The NBA Playoffs started 4/11 with a Play-In Tournament game between the Miami Heat and the visiting Atlanta Hawks. Fast forward 10 days later and the NBA playoffs are in full swing. Here are my thoughts and predictions on the first round matchups.

To start let’s run through the less competitive first round matchups. The #2 seed Boston Celtics and reigning Eastern Conference champs hold a very comfortable and solid 2-0 series lead over the (#7) Atlanta Hawks and should hold on to win comfortably and advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The (#3) Philadelphia 76ers hold an even more comfortable series lead, being up 3-0 on a young (#6) Brooklyn Nets team looking to sweep Brooklyn out of the playoffs tomorrow (4/22) in Brooklyn. In the West, the #1 seeded Denver Nuggets hold a similar 2-0 series lead like Boston and just like Philadelphia, should sweep the (#8) Minnesota Timberwolves as the Nuggets are a much better team all around with a better starting 5 & bench and with the way Jamal Murray & Jokic are playing right now Denver looks to make a run.

The more competitive East series are Knicks & Cavs & Bucks & Heat. The Knicks looked very solid in game 1 but looked miserable in game 2. Being home for 2 games could help them but either way this series is going 6-7 games. Both teams have two of the top facilitating guards in the league, both have elite scorers on each team, and both teams are two of the best defensive teams in the league. Whoever advances will definitely give teams a hard time throughout the playoffs. The Bucks and Heat series is a little more difficult to predict. The Bucks on paper are a much better team and proved it in game 2 winning by 16. Even with the injury to Tyler Herro though, the Heat are a very tough team with lots of playoff experience and great coaching. I can see the Heat pushing this series into 6 or 7 games and even pulling an upset.

The West looks a lot tougher than the East with the only teams coming out of the East most likely being the Bucks & Celtics (and maybe Philadelphia). The West is wide open and is really up for grabs at this point. The defending Western conference champion (#6) Golden State Warriors look to go back to back but have to run through Sacramento to get through the first round. The (#3) Sacramento Kings are young, talented, & most importantly hungry. The Warriors need to capitalize at home and then find a way to win on the road if they want a chance at not only this series but the rest of the playoffs. The (#7) Los Angeles Lakers need two guys to win not only this series but possibly the whole thing. If AD and LeBron step up and play like they did in the playoffs 3 years ago, I don’t know who could stop them. As for the (#2) Memphis Grizzlies, the team needs to play their basketball; fast & physical. The Lakers have definitely gotten quicker as a team but I don’t think they can play physical ball for the rest of the series. The (#4) Phoenix Suns & (#5) Los Angeles Clippers has been the most competitive series yet and could be one of the most competitive series of the playoffs. Both teams need their stars to shine throughout the series as well as their bench. Whoever wins this series are my top candidates to make it to the finals.

Overall series predictions:

• East:

• #1 Milwaukee Bucks over Miami Heat in 6 games

• #5 New York Knicks Seed over Cleveland Cavaliers in 6 games

• #3 Philadelphia 76ers over Brooklyn Nets in 4 games

• #2 Boston Celtics over Atlanta Hawks in 5 games

• West:

• #1 Denver Nuggets over Minnesota Timberwolves in 4 games

• #4 Phoenix Suns over Los Angeles Clippers in 6 games

• #6 Golden State Warriors over Sacramento Kings in 7 games

• #7 Los Angeles Lakers over Memphis Grizzlies in 7 games