The NBA playoffs are here!

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I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for my favourite time of the year, playoff season!

Luckily both the NBA and NHL playoffs usually fall under the same time schedule so we get double the action, but today I’m going to be talking all about the NBA playoffs. I have loved watching and playing basketball since I was just a young kid. I don’t know, there was always something so enticing about it. I picked my favourite team to be the Chicago Bulls since they had a player with the same last name as my first name and he also rocked my number I wore while playing sports growing up. That year the Bulls took on the Boston Celtics in the first round and unluckily, the Bulls were eliminated but not without sparking a whole new joy in a young brain of mine. This just shows that no matter who your favourite team is, you have story behind it.

The 2024 NBA playoffs begin on April 20th and each matchup looks more enticing than the last and boy, I can’t wait. There still are two deciding games left as the Sacramento Kings take on the New Orleans Pelicans in a battle for the final Western Conference playoff spot in which the winner will take on the team with the best record in the West, the Oklahoma City Thunder.. Then on the Eastern side of it, my favourite team, the Chicago Bulls take on the Miami Heat with the winner advancing to the final Easter spot, to play the team with the best odds to win the championship, the Boston Celtics. Star players of the Heat and Pelicans, Jimmy Butler and Zion Williamson had both suffered injuries in their first play-in game, leaving them to be questionable in the game that matters most. I’m praying that my Chicago Bulls will be able to pull away with the victory, since it would be a playoff series rematch of the Celtics and Bulls, which was the series that kick started my passion for basketball.

Western Conference

Now one of the biggest playoff series coming up is the 2023 Western Conference finals rematch between the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers are once again the underdog of the matchup, but when you have LeBron James on your team, you can’t be counted out. The Nuggets had dominated the Lakers year round as they swept the season series 3-0 and if that is any hint at what the playoff series might look like then… yikes. It will be a dogfight between two of the league’s most dominant big men in recent times. Former 2 time MVP,  Nikola Jokic will be standing toe to toe with nine time all-star Anthony Davis. Will the Nuggets be able to complete another sweep over the Lakers in a consecutive playoff rematch?

Transitioning over to the other side of Los Angeles basketball, the LA Clippers matchup with the Dallas Mavericks. I feel like I have seen this matchup way too often but I must be mistaken since they haven’t played each other in the playoffs since 2021. This game was meant to be on the big stage of LA due to the big named players on both teams. The players of Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and James Harden all combine for 47 all star game appearances, and even six NBA scoring titles. This will be an historic matchup as it features some childhood favourite players who are still making the journey for a championship ring. The Mavericks are the underdogs heading into the series but they may be the best bet on underdogs of this year’s playoffs.

In my opinion, there were some surprising teams that actually excelled this season. One of them being the Minnesota Timberwolves who finished third in the Western Conference with a 56-26 record which is a major improvement from being the 8th seed just last year. The T-Wolves take on the 6 seed Phoenix Suns led by former NBA champion Kevin Durant who is no stranger to the magnitude of playoff games. Even though the Suns are the lower seed between the two teams, they have put on impressive play against the Timberwolves, sweeping them during the season 3-0 by a cumulative amount of 47 points. Timberwolves star big man Karl-Anthony Towns has only been able to play in 2 games since March 4th due to injury, leaving fans to wonder if he will be ready for such a high stakes game.

Eastern Conference 

Moving on to the Eastern Conference, the theme carries through with teams that have had bounce back seasons compared to last year. I have to say that the Eastern team that I would give the comparison of the Timberwolves season to is the Orlando Magic. Whether you tuned in to see their young core dominate the game, or you just wanted to hear the catchy theme song they have that I couldn’t get out of my head for a while. After having a more than disappointing season last year as they missed the playoffs, finishing with the record of 34-48 but this year was a completely different Orlando Magic team as they secured the 5th seed with a record of 47-35. The Magic will play the 4th seed Cleveland Cavaliers and I think it will be one of those matchups that goes to game 7 due to them both having young cores and tying the regular season series 2-2. The teams also both ranked in the top 10 defense and on the lower half of the offensive rankings. Both teams are built around their big man Jarett Allen, Evan Mobley, Jonathan Isaac, and Paolo Banchero, so don’t expect the games scoring to be high, but a gritty battle nonetheless.

A team that truly surprised me with how high they ended up being seeded, was the New York Knicks as they ended up grabbing the two seed in the east, in which the last time they finished with that seeding position was over a decade ago, during the 2012-13 season. The scary thing is they are faced up with the intimidating Philadelphia 76ers led by big man Joel Embiid. The 76ers were at one point near the top of the Eastern standings, until their star player in Embiid went out with an injury till the near end of the season, leaving the 76ers to slowly slip down the standings and wind up in the play-in tournament. In games where the 76ers have played Joel Embiid, the squad has gone an astounding 31-8. They collided with the Miami Heat in the play-in tournament battle and were inches close to defeat but snuck away with the one point victory to confirm their playoff position. We haven’t seen these two teams meet in the playoffs since 1989, but when they met in the regular season, the Knicks bested the 76ers beating them three out of four times, with all three of the Knicks wins being above double digits and the biggest win margin being 36. Two young promising stars of the next generation, Tyrese Maxey and Jalen Brunson will showcase their talents against each other in the playoff series.

The last of the matchups that have already been determined, is the Indiana Pacers taking on the Milwaukee Bucks and there is a bit of history behind the battle. Five months ago, the teams faced off and the Greek freak Giannis would go berserk for 64 points and a Pacers rookie scored his first points. As soon as the game concluded, the Pacers had run off with the game ball before Giannis could even notice, and Giannis would go in a full pursuit to obtain the ball for his stellar performance. This playoff matchup has been a long time in the making as it hasn’t occurred for 24 years. Both teams are offensive threats as they find their squads both ranked within the top six offesnes in the league. The Bucks look to continue for playoff success even after firing Adrian Griffin mid season and transitioning over into an old school coach who has paid his dues, Doc Rivers. The Pacers look to continue their success from the regular season as they beat the Bucks 4-1, hoping that same win rate can transition over into the playoffs.

The NBA playoffs start on Saturday April 20th and I will be tuning into a lot of these matchups, especially if my Chicago Bulls are able to secure the 8th seed. In all seriousness, this is a very competitive year of playoff matchups, with hype and anticipation floating around them all, hopefully your favourite team will go all the way and win the coveted NBA championship.

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