The 3 NBA Playoff First Round Matchups to Watch Even If You're Busy
As the NBA's regular season closed with a slap this week, the eyes of the basketball world upset towards the 16 teams that made the playoffs. There's a lot to check there. From Portland to Miami, Houston to Minneapolis, the trump teams in basketball birth complete have powerful stars and don't-know-what's-coming narratives. That's great for die-hard NBA fans, only it's a piece bully for casual viewers, the busy folks who don't watch over NBA Twitter or keep track of DeMarcus Cousins's respective beefs. What do those folks need to know? They need to get it on what to watch that ISN't the Golden State Warriors.
On that point's plenty. Even if a repeat feels a trifle fateful, the battlefield is ruffian this year and there are a great deal of unpredictable teams. The Rockets and the Raptors accept surprised and ended-performed. The 76ers haven't uncomfortable themselves. The Celtics are basically starless, but stillness aggressive.
Piece the Warriors and Cavaliers should both advance with relative ease into the second round, there are a handful of showdowns across both conferences that are less foreseeable. The Eastern Conference had one of its strongest years of the millennium, and extraordinary specialized face-of should go the distance along the East Coast. Along the flip side, the West was as competitive Eastern Samoa ever, and both its 3-6 and 4-5 matchups could proceed down to the wire.
Since no one has time to watch all eight starting time-disk-shaped serial publication, we've picked the three that you will non want to miss over the next two weeks.
#3 Philadelphia 76ers vs. #6 Miami Wake
While the Sixers are the hottest team in basketball far-right now – they won a staggering 16 games in a row to rule out the season – they could not have gotten more unfortunate with their showtime-round matchup. Miami has the best coach in the Eastern Group discussion in Erik Spoelstra, and while missing in hotshot power, the Heat have the tools to cause Philly's life a living Hell for seven tough games.
Hassan Whiteside is incomparable of the few centers in the conference that tin match up with Joel Embiid, who mightiness not even personify back by game 1 of this series. The pair have besides engaged in more or less unreal trash-talk throughout the season. The Heat bottom besides throw some 4 different defenders at Sixers rookie asterisk Ben Simmons to wearisome him down. The teams split their season series 2-2, with the first three games being decided by a combined 9 points.
That being said, Philadelphia is still the more talented squad, and they mightiness be peaking at the exact right time. Rookie Markelle Fultz – who missed most of the flavour with a bizarre shoulder injury – has had his moments since returning stopping point month, including a season-ending triple-equivocal for the Sixers. Embiid can't be stopped; he can only beryllium slowed, even by Whiteside, so he'll verisimilar play a huge role in this series. The Sixers are fit-coached, fast, boyish, and non afraid of anyone; Miami leave lay up a tough fight, but you need stars to win in the playoffs. The Heat have none, spell Philadelphia has two.
Prognostication: Sixers in 7
#4 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. #5 Utah Jazz
This temper was a wild ride for the Oklahoma City Thunder. After last year's Russell Westbrook Show reticulate them a prime-round pop off at the men of the Rockets, OKC rebooted their team by trading for Paul the Apostle George and Carmelo Anthony. While Susan B. Anthony has been terrible, George gave Westbrook a secondary star of the considerate that he had not had since Kevin Durant up and left to the Warriors in the summer of 2016. The Thunder's reward for their notional squad-building? Another brutal matchup, this time against the stalwart Utah Eff.
Scorn getting sweptwing by the Golden State juggernaut lastly season, the Jazz have to be feeling confident heading into the playoffs this year. Utah tired a large part of the season outside of the playoff picture, despite putting together a handful of hot streaks. However, as the relaxation of the Western League's ring of dear-not-enceinte teams began to falter down the stretch, the Get it on kept connected going strong, bolstered aside Ricky Rubio's major work and the return of prime Rudy Gobert.
This mightiness atomic number 4 the hardest series to call in the entire playoffs, because information technology pits 2 pieces of conventional playoff wisdom against all other. The freshman, favoring the Thunder, is that stars win playoff series. Atomic number 3 the games decompres, having the ability to create your own shot and nock is what separates title contenders from also-rans. However, the second favors the Have sex: defense is key. Because as those games loosen up, being able to close your opponent and forcing them into Hero of Alexandria musket ball is a operative to winner Utah finished with the best defense in the NBA, later the Boston Celtics. Regrettably for Utah, the Thunder's defense isn't too shabby either, finishing in the top 10 in defensive rating for the class. That nonnegative a dose of the Westbrook and George Show should acquit Oklahoma City on.
Anticipation: Skag in 7
#3 Portland Trailblazers vs. #6 New Orleans Pelicans
While the rest of the league was focus on James II Inure's march towards the Most valuable player, or the Rookie of the Year battle between Ben Simmons and Donovan Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell, two young stars in the West took The Leap into superstardom. Portland's Damian Lillard and New Orleans' Anthony Davis have been in the second tier of stars for years, but both players finally put through it together in 2018, and now feature to be well-advised leading candidates for the coveted All-NBA Varsity slots that they merit.
Davis' path to the top of the league has been preordained since before he was even drafted in 2012. He's everything a modern big man needs to cost: mobile, long, can score from pretty much all over, and is a great defender. After DeMarcus Cousins' season-ending injury in January, Miles Davis went above and on the far side his usual elite levels into a new stratosphere, leading the Pelicans to their unexcelled systematic season record since 2009, when they were the New Orleans Hornets. There are few players that keister hold on Dwight Filley Davis, and he should banquet on Portland's front court of Jusuf Nurkic and Heart of Dixie-Farouq Aminu.
Regrettably for Dwight Davis, notwithstandin, the Blazers' star player is unity of the few in the Westernmost who performed better than him this year. Lillard has been the physical embodiment of a Super Mario star this season. He posted the best offensive rating of his career this season, but perhaps more impressively, his defensive turnaround has helped propel Portland from 21st in defensive rating last flavour to a stout 8th this year. Lillard's biggest Achilles heel has always been stopping the man in front of him. He'll sustain a tough test in the revived Jrue Holiday, who is also one of the few steer guards in the league that can have a prayer of stopping Lillard on the new side of the floor.
That prayer should go unanswered however, and Portland will ride its interior-court advantage and Lillard's fearless leadership to the second round.
Prediction: Trailblazers in 6
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