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Charlotte heads to Orlando on Friday night for a win-and-in Play-In Tournament game at Kia Center, with tipoff set for 7:30 PM ET on Prime Video. The Hornets closed the regular season 44-38 and grabbed the East’s No. 9 spot, while Orlando finished 45-37 and landed at No. 8. The winner gets the final playoff berth in the conference and a first-round matchup with Detroit. There is a real contrast in how these teams arrived here. Charlotte survived a 127-126 overtime game against Miami on Tuesday behind 30 points and 10 assists from LaMelo Ball, while Orlando lost 109-97 at Philadelphia on Wednesday despite 34 points from Desmond Bane. The Hornets also took the regular-season series 3-1, which matters because

Golden State heads to Phoenix for a single-elimination Play-In Tournament game on Friday night, with tipoff set for 10:00 PM ET at Mortgage Matchup Center. The Warriors enter as the No. 10 seed at 37-45 after surviving the Clippers on Wednesday, while the Suns finished 45-37 and now get a home floor shot after falling to Portland in the 7-8 game. The winner moves on as the West No. 8 seed and draws Oklahoma City in the first round. That setup matters for bettors because the schedules are not equal. Golden State is playing its second elimination game in three days after a 126-121 road win over the Clippers, while Phoenix has been off since its 114-110 loss to the

The Mets head into Wrigley Field at 7-12 and in a real skid, having dropped eight straight entering Friday’s 2:20 p.m. ET first pitch. Chicago is 9-9, coming off back-to-back wins over Philadelphia, and this matchup sets up with Kodai Senga against Edward Cabrera in a game airing on WPIX and Marquee Sports Network. This is a pretty important spot for both clubs, but for very different reasons. New York needs to stop the bleeding after getting swept by the Dodgers and scoring just 12 runs during the eight-game losing streak. The Cubs, on the other hand, finally look like their offense has found some rhythm after putting up 35 runs over the last four games and reaching double-digit hits

Atlanta opens this NL East series at 12-7, first in the division, after taking the rubber game against Miami and heading to Philadelphia with a healthier overall profile than it had a week ago. The Phillies are 8-10, fourth in the East, and they are trying to stop a slide after dropping another ugly one to the Cubs before Thursday’s off day. First pitch is set for 6:40 p.m. ET at Citizens Bank Park, with the game airing on NBC Sports Philadelphia and BravesVision. This is also a strong hitting environment on paper. Philadelphia’s forecast calls for temperatures near 80 degrees around first pitch with mostly clear to partly cloudy skies through the evening, so this does not look like