The NBA Playoffs begin on Saturday. Contrary to most seasons, the title chase appears to be wide open this year.
I have a few predictions for you. Remember, the playoffs take two months so it will take awhile to see if my thoughts come true.
Here are the most popular questions. Are the Milwaukee Bucks the team to beat? Can the Boston Celtics make it back to the NBA Finals? What do we make of the defending champion Golden State Warriors? Will the Denver Nuggets finally break through in the Western Conference?
I believe a 7-seed or 8-seed will upset the 2-seed or 1-seed in the Western Conference this year. The Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies are the two top teams in the conference.
I can see the seventh seed Los Angeles Lakers beating the second seed Memphis Grizzlies. Memphis will have their hands full. Not only will they have to come up with a plan to stop LeBron James, who just had one of the best seasons of his career at 38-years-old but they will have to try and stop Anthony Davis who has managed to stay healthy for a few months.
With their added depth in D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura, Mo Bamba and the emergence of Austin Reaves as a secondary scorer offensively, Los Angeles is one of the hottest teams in the league right now and a group nobody wants to have to see in a seven-game series.
I do not see Milwaukee or Boston being challenged in the first two rounds of the East.
The Bucks enter the playoffs with the best record in the league. The Celtics enter the playoffs with the second-best record in the league.
The lone surprise for either team is if Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers takes over a series with his offensive exploits. Mitchell has a history of doing just that. He had an MVP-like year with the Cavaliers this season.
Mitchell and the Cavs open with the New York Knicks, a team he has dominated this year. In four games against New York this season, Mitchell has averaged 31.8 points, 7.5 assists and 4.8 rebounds.
The West, on the other hand, is wide open. Very little separated the top of the Western Conference from those in the Play-In Tournament this season, which is why the playoffs are going to be all over the place in the West.
In the 3-seed vs. 6-seed matchup, the Sacramento Kings are more than capable of hanging around with the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors and they have earned the right to host the Warriors in this first-round series.
Looking at the other matchup, the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Clippers split their four regular season matchups this season and even without Paul George, the Clippers still have plenty of depth and experienced veterans who are ready to contribute. If there is one thing we know, it is to never count out a team led by Kawhi Leonard.
As far as picking a champion, I do believe one of the league’s superstars will win another title. I am talking about the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Kawhi Leonard and LeBron James. I truly think one of these five stars will be adding a ring to their resume.
It seems destined for the Bucks and Celtics to meet in the Eastern Conference Finals. Giannis and Milwaukee would be favored over Boston.
Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard have all won titles over the course of their respective Hall-of-Fame careers and no matter how you splice the West, at least one of these stars will be in the Western Conference Finals.
Durant and Leonard will face one another in their team’s first-round series and Curry could very well face LeBron in the Western Conference Semifinals.
One of these four superstars could very likely face off with Giannis in the NBA Finals.
Great theater if it happens.
