Play-In Madness and Things We Care About in the First Round

Verno and Jacoby return to react to the opening games of the play-in tournament and preview the final games on Friday. Then, they discuss the things they care about heading into the opening round of the NBA playoffs. Welcome to The Mismatch! (0:30) Play-in tournament recap (2:03) Hornets-Heat: The game was wildly entertaining (7:06) Magic-76ers: Magic fans would rather watch Hornets-Pistons (11:29) Warriors-Clippers: Vintage masterpiece by Steph and Green (24:15) Blazers-Suns: Devin Booker will be front and center vs. the Warriors (28:48) Things we care about going into the playoffs (29:09) Things we care about: Wings vs. bigs in the Cavs-Toronto matchup (32:34) Things we care about: What if the Cavs lose? (38:11) Things we care about: Last run for this iteration of the Wolves (43:05) Things we care about: Nuggets must close quick (47:48) Things we care about: Can the Knicks run with the Hawks? (49:43) Things we care about: The Knicks' transition defense (53:28) Things we care about: Mitchell Robinson’s free throw shooting (1:00:06) Things we care about: Can the Celtics' regular-season success carry into the playoffs? (1:03:19) Things we care about: Is effort the Moneyball of the NBA? (1:06:08) Things we care about: Who doesn’t love Tyrese Maxey? (1:12:29) Things we care about: Small-market energy (1:16:05) Things we care about: Battle scars The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit to learn more about the resources and helplines available. Leave us a message on our Mismatch voicemail line! (323) 389-5091 Hosts: Chris Vernon and David Jacoby Producers: Stefan Anderson and Jeff Shearin Social: Keith Fujimoto Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Play-In Madness and Things We Care About in the First Round is an episode from The Mismatch by The Ringer.

This episode is 85:41 long.

This episode was published on Apr 17, 2026.

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