Cyclones in the NBA: Playoff Preview

Three former Cyclones are set to take the court as the NBA Playoffs tip off Tuesday, bringing Iowa State pride to basketball's biggest stage.

Tyrese Haliburton - #0, Indiana Pacers (50-32)
Tyrese and the Pacers have locked up the 4-seed in the Eastern Conference, and are set for their first-round matchup with the 5-seed Milwaukee Bucks.

Haliburton only appeared in the team's first game of the week before resting the next two games in preparation for the first round. In the win against Cleveland, Tyrese had a near triple-double finishing with 23 points, eight rebounds, and 10 assists (23-8-10). He also tied a season-high of three blocks.

Haliburton's Week: 23 PPG, 10 APG, 8 RPG
Game 1: vs. MIL (4/19)

Georges Niang - #20, Atlanta Hawks (40-42)
Niang and the Hawks finished off the season with three consecutive wins, carrying some momentum into their Play-In matchup with the Magic. The Hawks finished the regular season as the 8-seed in the East, giving them two chances at a playoff spot to face either the 1-seed Cleveland Cavaliers or the 2-seed Boston Celtics.

Niang appeared in two of the team's last three games, finishing with 11 points and one assist against Brooklyn and 16 points and three rebounds against Philadelphia.

Niang's Week: 13.5 PPG, 1.5 RPG, 0.5 APG
Play-In: @ ORL (4/15)

Talen Horton-Tucker - #22, Chicago Bulls (39-43)
Horton-Tucker and the Bulls also finished the regular season on a three-game winning streak, and are also playing in the Play-In Tournament. The Bulls ended the regular season as the 9-seed in the Eastern Conference and will face the 10-seed Miami Heat in Chicago on Wednesday night. The winner of the Heat vs. Bulls game will have to play the loser of the Hawks vs. Magic game for the 8-seed in the Eastern Conference and would face the Cavaliers.

In the two games last week, Horton-Tucker left a couple good performances to further his case for playoff minutes. In the win against Washington Talen finished with 12-1-4 and also had 17-3-6 in the win against Philadelphia in the finale.

Horton-Tucker's Week: 9.3 PPG, 1 RPG, 1 APG
Play-In: vs. MIA (4/16)

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