Who is excited for the NBA playoffs? I know I am super excited . Lets take a look at the probable current matchups based on current win/loses. If you take a look at the NBA official website it looks as though The Cleveland CAVS first matchup will be with the Indiana Pacers. Boston Celtics will most likely take on the Washington Wizards. Houston Rockets will face the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Golden State Warriors will face Oklahoma City for their first round, while the Toronto Raptors face the Milwaukee Bucks. There are other teams competing but lets start with the ones mentioned above.
I am going to start with the Cleveland CAVS and the Indiana Pacers. as of todays date, the CAVS have won 49 games and lost 31, while the Pacers have won 47 and lost 33. My bet is definitely on the Cleveland CAVS to win this one. It looks as though it will be a solid matchup as they have won and lost almost the same number of games but what sets these two teams apart is LeBron James. LeBron just plays harder during the playoffs and finals. We have already seen LeBron play one of his best years yet this season with several times scoring in the 40’s and making so many triple doubles that he has surpassed Micheal Jordan on a few stats and continues to break records. LeBron isn’t letting the Pacers get the best of him. My bet…the CAVS will win this round.
Next team Boston and Washington will most likely face each other in the first round. Boston has 54 wins and 25 losses this season so far and Washington has 42 wins and 38 losses. This will probably be a decent matchup but my bet is on Boston. It will be a struggle without Kyrie and Smart who are both out on injury, but with Jalen Brown and Marcus Morris on board….things will get tough. Boston isn’t holding down the number two spot for nothing. My bet is Boston will take this one.
Houston and Minnesota is the next interesting possible matchup. Currently, Minnesota has 45 wins and 35 losses while Houston has 64 wins and just 15 losses. Well, I dont have to explain this matchup. Houston will sweep through their first round without a blink. Infact, they can probably even sit Harden out of the games and still do a full sweep of Minnesota. Sorry, Minnesota, but you do not have a chance. The obvious winner of this round will be Houston.
Next, we have Golden State and Thunder probably facing off the first round. Golden state currently has 57 wins and 22 losses, while the Thunder has 45 wins and 34 losses. What makes this round so interesting is watching Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook go at it. Westbrook and Durant were teammates a couple of years ago. Durant decided he wanted to join a super team for a chance at a championship and all of his wishes were granted as Durant took home the 2017 ring as the Warriors defeated the Cleveland CAVS and Durant had a HUGE part in that. Westbrook was highly upset that his best buddy on the team left him. I am pretty sure it made Westbrook even more upset after Durant won. Then somehow the nickname “cupcake” was given to Durant as everyone thought he took the easy way out. He joined a team that already had many MVP’s on it so he didnt have to struggle to hard for the win. Although Curry is currently out with an injured knee and will not start in the plyoffs, I believe the Warriors will play tough (they have Durant afterall) and will win this first round. It might not be a perfect sweep, but there is no doubt the Warriors will take this round.
Then we have the probable (and most likely matchup) of the Raptors and the Bucks . Raptors currently have 57 wins and 22 loses (making them the number one team in the Eastern conference) and the the Bucks currently with 42 wins and 37 losses. There is still time for some of these matchups to change but as of now this is the prediction of the first round. My bet is definitely on the Raptors. With DeRozen on the team it just has been win after win. Infact, I think the Raptors are the only team the CAVS have to worry about to get into the finals. I know the CAVS beat the Raptors the last 2 games, but they would need to win 4 games out of 7. I am not sure the CAVS will do that the way they have been changing the roster and the lineup this entire season. I am not sure why the CAVS do not just keep the starters as Thompson, James, Love, Smith, and Calderon.
These teams may change as we still have a week left before the playoffs. However, I am ready to see the CAVS play their usual stellar self and dominate the east like they have the last 3 years! LETS GO CAVS!
ChristinaAlexander 