The wild NBA season has finally ended, and now its the best time of the year! Over this season we have been entertained with phenomenal basketball play, giving us one of the toughest races to get in the playoffs in years. We saw rookies come in and play like veterans, we saw LeBron James still be the king of basketball, and witnessed Russell Westbrook average a triple double for the second year in a row. The best part is the show is just getting started! Here’s a breakdown of round one of the NBA Playoffs, and predictions.

 

Eastern Conference

 

1 Toronto Raptors Vs. 8 Washington Wizards:

The Raptors had a great year with a 34-7 home record, home court advantage will play a factor with the ecstatic crowd they have. The Wizards have have talent to give the Raptors a challenge, but their lack of a bench may become a real test for them. The Raptors bench has provided an NBA high average of 41.8 PPG, look for Scott Brooks to play his starters more minutes to match the scoring of Toronto’s bench. We’ll see which team can keep up the high intensity on both ends throughout the entire series.

Predictions:

Dustin- Toronto Raptors in 6 games

Jordan- Washington Wizards in 7 games

Mark T- Toronto Raptors in 5 games

2 Boston Celtics Vs. 7 Milwaukee Bucks:

Boston Celtics have had some big season ending injuries in premier point guard Kyrie Irving and didn’t even have new free agent signing Gordon Hayward play for a full game. They are still loaded with young talent that has kept them rolling, can Al Horford carry them through the first round? Facing a tough Bucks team lead by the future of the league, Giannis Antetokounmpo, it should be a great first round battle. Expect for Giannis to try and control the series on both ends of the floor, the Bucks will need big contributions from Jabari Parker and Eric Bledsoe. The X-factor of the series will be Kris Middleton who can defend and score at a high level!

Predictions:

Dustin- Milwaukee Bucks in 6 games

Jordan- Boston Celtics in 7 games

Mark T- Milwaukee Bucks in 6 games

3 Philadelphia 76ers Vs. 6 Miami Heat:

Philly has been one of the hottest teams since all star weekend, ending the season on a 16 game winning streak! They are up against a physical, never back down team in Miami, who likes to control the pace and keep the game slowed down. While on the other hand, the 76ers love to play fast, so look for it to be a tempo battle out on the floor. Will Joel Embiid be able to play in the mask and be able to keep his play at a high level? If Miami can find a way to play a complete game and stay out of foul trouble we could see a upset in this series. 76ers youth will be truly tested in this series.

Predictions:

Dustin- Philadelphia 76ers in 7 games

Jordan- Philadelphia 76ers in 6 games

Mark T- Miami Heat in 7 games

4 Cleveland Cavaliers Vs. 5 Indiana Pacers:

LeBron has already had a dominate year again, but he’s just getting started. While the Pacers Victor Oladipo had his best year of his career. We get the LeBron James vs Lance Stephenson show again, which could bring a little comedy with Lance’s past history against Bron. The Cavs have some young players they acquired at the trade deadline, that can bring them some huge offensive contributions if they can bring consistency and complete focus. Can the Pacers bigs dominate the Cavs inside to give Bron a potential first knockout blow? Look for King James to take his throne and control the game with his experience and his greatest of all time talent.

Predictions:

Dustin- Cleveland Cavaliers in 6 games

Jordan- Cleveland Cavaliers in 5 games

Mark T- Cleveland Cavaliers in 4 games

 

Western Conference

 

1 Houston Rockets Vs. 8 Minnesota Timberwolves:

With the addition of Chris Paul, the Rockets took a step to become the best NBA team this season, while James Harden has continued his MVP play all season. While the Wolves have had up and downs figuring out how to mesh together. It’s also the first time since 2004 that Minnesota has made the playoffs, they have some players with a lot of playoff experience to try and carry them. Houston is a more talented team that has some of the most exhilarating offense in the league. While playing their regular season series, out off 100 pick and roll possessions the Rockets ran against the Wolves they scored 130 points. Will Andrew Wiggins get back to his first overall pick status and help Jimmy Butler handle the load of James Harden? Watch the Rockets experience and 3 point shooting carry them this series.

Predictions:

Dustin- Houston Rockets in 5 games

Jordan- Houston Rockets in 5 games

Mark T- Houston Rockets in 6 games

2 Golden State Warriors Vs. 7 San Antonio Spurs:

The reigning champions have been tested with injuries to their 4 superstars, with Steph Curry out for the first round, the Spurs should make this interesting. The Spurs system has found a way to replace a top 10 player in Kawhi Leonard, with the outstanding play of LaMarcus Aldridge this season. Expect the Warriors to fully lock in and bring another level of play to the series, with Kevin Durant having big games for them with the support of Klay Thompson. The series should give us a fun battle of two of the best coaches in the NBA in Steve Kerr and Gregg Popovich. Defense is a huge emphasis for both of these teams, so it should get physical. Ending the season 4-6,  the Warriors have folks questioning if having Steph Curry out gives the Spurs an upset chance.

Predictions:

Dustin- Golden State in 5 games

Jordan- Golden State in 6 games

Mark T- Golden State in 6 games

3 Portland Trail Blazers Vs. 6 New Orleans Pelicans:

Blazers have possibly the best scoring tandem in the NBA with Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, but are battling a Pelicans team led by Anthony Davis. Pelicans suffered an injury to a great center in DeMarcus Cousins which should effect them but their play lately has picked up. Jusuf Nurkic will be an X-factor if he can stay out of foul trouble, AD will be a tough cover for him. Look for the Blazers Al-Farouq Aminu to guard Anthony Davis at times to take the load off Nurkic. Who is gonna be able to slow down Lillard or McCollum – they average 48.3 points per game together, and have that microwave ability at any moment. It will be a 48 minute battle inside and out every game this series.

Predictions:

Dustin- Portland Trail Blazers in 7 games

Jordan- New Orleans Pelicans in 7 games

Mark T- New Orleans Pelicans in 5 games

4 Oklahoma City Thunder Vs. 5 Utah Jazz:

This will be one of the best series in the first round, two talented teams on both sides of the ball. The Thunder have had their struggles this year while trying to get some chemistry, gaining some momentum over the last 4 games, they can become a dangerous threat. Utah has been one of the best teams since the All Star break, with the outstanding play of rookie Donovan Mitchell averaging 20 points per game. Thunder took 3 of the 4 in the regular season, which all came earlier in the year, but Jazz made the addition of Jae Crowder at the trading deadline since then. Two of the top defensive teams in the league, it should be a battle, especially on the inside with the matchup between two of the best centers in the league in Steven Adams and Rudy Gobert. Tempo will play a big factor in this series, with the Jazz running a more set driven slow tempo offense vs the Thunders fast pace offense that likes to get on the break. Gonna be a long physical series for both teams, which will provide plenty of entertaining for us.

Predictions:

Dustin-Oklahoma City Thunder in 7 games

Jordan- Oklahoma City Thunder in 5 games

Mark T- Oklahoma City Thunder in 5 games