NBA Western Conference Playoffs Primer: Possible upsets and predictions

The Phoenix Suns are back in the NBA Playoffs and trying to reach the Finals for consecutive seasons. Will a new face dethrone the Valley?

New faces have arrived in this year’s playoffs with familiar faces as well. This season, we saw third-year player Ja Morant take the leap into superstar status in the NBA.

The Memphis Grizzlies are a legitimate team with Morant leading the way. Then, there are legends like Stephen Curry who find themselves back in the playoffs only this time, the Golden State Warriors will try and go back to their routes with the trio of Curry, Green, and Thompson.

Let’s break down the West.

Potential upsets in playoffs:

Denver Nuggets vs. Golden State Warriors

Sticking with Golden State, the Warriors can easily get bounced in the first round of the playoffs. Curry is dealing with an injury that caused him to miss the last two weeks of the regular season.

The Warriors face a Nuggets team who was able to muster up 48 wins without their second and third-best players. Nikola Jokic is a top-three player in the NBA and if the Warriors do not take the Nuggets seriously, they will be going home early.

Nikole Jokic is practically unstoppable and with Curry in jeopardy of missing Game 1, the Nuggets can go into game 1 and steal home-court advantage from GSW. This will be the best first-round series in the Western Conference with an upset very likely.

Western Conference predictions:

The Grizzlies, Suns, Nuggets, and the Jazz are my four to advance to the semifinals. With Luka Doncic nursing a calf strain, there is no way the Maps advance.

Now, the Suns will evaporate the Jazz sending them into another off-season frenzy of whether Donavan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert are working or should they move on from one or both of them.

The Grizzlies vs. Nuggets series will be very entertaining, but this is where the Nuggets fall short. With no Jamaal Murray or Michael Porter Jr, this young Grizzlies team will be too much for Jokic and company to handle.

Moving to the Western Conference Finals, the Suns vs. the Grizzlies. No one would have thought the Grizzlies to make the jump so quickly with their young talent, but as they say “It’s a young man’s world.”

The Grizzlies will be back in this situation a lot more times, but it is the Suns’ time. Going back to the finals once again to face off against a very similar team.

The Phoenix Suns will face off against the Miami Heat. Both with lethal guards who can score in a multitude of ways, point guards who can play both ends and are always looking to get their teammate’s open looks. With both teams having two of the best leaders the NBA has, these NBA Finals will be just as good as the 2021 finals.

These playoffs will be one to remember as once again, a new team will be hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy in June.