The NBA playoffs are here and the playoff seeding is now set in stone. Eight NBA Teams from the Western Conference will fight for their right to reach the NBA finals this season.
No. 1 OKC Thunder Vs No. 8 New Orleans Pelicans
The Oklahoma City Thunder finished the season with the number one seed in the Western Conference as it came down to the last day of the NBA season. The Thunder are way ahead of schedule as they didn’t make the playoffs last season and this season they’re at the top of the conference. Huge shoutout to Sam Presti as he’s been able to make the great draft picks and he has added pieces like Gordon Hayward for veteran leadership when it’s needed. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been the MVP in my eyes this season as he’s carried this OKC team throughout and has been able to have a career season with 30 PPG, 5.5 REB, 6.2 AST per game. The Thunder are the favorites in this mathcup against the Pelicans as Zion Williamson’s health will be a huge factor in this one as he got hurt in the play-in against the Lakers. The Thunder have the quickness and they have the youthful legs to out run the Pelicans in this series. If Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum can score 25+ per game this will give the Pelicans a chance to be close in this series. If Zion comes back this could be subject to change but SGA is on a mission this season and he’s one of the toughest to guard in the NBA. I don’t see any scernerio where Shai doesn’t average at least 35 points per game in this series because no one on the Pelicans can slow him down and that will open up things for Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, and Josh Giddey.
Series Prediction: Thunder win the series in six games (4-2)
No 2. Denver Nuggets vs No. 7 LA Lakers
The rematch of the Western Conference Finals from last year where the Denver Nuggets got rid of the Lakers in quick fashion. The Lakers have heard all the talk and what’s happened in the past but this is the playoffs now which is a new season. The Lakers are finally getting healthy as Gabe Vincent just returned and if Jared Vanderbilt can come back that will help as well. LeBron has been special all season and I expect for him to show up in a big way against the Nuggets as this will be looked at to me as a legacy series. LeBron can’t and won’t let the Lakers get swept and if that’s going to happen he needs Anthony Davis to be a monster in the paint against Nikola Jokic. Anthony Davis has to really step up against the Nuggets because LeBron can’t do this all by himself. If Anthony Davis gives the Lakers that double-double average with DLO and Reaves adding in the Lakers should be right where they need to be. The Nuggets are the defending champions and they will have the best player on the court with Nikola Jokic. If Joker controls the pace of the games in this series it’s going to be extrememly tough for the Lakers. The Lakers will need to control Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr in order to make this win happen. It’s going to be interesting to see how the Lakers play vs the champs. The Lakers are coming in hot and they have been waiting for the revenge and the Lakers also know that LeBron’s championship window is slightly closing. I think the Lakers have the better team and they can do the unthinkable. The Lakers just need to limit Nikola Jokic’s impact on the games and if they do that they will be in charge but you can’t let him average a triple double in the series because it could get ugly.
Series Prediction: Lakers win in six games (4-2)
No. 3 Minnesota Timberwolves Vs No. 6 Phoenix Suns
The Minnesota Timberwolves led the West in the standings for majority of the year and showed that they can hang with anyone in the league. The only thing that they didn’t do this season was defeat the Phoenix Suns. It was a tough matchup during the season but I’m looking forward to the adjustments that Coach Finch will make in this series. The Timberwolves have a great team during play and on paper so they can get it done. The Timberwolves Karl Anthony-Towns is getting back into the groove of things after his knee injury. KAT had some time to get ready for this matchup and even Anthony Edwards said that they need KAT to be the MVP of this series. Anthony Edwards is the ultimate teammate and we know he will be trying to get his teammates involved but it’s also going to take him to be the man. Anthony Edwards has to make the right decisions in this series when he’s doubled so they can make the Suns pay. Anthony Edwards can get in takeover mode and if that happens the Suns can be in trouble too. Naz Reid is going to be the X-Factor for me in this series as I want to see him show the world what Minnesota has already knew and that’s the fact he can beat any mismatch thrown at him. The Timberwolves have the defensive anchor in Rudy Gobert to add that defense and if the Wolves can stay home and trust that defense that includes Jaden McDaniels they will be right where they need to be. This is going to be a tough series against the Suns but the Wolves can get it done. The Suns will look to continue to take advantage of the Mike Conley matchup during this series as Bradley Beal was able to shoot over Mike during the season but the Wolves will need to slow down KD, Booker, and Beal if they want to get the series win. Looking forward to this series and seeing what the Suns do without the bigs inside if Nurk gets in foul trouble. This is going to be a dogfight of a series so it can go either way but I’m going with the home court advantage in Minnesota.
Series Prediction: Timberwolves win in seven games (4-3).
No 4. LA Clippers Vs No. 5 Dallas Mavericks
The Clippers are built for this moment and the addition of James Harden/Westbrook this year will come in clutch during the postseason. Paul George and Kawhi Leonard have had a little trouble with this matchup in the past but the Clippers went and got Harden/Westbrook to help in those clutch moments. Those fou have a lot to prove as a unit and this will be the series they can do just that. Norman Powell has been amazing off the bench as well and he will be huge in this series as well from an offensive standpoint. The Mavericks have been hot this last month and Kyrie/Luka look to be clicking on all levels but so have the Clippers as they have finally gelled it all together. I’m looking for this to be a great series but the Clippers defense will show up big time in this one as they have what it takes to make it to the WCF but it will depend on the play and consistency. In the first round I see no issues getting past the Mavericks with the players on their roster that have already proven to be clutch in the postseason.
Series Prediction: Clippers win in six games (4-2)
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