The NBA playoffs are off to the races and it’s currently looking very competitive. So far, many of the series have been intriguing and exciting. Especially in the second round of playoffs, currently all these series but one are very competitive with three series being tied. The one series that isn’t competitive is the Golden State Warriors vs. the Memphis Grizzlies, currently the Warriors lead 3-1. Although the series isn’t officially over, The Grizzlies have a very slim chance to come out on top due to their superstar Ja Morant out with a bone bruise on his knee. He is unlikely to come back for the series even if they take the Warriors to seven games.
The Grizzlies aren’t the only team dealing with injuries to key players, the Milwaukee Bucks are missing an All-Star in Khris Middleton, the Miami Heat are missing their point guard Kyle Lowry, the Dallas Mavericks are missing Tim Hardaway Jr., and the Warriors are missing James Wisemen. Although those aren’t all the injuries in this postseason, those are the main losses for each team who made it to the second round.
Getting past the injuries, the favorites for this year’s championship winner are the Warriors sitting at +200, followed by the Suns at +300, and last year’s winner the Bucks are +500. Not everyone is thinking the same, however, as some people have underdogs such as Dallas Mavericks winning such as sophomore Ian Burnett saying, “Personally I don’t think that many of the players don’t take it seriously until the postseason and that’s when we really see who’s got a real chance. Even though everyone thinks the Warriors are gonna win it all, I got the Mavericks winning the championship because I can really see how Luka Doncic could lead the way for this team.”
Many people can’t agree on who the clear favorite is, with some people having the suns winning it all such as junior Michelle Arellanas saying, “I don’t see a way the suns will lose with the star talent and depth they have. I think that they have the drive from losing in the finals last year to fuel them. I also think that Devin Booker will prove to everyone how good he actually is.” As you can see many people have many different outlooks on who will come on top. It’s very hard to predict though because this year is filled with stacked rosters, so make sure to tune in and keep track of who you think will come out on top.
It has been a great week of basketball so far in the second round. Currently the series are tied up between the Celtics and Heat and the Warriors are leading the Mavericks 1-0. The two games between the Celtics and the Heat have been very competitive while the warriors dominated game one with great performances by all players. The odds are in favor of the Warriors to continue their dominant style of play, with them sitting at the most likely to win the championship followed by the Celtics, then the Heat and lastly the Mavericks. So if things play out right we would be looking at a Boston Celtics vs. Golden State Warriors finals match up. This series would be very interesting to watch the warriors dominate offense and face the Celtics top two defense. The Celtics also have a pot of firepower in Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown. If this series were to happen this would be a very competitive matchup and one for the history books.
