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    Hoos in the NBA Postseason: Hauser, Murphy, and Hunter Eyeing Deep Playoff Runs

    The 2023-2024 NBA regular season is officially in the books and the playoffs have arrived. 20 teams are still alive as the 2024 NBA Postseason gets underway on Tuesday night with the Play-In Tournament.

    Let's check in all of the former Virginia men's basketball stars who are on the rosters of teams that are still in the hunt for the Larry O'Brien Trophy this year.

    Three former Wahoos are on the active rosters of teams that are in the NBA Postseason, but only one of those teams have secured their spot in the 16-team NBA Playoff bracket. Sam Hauser is rounding out his third year in the NBA with the Boston Celtics, who ran away with the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference with one of the most dominant regular seasons in league history. Hauser played in 79 of the 82 games and made 13 starts, averaging career-highs in minutes (22.0 mpg), scoring (9.0 ppg), and rebounding (3.5 rpg). He shot 42.4% from beyond the arc in the regular season, good for 11th in the entire NBA.

    Now, Hauser will look to help the Celtics cap their historic season with a run to the NBA Finals. Boston could face four possible teams in the first round depending on how the play-in tournament shakes out in the Eastern Conference: No. 7 Philadelphia 76ers, No. 8 Miami Heat, No. 9 Chicago Bulls, or No. 10 Atlanta Hawks. The loser of the Sixers-Heat game will face the winner of the Bulls-Hawks game for the right to take on the Celtics in the first round.

    Speaking of the Atlanta Hawks, De'Andre Hunter helped his team grab the final spot in the postseason in the Eastern Conference as the No. 10 seed. Although he missed some time with injuries, playing in only 57 games and starting 37, the argument can be made that this has been Hunter's best season as he is scoring a career-high 15.6 points per game and shooting a career-high 38.5% from beyond the arc on 5.3 attempts per game. Add in his indispensable value on the defensive end and Hunter has played a massive role in the Hawks even making the postseason.

    Atlanta will have to win back-to-back road games to make the playoffs, though, winning at Chicago on Wednesday (9:30pm on ESPN) and then doing the same against the loser of the Sixers-Heat game on Friday for the right to face Hauser's Celtics in the first round.

    Finally, Trey Murphy III and the New Orleans Pelicans also find themselves in the Play-In Tournament as the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference. Like Hunter, Murphy missed some time with an injury and played 57 games, but has returned to form and been a vital contributor for the Pels down the stretch. Murphy's three-point percentage fell from 40.6% last season to 38.0% this season, but his scoring average is slightly up at 14.8 points per game. Murphy's three-point shooting and high-flying athleticism will be crucial as New Orleans looks to survive the Play-In Tournament.

    As the No. 7 seed in the West, the Pelicans will host LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday at 7:30pm on TNT. The winner of that game will take on the No. 2 seed and defending NBA Champion Denver Nuggets in the first round. The loser of the Pelicans-Lakers game will have another shot to advance, facing the winner of the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors on Friday for the right to face the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs.

    The Denver Nuggets have former Wahoos Jay Huff and Braxton Key on their roster, but as two-way players, Huff and Key are ineligible to participate in the NBA Playoffs, though they can accompany the team and be on the bench for the playoff games. The same is true for Mamadi Diakite, who is a two-way player on the New York Knicks, who have the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference and will face either the Sixers or the Heat in the first round. Ty Jerome is under contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference and are set to face the No. 5 seed Orlando Magic, but Jerome has played only two games this season as he suffered an ankle injury early in the season that required surgery and he has been out indefinitely since then.

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