Phoenix Suns coach Jordan Ott is confident about his team’s mindset as they prepare to face the Portland Trail Blazers in the highly anticipated play-in tournament game on Tuesday.

“We’ll be juiced and ready to rock,” Ott said, emphasizing the Suns' eagerness to return to the postseason after missing out last year.

On the other side, Portland's interim head coach Tiago Splitter draws from his seven seasons of NBA experience, including five playoff appearances, to guide his team. Portland has not made the playoffs since 2021, and their last playoff series win was in 2019, when they fell to Golden State in the Western Conference Finals.

"Play free," Splitter advised his players. "You know, you can play that game super tense. It’s a balance between playing hard and playing free a little bit. You cannot be in fear. You just have to play hard and enjoy that."

The seventh-seeded Suns and eighth-seeded Blazers will begin the two-for-one round of the NBA’s extra season on Tuesday. The winner will advance to the eight-team playoffs, facing the second-seeded San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 on Sunday. The loser will get a second chance, hosting another play-in game on Friday against the winner of the Los Angeles Clippers-Golden State Warriors contest.

The Suns hold the edge in the season series, winning two of the three matchups. Phoenix won both games in Portland, but the most recent meeting on February 22 saw the Blazers take a 92-77 victory in Phoenix, with both teams missing key players. Suns stars Devin Booker and Dillon Brooks were sidelined, while Blazers leading scorer Deni Avdija was forced out of the game after just 59 seconds due to a recurring back injury.

Ott rested his starters, including Booker and Brooks, in the Suns' regular-season finale, a dominant 135-103 win over Oklahoma City on Sunday. However, concerns linger over the availability of Jalen Green (knee) and Jordan Goodwin (ankle), both of whom left the Wednesday win over Dallas with injuries.

"Whoever’s available, we’ll make it work," Ott said. "We know we are a competitive group. We have more than enough to go out there and play as hard as we possibly can."

For the Blazers, Avdija’s stellar performance in their 122-120 win over Sacramento clinched the eighth seed for Portland. Avdija finished with 25 points and 10 assists, while 7-foot-2 Donovan Clingan recorded his fourth consecutive double-double, with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Clingan also posted 23 points and 13 rebounds in the February 22 win over Phoenix.

Portland has been in strong form, winning five of their last seven games and seven of their last 10. In contrast, the Suns have won only six of their last 16, with many of those losses coming without Brooks due to a fractured hand.

“They’ve been playing well lately,” Ott said of Portland. “It’s a really good defense. They’re in a different coverage, where they just funnel everything to the big (Clingan). They are super active, long on the wings, play super physical. Offensively, they play fast in transition and drive the basketball. It’ll be a challenge, the same challenge that we’ve seen with them before.”

Splitter, who took over as interim coach when head coach Chauncey Billups was placed on administrative leave after an arrest in October, acknowledged the pressure of the moment but encouraged his team to embrace the challenge.

“Stuff happens,” Splitter said. “I think we went through everything you can imagine. Of course, it’s going to be a tough game. Jordan Ott is a great coach. A lot of pressure. You just have to enjoy that, knowing it is going to be part of their lives now, playing these important games.”

This exciting play-in matchup promises to be a thrilling battle for both teams as they look to secure a place in the playoffs.

— Field Level Media/Reuters