Jacob Smith
No feeling like the start of the NBA playoffs. Four games each day, best of seven series and the first glimpse at who can legitimately make a playoff run.
The Hawks and Heat claimed the last two seeds in the east while the Lakers and Timberwolves earned their spot in the West. With the Bucks and Nuggets finishing the regular season with the best record in their conference, they enter as the top seeds.
East
Running down the east, the top seeded Bucks have a matchup with Kyle Lowry, Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat. While for Miami the x-factor is obviously the takeover ability of Jimmy Butler, what Bam Adebayo is able to do inside the paint will also be something to watch against Giannis and the Bucks. Against Chicago in their play-in matchup, Miami did a good job controlling the boards against Andre Drummond, and they’ll have to do that again to get chances at kick out threes that they hit at an efficient rate. For the Bucks, it’s do what they’ve done all season to get themselves the top seed.
The two seed is the Boston Celtics. Looking like the best team in the NBA for stretches of the season, they go against Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks in the first round. This looks to be a extremely offensive heavy series as Atlanta and Boston finished third and fourth in the NBA in points per game with the Hawks scoring 118 and the Celtics 117. With Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown being as lethal as they are, the defence of Atlanta will have to step up to slow down the Celtics and keep it out of a shootout.
The third seed in the East is the Philadelphia 76ers and all eyes are on Joel Embiid as the MVP candidate looks to guide his team to the finals alongside James Harden. Philadelphia led the league in three point percentage at 38.7 this season and along with the play of Embiid inside the paint, the multi-faceted offense will cause problems for the Nets who score a majority of their points from the mid range (11.7%). Getting defensive stops and turning them into offensive opportunities to get shots before Philly sets up in the half court will help the Nets in this series, outside of the obvious trying to contain Embiid.
The last matchup in the East features the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks as the four and five seeds. The Cavs finished with the best defensive rating in the league and paired with their fifth best 48 field goal percentage, they will be a tough out for the young Knicks team led by Julius Randle. The Knicks ranked third in the league in rebounds per game, and going against the Cavs defence, that will need to hold up to get themselves some second chances and take away opportunities for the efficient Cavs.
West
Moving to the West, the Denver Nuggets secured the top seed, and they will meet the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round. I think the biggest matchup to watch here is Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon against KAT and Rudy Gobert. While both sides have takeover players in Jamal Murray and Anthony Edwards, the battle inside the paint will really make the difference in whether the Nuggets can continue to push through the West or the Timberwolves can make an upset run.
The two seed goes to Ja Morant and the Grizzlies, and they meet the King in the first round. The determined Lakers fueled by the drive to continue to prove people wrong with what this team can accomplish, will go against one of the most electrifying teams in a surely hostile environment and the Lakers taking one of the first games in Memphis will be a big boost and put the Grizzlies on the back foot. LeBron James set the all-time scoring record this season and now he looks to push for another ring and in a West that has been wide open throughout most of the year, going through one of the league’s best in Memphis will surely prove that anything can happen in these playoffs. Ja and Dillon Brooks are very very hard to deny though.
The Sacramento Kings were one of the league’s pleasant surprises this season. Their high powered offence led them to the third seed in the West, and they get the juggernaut Golden State Warriors who finished as the sixth seed battling injuries throughout the season. Klay Thompson said when the Warriors are healthy he doesn’t see anyone beating them, and until he’s proven wrong I have to believe him, the last team to beat the Warriors when healthy was LeBron in 2016, and when Klay, Steph and Draymond are all doing their thing they truly are unbelievable to watch. Though if I had to match them with someone to create an exciting series, its these Kings. In a series that could have every game end with a 130-129 score, if you like offense, you should pay attention to the three and six seeds.
The final matchup in the West is the four seed Phoenix Suns and fifth seed LA Clippers. With Kevin Durant joining the Suns and pushing them to a new level, they are looking like one of the top teams in the West, and for Kawhi, Paul George and Russell Westbrook, executing efficiently on offense will be key to keeping up with the Suns.
The NBA Playoffs are set, and all the action kicks off today with four games on schedule.
The 76ers host the Nets at 1pm ET, the Celtics and Hawks start at 3:30pm ET, Cavs and Knicks at 6pm ET finished off by the Warriors and Kings at 8:30pm ET.
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