National Basketball Association

How to win $25,000 on Lakers vs. Rockets and the NBA's Wednesday slate

Published May. 12, 2021 5:54 p.m. ET

By Kevin Cooney
Special to FOX Sports

The jockeying for positioning is approaching the finish line. The play-in tournament is starting to take shape. The teams aiming for home-court advantage have it within their fingertips.

The NBA playoffs begin next week and the tournament is going to be a riveting, up-in-the-air affair. So, why not get ready for it by playing FOX Super 6 on Wednesday night?

The marquee games involve the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers, who are desperate to avoid the play-in situation, and the Brooklyn Nets, who are trying to hold onto the 2-seed and a potential home-court against the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round.

To play FOX Super 6, just download the free Super 6 app on your phone or tablet, pick all six games and the margin of victory correctly, and you could win $25,000.

Here are the games on deck for Wednesday night:

Washington Wizards at Atlanta Hawks, 7 p.m. ET

The Wizards are knocking on the door of clinching the play-in berth as the 10-seed, needing only one more win to kick the Chicago Bulls out of the mix. Washington has a strange feel to it considering Russell Westbrook makes every series interesting due to his ability to be a playmaker and cause havoc. However, Bradley Beal will not be there for the Wizards while he deals with hamstring issues.

Record-wise, the Hawks are tied for the fourth seed with the Miami Heat and New York Knicks, but Atlanta controls the seed by virtue of a series of tiebreakers. Home-court advantage could be huge for Atlanta in the first round, especially against Miami’s playoff experience.

San Antonio Spurs at Brooklyn Nets, 8 p.m. ET

Let’s start with the headline: reports Wednesday morning indicated that James Harden would return for the Nets to face San Antonio after a hamstring injury kept him sidelined since April 5. Brooklyn will likely not catch the Philadelphia 76ers for the top overall seed, but still leads the Milwaukee Bucks for the second seed by a game. Hanging onto that seed would give the Nets a home-court advantage in a series against the Bucks. Plus, the Nets need to get some flow going before the playoffs.

Meanwhile, San Antonio is likely going to be the 10-seed and a play-in tourney participant. They lead New Orleans by 2.5 games with four games remaining ⁠— tonight at Brooklyn, Thursday at New York and a pair of home games Saturday and Sunday against the Phoenix Suns.

Boston Celtics at Cleveland Cavaliers, 8 p.m. ET

The Celtics are in a world of trouble. Jaylen Brown’s season is over with a torn ligament in his wrist. Boston is heading for the play-in round and is 3-7 in the last 10. There is talk of major changes to the Celtics structure in the offseason and that could include in the front office. The salvation for the Celtics is the Cavs have lost 11 in a row and are still in the running for the worst record in the East.

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New Orleans Pelicans at Dallas Mavericks, 9 p.m. ET

The Pelicans' season is almost certainly going to end on the outside of the playoffs, with Zion Williamson 's finger injury essentially sinking New Orleans last desperate hopes of catching San Antonio. Meanwhile, Dallas is trying to hold off the Lakers for the sixth spot and the last all-access ticket to the main draw of the playoff field. Losing by 29 to the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night didn’t help matters for Dallas. However, Luka Doncic is still averaging 27.9 points per game.

Portland Blazers at Utah Jazz, 9:30 p.m. ET

The Jazz can take the final step toward getting home-court advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs ⁠— and potentially throughout the entire tournament ⁠— with a win Wednesday night over Portland. The Blazers are currently seeded fifth and have a one-game lead on the Lakers for the play-in tournament with the tiebreaker in their back pocket.

If this is a possible second-round playoff preview, the Blazers need to show they can play with the Jazz. Utah has won both previous matchups this season by an average of 19.5 points.

Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Lakers, 10:30 p.m. ET

The biggest question coming into this game is the status of LeBron James, who sat out Tuesday night’s 101-99 overtime win over the Knicks to allow his ankle another day of rest. The Lakers' final regular-season home game and "Banner Night" ⁠— in which they will raise their 2020 championship banner in front of its crowd of fans ⁠— gives Los Angeles a chance to potentially creep closer to getting out of the play-in spot.

After Wednesday's game, the Lakers embark on an East Coast road trip to Indiana and New Orleans to wrap things up for the regular season. Meanwhile, Houston has the worst record in the league and has lost its last six.

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