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By Luke O' Connell
The Phoenix Student Media
As the first round of the NBA playoffs comes to a close, there is little surprise. At the time of this writing, the second round has just begun, and is a little underwhelming. All of the top seeds won, meaning that everything went as expected. While it is unfortunate, everyone knows that the second round is where the playoffs really begin. It is safe to say that all the remaining teams have a shot at the title, but let’s see who’s really going to win.
For starters, the west, headlined by the top-seeded suns, looks wide open after round one. Before the start of round one, the Suns seemed to have a shoe in the door of the finals, but with questions on Devin Booker's health, and the team's struggles against the eight-seeded Pelicans, the conference stands wide-open. Both the Grizzlies and Mavericks could make a run to the top, but their inexperience could hold them back. My pick to take the west: The Golden State Warriors. The Warriors have experience, and star-power in Stephen Curry, Jordan Poole, and Klay Thompson. They also are built extremely well, dominating the Nuggets in round one despite Curry’s minutes restriction. This is the best team they’ve had since 2019, and they are definitely primed to make a deep push for the remainder of the playoffs.
Next up: The East. For the first time in years, there is a real argument that The East has overtaken The West. All of the remaining teams have a real shot to take the crown, but one definitely stands above the others. Despite displaying excellence for decades, it seems like the Celtics have a real shot to win for the first time since they last won in 2008. This is because of their elite wing duo in Jaylen brown and Jayson Tatum, as well as their amazing second-half comeback. The Sixers, despite their talent, lack the coaching and durability necessary to make a push and the Heat have struggled in close games, and are much worse on the road, showing that they might not be built for a deep playoff run. Outside of the Celtics, the Bucks have the best chance to make it out of the east, as they are the reigning champs, however, their injury situation could hold them back from making a deep run. Right now, things are looking good for the Celtics.
For the finals, I like the Celtics. If they play the Warriors, their experience against their young roster gives them a massive advantage. Another advantage they have is in the matchup between Marcus Smart and Stephen Curry. With Marcus Smart being the defensive player of the year, and Curry still recovering from his injury, he may struggle more than usual, while still being productive, since he is Curry after all. If the Celtics play the Suns, I think that the Suns have a more favorable matchup; but since my prediction is Warriors vs Celtics, I’m going to predict that the Celtics win in seven games.
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