What is your one bold prediction for this year’s playoffs?
Osborne: The Thunder make the Western Conference Finals. With Portland having health issues and Denver looking shaky as they enter the playoffs I can see the Thunder going to the WCF.
Knitzer: Giannis averages 35-40 ppg, but the Bucks lose to the Celtics in round 2.
Salveson: After the playoffs, Giannis will be thought of as hands down the best player in the world.
Not to give away the answer to Question No. 6 just yet. The NBA is so what have you done for me lately that with LeBron out of sight and out of mind, the Bucks additional national exposure in the post-season will let us see Giannis more than we ever have before. Every one that isn’t already familiar with him is in for a treat because he is a special talent with great fits around him and an even better head coach. In a league that no longer plays defense, he excels at it.
Griffin: The Bucks won’t come out of the East. The Celtics or the Raptors will win the Eastern Conference. I am not buying into the Bucks or the 76ers winning the Eastern Conference, but I am expecting some very tough series this year. This year the Eastern Conference playoffs will be the most entertaining.
Kirshblum: I already discussed the Spurs first round matchup against Denver and truly believe they can beat the Nuggets due to their tremendous playoff experience. Their next matchup would be against a Blazers team who always seem to be overseeded, or against one of the NBA’s largest enigmas, the Oklahoma City Thunder. If it’s Spurs-Blazers, I believe the Spurs talent can easily defeat the Blazers sans-Nurkic.
If it’s Spurs-Thunder, while I think the Thunder will be favored, the Spurs talent, experience, and the question marks surrounding the Thunder all season will allow for the Spurs to eventually receive the honor of losing to the Warriors in the Conference Finals.
Freedman: Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant will meet again this season when the Warriors face the Thunder in the West Finals. I love the Nuggets: Jokic is one of my favorite players to watch, and Jamal Murray and Gary Harris are going to be a problem out west in a few years.
In a few years.
Not this year.
This year, the Thunder’s experience and veteran leadership will guide them past the young Nuggets.
Balaraman: The Denver Nuggets might have spent most of the season fighting the Golden State Warriors for the number one seed in the West, but none of its core has ever played in the playoffs. In a league where former players and coaches can’t seem to stop talking about how the playoffs are like a different game than the regular season, that matters. The most experienced coach in the game, Gregg Popovich, will take advantage of the Nuggets’ youth and, behind DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge, the San Antonio Spurs will take down the second-seeded Denver Nuggets.
McNeil: James Harden will be contained against the Utah Jazz. Utah was a Top-5 defensive team this season, and know from last season what it is like facing Harden in the Playoffs. Harden is having an MVP caliber season, but that will not continue into the postseason.