One of the most hectic and crazy NBA seasons has wrapped up and we are finally in playoff time. The stakes will only rise as now there are 20 teams remaining and only 16 can remain after Friday.
In the eastern conference, the Bucks wrapped up the #1 seed and will play the #8 seed, the Celtics are the #2 and will play the #7, the 76ers take on the Nets, and the best matchup in my opinion, the Cavs taking on the Knicks.
Whoever the Bucks play they will easily take that series so nothing much to talk about there. If the Heat win their play-in game and play the Celtics then that would be a very interesting first round matchup. Another playoff rematch between the two teams after the Celtics eliminated the Heat last year to go to the finals.
The Heat have not been very solid this year, but the playoffs is a whole different beast and they have a ton of experience and star power to take on the Celtics. I still think the Celtics will take this series if it happens, but the Heat will give them a good fight.
Moving onto the #3 seed Sixers taking on the #6 seed Nets. In my opinion, the 76ers could potentially make it out of the east if Joel Embiid plays like his MVP self. The Sixers aren't a one man wrecking crew with just Embiid, he has a great supporting cast that can certainly take this team to the promise land.
I have the Sixers winning this series in 5 or 6 games. Many people think that the Nets are heavily overmatched and the Sixers will sweep, but they can easily steal a game or two. Mikal Bridges has a chance to prove his stardom to the rest of the NBA in this series for the Nets as well.
Will the process finally be completed this year? If Harden can put together good games and up his shooting percentage, then the Sixers are in a good position. It's a long shot but the Sixers are my sleeper team to make it out of the East.
To conclude the East, the Cavs will take on the Knicks. This is the best series by far in this conference because there is so much to talk about heading into the series. Will the Knicks get a healthy Julius Randle? This is a huge question that can totally alter who advances to the next round.
The biggest headline heading into this series is Donovan Mitchell. Around the NBA, it was very evident the Knicks were heavily pursuing Donovan Mitchell this summer and many thought he would wear the orange and white for this season and many to come. But this wasn't the case as the Cavs came out of nowhere and traded for him.
Stephen A. Smith said the other day that if the Knicks get knocked out by the Cavs then the whole season was a failure because of their failure to sign Donovan Mitchell. I heavily disagree with this claim because no one predicted the Knicks to be the #5 seed yet a playoff team at best.
The Cavs who acquired Donovan Mitchell finished one spot ahead of them in the regular season standings. Obviously Donovan Mitchell is a generational talent but to finish one spot ahead in the standings is not an absurd difference in a team's season. So when you say failure Stephen A, I have to disagree with you.
That being said, this series will be the closest out of the rest of the playoff matchups in the east and as a Knicks fan it is hard to go against my team and I don't want to either. Right now, I think this series is too close to decide and I'm looking forward to seeing how it plays out. Hopefully the first playoff series victory for the Knicks in 10 years will happen though.
The playoffs are finally here and this is just one conference of matchups to talk about. Stay tuned for my analysis of the Western Conference as the stakes get even higher.
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