The teams and matchups we most wanna see for the NBA’s Play-in Tournament

Number one overall versus number two overall. All-Star versus Rookie of the Year. It’s a battle of different stories leading to the same point in life. While Zion Williamson has always been the “can’t miss product,” the golden child, and the obvious top pick, Ja Morant has had to fight to earn everything he’s ever gotten. That doesn’t take away from what Williamson has accomplished. It just goes to show that while Morant has more to prove in a play-in game against New Orleans, Zion has more to lose.

Despite the great numbers he’s put up in 2021, Zion hasn’t really lived up to the hype he had coming out of Duke. He was supposed to be the guy who made Pelicans fans forget about Anthony Davis. However, Zion missed more than half of his team’s games his rookie year, and if not for the expanded playoffs this season, would’ve missed the playoffs his sophomore season. He’s also shooting under 30 percent from deep this season. He needs to remind the sports world that New Orleans is more than just gumbo, Mardi Gras, Drew Brees, and Jameis Winston eating W’s during a post-game interview. An early playoff exit is the last thing Zion needs right now.

Memphis is one of those forgotten teams in the NBA. They had a great run of consistent playoff appearances in the early 2010’s, but since the deepest they ever went was the Conference Finals only to be swept by San Antonio, they’ve sort of faded into obscurity over the last three seasons. Ja Morant is trying to change that. The Grizz may still be a few years away from being a serious threat in the Western Conference, but the first step toward that goal is simply returning to the playoffs after a three-year hiatus. As the saying goes: “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” No one is expecting much from Memphis, and frankly, everyone would rather see Zion in the playoffs than Morant. But Morant has proven his doubters wrong several times before, and I don’t see why he’d stop now.