A Refreshing Year of the NBA Playoffs
Photo Credit: Sporting News
From the absence of Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors to the rise of a new face in the league, Anthony Edwards, this year’s NBA playoffs were quite different from years past. The First Round seemed very different from previous first rounds. It was the first time seeing the Orlando Magic in the playoffs in over a decade, the Knicks being the number 2 seed for the first time in a long time, and seeing the Oklahoma City Thunder in the playoffs, for the most part, being the number 1 seed in the West.
The First Round is a huge indicator of who will most likely be the matchup for each conference before the finals. My initial prediction was the Knicks and the Timberwolves, but I eventually switched to the Pacers and the Mavericks. Now, we get the anticipated matchup between the Mavericks and the Celtics. I mean, face it, these are the most clutch and highest IQ teams that deserve to be here. If you disagree with the matchup, that’s your opinion.
Seeing the supposed playoff dark horse, the Los Angeles Clippers, lose in the First Round in six games is how this NBA playoffs tipped-off. LeBron losing in the First Round, in what would most likely be one of his last playoff games, is emotional to think about, no doubt. Although, the league is in good hands with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Ant-Man leading their teams in a complete sweep and domination over some pretty decent playoff teams.
An underrated and not talked about enough matchup was the Cavs and Magic series which, in my personal opinion, was my favorite series this postseason. It was the only series that went to 7 games in the First Round and was the most interesting with the most on the line. Although the winner was to face the now Eastern Conference Champion Boston Celtics, in retrospect, the thought was that either team going against the Celtics would be a good matchup. The Cavs ended up pulling it out from behind in Game 7 and went on to face Boston.
Now, the Second Round is the meat and potatoes of why this postseason is ranked high in my rankings. Right off the bat, the top 3 out of 4 teams lost their series matchup, defining a different sense of what this 2024 playoff has in store. The 2023 NBA Champions, the Denver Nuggets, losing to the new and improved Timberwolves was the shocker of the Second Round. I guess it is harder than it looks to repeat back-to-back championships.
We fast-forward to the present in Game 1 of the Dallas Mavericks vs Boston Celtics, Thursday, June 6th. This highly anticipated NBA Finals is what this entertaining and crazy postseason all comes down to. Whoever wins this matchup deserves all credit where credit is due, despite any critics. That being said, my prediction is the Dallas Mavericks winning the NBA Finals in 6 games.