Play-in tournament begins today with West games

LeBron James and the Lakers are back in the NBA play-in tournament. So are Stephen Curry and the Warriors. And Jimmy Butler and the Heat return, as well.

The postseason — not technically the playoffs yet — begins today with two Western Conference matchups. The Lakers visit New Orleans with the winner securing the No. 7 seed and a series with defending champion Denver in Round 1. The Warriors go to Sacramento for an elimination game for both teams

The Eastern Conference takes the stage Wednesday: Philadelphia plays host to Miami in a game to decide the No. 7 seed, and Atlanta visits Chicago with the season on the line for those clubs.

This is Year 4 of this format, and technically, Year 5 for the play-in tournament overall. A reminder of how the format works:

■ There are six games in the tournament. All six either have a team qualifying for the playoffs, or getting eliminated, or both.

■ No. 7 plays No. 8. The winner is in and gets the No. 7 seed for the playoffs. The loser has a second chance.

■ No. 9 plays No. 10. The loser’s season is over. The winner moves on to visit the loser of the 7-vs.-8 game.

■ The remaining teams (the 7-8 loser and the 9-10 winner) play Friday, with the winner getting the No. 8 seed in the playoffs. The loser’s season ends.

The Lakers and Heat showed that the play-in can be a springboard to bigger and better things last season. The Lakers reached the Western Conference finals before losing to Denver. The Heat reached the NBA Finals before losing to the Nuggets.