chance to play themselves into the real thing. 

What 3 teams will make the postseason that didn't last season?

1.) Charlotte Hornets: They had the Rookie of The Year LaMelo Ball last season, and at one point during the regular season they were the fourth seed in the conference. However, Ball missed over 20 games of action, and they also had former All-Star Gordon Hayward miss 28 games. 

What a pass from LaMelo. 🔥🔥

pic.twitter.com/EjN1MkIBNc

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) October 12, 2021

Therefore, a large part of their failure to make the playoffs came at the hands of injuries to their two best players. This season, if healthy, they should see improvement from all the young players on the roster (including Ball who could take the next step closer to stardom) and they also have Terry Rozier who averaged over 20 points per game last season. 

(Last season they finished as the 10th seed in the Eastern Conference with a 33-39 record and lost their first play-in game to the Indiana Pacers). 

2.) Chicago Bulls: They are led by Zach LaVine who made his first All-Star game appearance last season. The star shooting guard also got some serious help to the roster when they traded for Nikola Vucevic at the trading deadline last season, and they signed former second overall pick Lonzo Ball and four-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan this off-season. 

They now have three All-Star caliber players on the roster, and Ball is in the best position he has been to shine since he entered the NBA in 2017-18 out of UCLA. 

(They Finished as the 11th seed in the Eastern Conference with a 31-41 record last season)

3.) Minnesota Timberwolves: Out of these three teams the Timberwolves have the most talent on the roster. Karl-Anthony Towns has averaged 21+ points and 10+ rebounds every season he has been in the NBA other than his rookie year.  

D'Angelo Russell is an All-Star point guard who led the Brooklyn Nets to the NBA Playoffs as the sixth seed during the 2018-19 season. At 25 years old, he has yet to his prime and according to StatMuse, in the 25 games that Russell and Towns have played together they are 13-12. Last season, Russell missed 30 games due to injury, but is back looking excellent during the preseason, and he could easily have an All-Star season this year. 

They also have the first overall pick in last season's NBA Draft Anthony Edwards. In his first season in the NBA the former University of Georgia star averaged 19.3 points per game. At just 20 years old, his ceiling has no limit. 

(Last season they were the 13th seed in the Western Conference with a 23-49 record)