The NBA’s best teams will battle it out for a chance at the Championship, airing May 15. The first match-ups in the West are Houston vs. Minnesota and Oklahoma City vs. Utah, along with Portland vs. New Orleans and Golden State vs. San Antonio. Spurs are the No. 1 seed, but have to go through the defending champions for a shot at the finals. In the East, one bracket consists of Toronto vs. Washington and Cleveland vs. Indiana, and the other is Philadelphia vs. Miami and Boston vs. Milwaukee. The No. 1 seed for the Eastern Conference is the Toronto Raptors, while No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers are poised to be their toughest competitors.
Tucker Price, the co-president of Seattle University’s Redzone, believes this year’s playoffs will be a chance to see how the NBA’s new generation of star players rise above the pressure.
“Seeing how Anthony Davis, Karl Anthony-Towns, Donovan Mitchell, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid perform this year will give a window into the next decade of NBA basketball,” Price said.
Four-time MVP LeBron James has never lost a first-round series or the first game of an opening series in his career across 13 seasons, and is poised to carry the Cavaliers to victory, putting up some of the best numbers of his career this season.
“I think LeBron is going to take it to the finals again, because in the playoffs he’s so good, and I really hate the warriors so I want them to lose,” first year Amory Yagar said. “I think the Rockets are too good, and if anyone’s going to beat them it’s going to be LeBron.”
With Stephen Curry out for the first round of the playoffs, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green will step up for Golden State to hopefully beat the Spurs and advance to the Conference Semifinals. In their first game against the Spurs the Warriors put away a 113-92 win.
In addition to the Golden State win, this weekend brought the first batch of match-ups. Highlights included a flurry of three-pointers to bring the Celtics and Bucks into overtime, with the Celtics clinching the win. The Raptor’s improved upon last-season’s disappointing postseason run with a 114-106 win over the Washington Wizards. James Harden played a stellar game with 44 PTS (13 in the fourth quarter alone) and eight assists, pulling out the three-point win over the Timberwolves.
Harden’s play has garnered support for Most Valuable Player, recording the first 60-point triple-double in NBA history this season and winning the scoring title a season after leading the league in assists. In his 15th season, LeBron James is also up for debate, competing in every one of the Cavs’ 65 games.
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