Playoff basketball has finally arrived on the national sports stage after the long regular season, spanning from late October to mid-April. It truly reveals the best that the NBA has to offer through intense fan atmospheres, late-game heroics, and superstars clashing for the chance to win a championship.
The betting favorite for this postseason is the Oklahoma City Thunder, which is no surprise to anyone following the NBA this season. They finished the year with an astounding 68-14 record, which ranks tied for sixth all-time for best regular-season records.
Following the Thunder is the favorite to win the Eastern Conference in the Boston Celtics–the defending champs–who look no different than last year, and quite literally look the same, because the team is virtually identical in player personnel and coaching.
“Tatum has a big ego for a role player,” NASH senior Jack Kmetyk said of the Celtics star player. “They’re a sorry team full of sorry players. You would not catch me dead rooting for them, but they probably still win the finals.”
The Cleveland Cavaliers may be getting overlooked by many NBA fans and those in the media, even though they finished in 1st place in the Eastern Conference with 64 wins. They take on the play-in tournament champions, Orlando Magic, although it looks as if they will overwhelm them with their extremely deep lineup. It almost seems like fate for the Celtics and Cavs to clash in the conference finals this year, as they look head and shoulders above the rest of the East.
One team whose fan base has been deprived of playoff basketball success over the last decade and a half is finally rejoicing in a playoff win. Detroit had the longest losing streak of playoff games at 15, which was an NBA record, and they broke it by upending the heavily-favored New York Knicks in game two at Madison Square Garden. It has been a magical year for this proud franchise, finally returning to that “Bad Boy” culture of physical defense and tough play has shown out in a 30-win improvement from last season and now aims for a playoff run.
“I have no favorite team, so I’m rooting for the Detroit Pistons,” senior Mykola Denysenko said.
Another team from the East is looking to upset their opponent, the Indiana Pacers, who have the Milwaukee Bucks on the ropes with a 2-0 series lead going back to Indianapolis. The return of Damian Lillard to the Bucks lineup certainly evens the odds, but Pascal Siakam and Tyrese Haliburton are champing at the bit to knock them off for a second straight year in the playoffs.
Of course, basketball is a team game, but sometimes it can come down to individual performances that push teams to victory during the postseason. There are two leading candidates for the MVP this year. Denver’s point-center Nikola Jokic is lobbying for his fourth in the last five years, by averaging a triple-double, and OKC’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 32.7 points per game and leading his team to the best record in the league. They have a chance to meet in the second round as long as both of them win their respective series, which would be an epic showdown between the two best players in the NBA this season.
“Jokic or Kawhi [Leonard] are the best players in the playoffs right now,” senior Jackson Walsh said. “I wouldn’t take anybody over them. SGA doesn’t deserve the MVP because he’s a flopping foul baiter. Jokic should win it.”
Since acquiring Luka Doncic in a humongous trade in February, the Los Angeles Lakers have been the most talked-about team in the league. That move brought a lot of attention and hype, as the Lakers certainly have the star power needed to match the bright lights of LA. The duo of Lebron and Luka may just be the best in the NBA currently, and having Austin Reaves as a third option is great, but the depth of the roster has taken a hit because of the blockbuster trade. They take on Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round.
Nobody should forget about the Golden State Warriors. They may not be as threatening as years past, but Steph Curry and head coach Steve Kerr have won four finals together over the last decade, so nobody should ever count them out during the playoffs. There’s little doubt that their one of the most dangerous lower-seeded teams in the postseason, especially to their first-round opponents, the inexperienced young core of the Houston Rockets.
Regardless, senior John Nestor is picking a different team out of the West.
“Boston’s not going to repeat,” he said. “I’ve got Denver making it to the finals and winning the whole thing.”
