Canadians could make some noise in the NBA post-season

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This summer in Paris, the Canadian men's basketball team will make its first Olympic appearance since 2000, when future two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash carried the team to the quarterfinals in Sydney.

But first, some of the players hoping to lead Canada to its first Olympic basketball medal in 88 years enter the gauntlet of the NBA post-season. That begins tonight as the play-in tournament for the final two spots in each conference tips off.

Here's how the play-in tournament works: While the top six finishers in each conference rest up for the first round of the playoffs proper, the teams that placed seventh through 10th compete for the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds in a series of elimination games over the next few days. The seventh- and eighth-place teams square off, with the winner advancing directly to the playoffs as the No. 7 seed. The loser can still get the No. 8 seed by beating the survivor of the ninth vs. 10th matchup.

The first round of the Western Conference play-ins takes place tonight, with seventh-place New Orleans hosting the eighth-place Los Angeles Lakers while No. 9 Sacramento hosts No. 10 Golden State. The East play-ins begin tomorrow night with seventh-place Philadelphia hosting eighth-place Miami and No. 9 Chicago hosting No. 10 Atlanta.

The final round for both conferences is on Friday night, followed by the start of the main 16-team playoff bracket on Saturday.

Here's a look at the top Canadian players to watch in the post-season:

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort (Oklahoma City Thunder)

SGA keeps getting better and better. Last season, the former