This NBA season, many fans have predicted that the reigning champion Denver Nuggets will return to the Finals to defend their title against the Boston Celtics. But if the first round of the playoffs proved anything, it was that both sides will have to compete with one of the deepest playoffs the NBA has seen in years.
Even if you didn’t watch the first round, here’s who has the hot hand and who’s been sent home.
(1) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (8) New Orleans Pelicans, OKC wins 4-0
Player of the series: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - Point Guard, OKC (27.2 PPG, 6 REB, 5 AST)
With the second-youngest roster in the league, few fans believed that the Thunder could make a deep run in the playoffs. The Thunder never needed anyone to believe in them.
Pelicans stars Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum were no match for Gilgeous-Alexander’s superstar performances as the Thunder guard averaged 27.3 points per game in the series.
The Pelicans shot a measly 39.6% from the floor and only 26.7 percent from the three-point line while the Thunder rained down shots from inside and beyond the arc with a 48.2% field goal percentage and making 38.7% of their threes.
Outgunned and outmanned, the Pelicans will once again need to find a way to reset next season, while the young, electric and scrappy Thunder team looks to prove they are not just a regular-season story in round two.
OKC next opponent: Winner of LAC vs. DAL
(2) Denver Nuggets vs. (7) Los Angeles Lakers, DEN wins 4-1
Player of the series: Jamal Murray - Point Guard, DEN (23.6 PPG, 7.2 AST, 4.6 REB)
While LeBron James and Anthony Davis gave their best efforts in the series (both averaged 27.8 points per game in the series) they were no match for the dynamic duo of reigning Finals MVP Nikola Jokić and playoff legend Jamal Murray.
In game two with Denver down 99-97, Murray took the ball to the top of the key, found some room off of a screen by Jokić and hit a sidestepping jumper over James to tie the game. 20 seconds later, Murray took the ball across half-court, darted inside the three-point line, stepped back over Anthony Davis and drilled the game-winning buzzer-beater.
A week later in game five with eight seconds of the clock, the game tied at 106, Murray once again took control of the game, took yet another screen from Jokić and used the small amount of space he was given to dart to the left elbow of the paint and float in the game-winner over the head of Austin Reaves.
With Jokić and Murray in playoff mode and Michael Porter Jr. averaging 22.8 points per game while shooting 48.8% from three, it will take a monumental effort from any team to have a chance at dethroning Denver.
DEN next opponent: (3) Minnesota Timberwolves
(3) Minnesota Timberwolves vs. (6) Phoenix Suns, MIN wins 4-0
Player of the series: Anthony Edwards - Shooting Guard, MIN (31.0 PPG, 6.3 AST, 8.0 REB, 2.0 STL)
When the Phoenix Suns traded for Washington Wizards star Bradley Beal in June, forward Kevin Durant said at a press conference that teams couldn’t guard him, Beal and Devin Booker all at once.
Durant was right. The Timberwolves didn’t guard all three of them. They outscored them. Timberwolves rising superstar Anthony Edwards dominated the series scoring 31 points per game as Minnesota’s team-oriented style of play sent the Suns packing, brooms in hand.
Six players on the T-Wolves scored 11 points per game, four of those shooting 50% or better from the floor. On the contrary, the Suns duo of Booker and Durant averaged over 25 points per game while Beal (16.5 PPG) was the only other Phoenix player who averaged over 10 for the series. Between the three, only Durant made more than 50% of his shots.
Minnesota is the people’s champion in these playoffs. Edwards, big men Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert bring an aggressive mentality few teams can match. The only thing that could stop them? Their next opponent, the Denver Nuggets.
MIN next opponent: (2) Denver Nuggets
(4) Los Angeles Clippers vs. (5) Dallas Mavericks, DAL leads 3-2
The Clippers-Mavericks series is a tale of teams headed in opposite directions.
The Clippers are a franchise with no historical success and one last shot with their aging core of Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, James Harden and Russell Westbrook. The Clips were one of the best teams in basketball mid-way through February, but couldn’t stay the course to the end of the regular season and slipped to the fourth seed.
On the other side, the Dallas Mavericks were struggling to make a playoff spot in mid-February, but thanks to some key trades and MVP-level performances from their young leader Luka Dončić, the Mavericks have their eyes on a Finals appearance.
After four back-and-forth matches, the Mavs took control of the series and ran LA out of the building with a 123-93 game five victory.
Leonard isn’t fully healthy. Harden is coming off of a 7-point game. Dončić is averaging 30.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 8.8 assists in the season. The Clippers are on the ropes and need to find an answer.
Winner faces: (1) Oklahoma City Thunder
(1) Boston Celtics vs. (8) Miami Heat, BOS wins 4-1
Player of the series: Jayson Tatum - Small Forward, BOS (21.8 PPG, 10.4 REB, 5.4 AST)
Some fans had hoped that they would see a competitive series between the Heat and Celtics. It was fun while it lasted.
After getting blown out by 20 in game one, the Heat responded with a 10-point victory in game two sans Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier. With the series headed to Miami for games three and four, many foresaw the Heat making an upset.
The Celtics had other plans, winning the next three games by 20, 14 and 34. Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and Jayson Tatum each averaged over 20 points, while Kristaps Porzingis didn’t even need to become his normal 20-point-per-game self to win the series.
The reality is Boston has made a superteam built to do one thing: win the Finals. Anything less will be considered a failure.
BOS next opponent: Winner of CLE vs. ORL
(2) New York Knicks vs. (7) Philadelphia 76ers, NYK leads 3-2
In what might be the most electric series in the playoffs, the 76ers continue to let New York know they won’t go down without a fight.
Knicks guard Jalen Brunson has gone from team star to superstar, carrying New York without his injured teammates Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson while averaging 34.4 points and 8.4 assists per game.
Meanwhile, the 76ers are leaning heavily on the duo of a banged-up Joel Embiid and a man on a mission, Tyrese Maxey. Both players are averaging over 30 points per game, with Embiid also averaging 10.4 rebounds and Maxey pulling together a 46-point masterclass in game five to keep the 76ers’ hope alive.
This series is a battle of wills – Brunson’s depleted Knicks vs. Embiid and Maxey’s dynamic duo.
Winner faces: Winner of MIL vs. IND
(3) Milwaukee Bucks vs. (6) Indiana Pacers, IND leads 3-2
The Bucks and Pacers are familiar foes this season after providing multiple primetime showdowns during the regular season, but this series comes with a caveat.
The Pacers’ team-oriented offense is working as intended with six players scoring over 10 points a game, but have still dropped two games to a wounded Bucks team.
Milwaukee knew they would be entering the series shorthanded after losing Giannis Antentokoumpo to injury before the season concluded, but the Bucks have found a way to hang in the series without point guard Damian Lillard, winning game five handily by a score of 115-92.
With the health status of Lilliard and Antetokounmpo both in question, the Pacers need to close out game six and end the series, otherwise, the series will end in Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee – and no team wants to give the Bucks home-court advantage.
Winner faces: Winner of NYK vs. PHI
(4) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (5) Orlando Magic, CLE leads 3-2
This may be the best series no one is watching.
While most fans are paying attention to the Clippers and Mavericks duel or the sweeping of the Suns, two of the youngest teams in the league are duking it out in a tightly contested series.
Orlando is leaning heavily on the wizardry of second-year talent Paolo Banchero. The Duke alumnus is averaging 24.8 points per game on impressive efficiency (48.5% from the floor, 37.9% from three).
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers are scraping by without a healthy Jarrett Allen and star Donavan Mitchell doing all he can. In a 2-2 series tie game, Cleveland pulled out a one-point victory to put themselves on the precipice of the next round.
Too bad whoever wins this grueling series will have to face a well-rested Boston Celtics team.
Winner faces: (1) Boston Celtics
