The NBA regular season has finally ended. The playoffs begin on April 13, let’s look at each Eastern Conference matchup.
(1) Milwaukee Bucks vs (8) Detroit Pistons
The Bucks finished the season with an Eastern conference best, 60-22, record. A team does not win 60 games by accident. Coach Bud has had this team going right all year and is likely going to be named Coach of the Year for this phenomenal season with the Bucks. As a side note, Bud winning this award will be a black mark on Jason Kidd’s coaching resume as Bud made a team Kidd had significantly better by implementing a better style to fit their all World talent, Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Bucks are missing a key piece in Malcolm Brogdon due to injury, but it won’t be much of a problem in this series against the Pistons. The Pistons finished the season with a 41-41 record; a truly mediocre record for a mediocre team. Although the Pistons do not have Giannis, they do have Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond. I think Blake is going to go into the playoffs with something to prove. The Pistons may be able to steal a game at home because anything can happen in the playoffs, but I am rolling with the Bucks in this one.
(2) Toronto Raptors vs (7) Orlando Magic
Well, this is it. This is Toronto’s chance. A team that has never been able to get past Lebron James in the playoffs do not have to worry about running into him this time around. After trading for Kawhi Leonard in the Summer, the Raptors put the NBA world on notice that they were not messing around this season, and they didn’t. They just missed out on the 60-win mark and have a complete, deep roster. They can play multiple styles depending on the matchup and will more times than not have the best player on the floor. In this series, they will have the best, second best, and third best player on the floor in Leonard, Siakam, and Lowry. The Orlando Magic said numerous times they were trying to make the playoffs this year after not making them since the 2011-2012 season. They clearly accomplished that goal and will get good experience for their young players like Gordon and Isaac. Unfortunately, it will be short lived as I do not see them putting up much of a fight against the Raptors. The Raptors will win this series without breaking much of a sweat.
(3) Philadelphia 76ers vs (6) Brooklyn Nets
The Sixers will have the best four players on the floor when they throw Embiid, Simmons, Butler, and Harris on the floor and it will be a tough hurdle for the Nets to jump over. Look, the Eastern Conference playoffs have a high likelihood to be quite boring, there is simply no way around it, but I do think this will be one of the more entertaining series. For starters, it is Philly vs New York which is always fun. The Barclays Center gets wild at regular season games, so I can only imagine how the atmosphere will be there for the playoffs. What the Nets have going for them is that they get great guard play out of Russel and Dinwiddie. The Sixers have struggled all year defending the opposition’s guards which could spell trouble. The bottom line about the Nets is that they play hard, tough, and have guys who are not going to back down on the defensive end which will be a key for them in this series. Brooklyn moving on would be the better story, but the talent on the Sixers will prove to be too much for a first-round exit; let’s go with the Sixers in six games.
(4) Boston Celtics vs (5) Indiana Pacers
The Boston Celtics were not supposed to be the four seed, but that’s why you play the games! Coming into the season, the Celtics were supposed to power through the Eastern Conference and finish right alongside the Raptors at the top of the East. The team has been inconsistent all year and do not really give their fans any reason to believe they will drastically turn it around in the playoffs. To make matters worse, Marcus Smart has a torn oblique and will miss at least the first two rounds, assuming the Celtics are able to advance past the Pacers. Stop me if you have heard this before, “Gordon Hayward is back!” Yeah, I know, like a broken record; however, this time it really does look like he is. Hayward finished the season with an aggressive style and just looks better and more confident out there on the floor. With the loss of Smart and the up and down season Tatum has had, this will be vital to the Celtics. I mentioned the Smart injury and it will serve as a bad negative for this team, but they won’t get any sympathy from the Indiana Pacers who lost their best player due to injury earlier this season, Victor Oladipo. The Pacers are a good, scrappy team who will put up a fight, but without Oladipo it will be too much of a task. They ended the regular season poorly and that is never a good way to go into the playoffs. The Celtics’ stars in Kyrie and Horford will turn on their playoff gear and make this a relatively easy series for Boston; let’s go with Boston in five.
