The 2025 NBA playoffs are here bringing interesting seeding to teams and new faces on new teams.  The first round will already have begun as you are reading this.  Here are the team previews plus matchups that you need to know!

Eastern Conference

To begin in the Eastern Conference, we have the number one seed Cleveland Cavaliers.  They are coming off one of their best regular seasons in years and are looking to challenge the Boston Celtics with players like Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, and Jarrett Allen.  Meanwhile, the Celtics are the number two seed this year and were not too far behind the Cavs for home-field advantage.  They are looking to defend their title from last year and have a pretty easy road to do so.  Some other teams that advanced without playing in the tournament were the New York Knicks, Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks, and the Detroit Pistons.  The Pistons came off their worst season ever finishing 14-68.  They went on a record 28 game losing streak.  This year, they are led by Cade Cunningham and finished as the sixth seed looking to avenge their season in the playoffs.  

Western Conference

Now, in the Western Conference, the best regular season team in the association, the Oklahoma City Thunder.  They are led by an MVP calibrar season from Shai Gilgeous Alexander who is playing the best basketball of his career.  Another surprise was the Houston Rockets as they finished as the number two seed after awakening from a long rebuild.  Not everyone thinks they are up to the task but their draft class from past years like Jalen Green and Amen Thompson are up to the task.  Teams like the Nuggets, Lakers, and Clippers rounded out the top five seeding in a final wild weekend which decided this. They all have their familiar duos ready to make another splash in the playoffs. The Warriors could be a scare in the playoffs with Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler being a crazy experienced duo ready to play upset.

Play In Tournament Review

Teams that did not advance were put into play in the tournament. In the Eastern Conference, the Magic and Heat pretty easily advanced over the Hawks and Bulls. The West was more complicated as the Warriors, a title favorite, were put as the seventh seed. They would go on to beat the Grizzlies earning them a spot. The Grizzlies would still earn a spot by beating the Mavericks. 

First Round Matchups

Here are the first matchups. In the East, the Cavaliers will play the Miami Heat as they attempt to bring a title back to Cleveland. The Orlando Magic will travel to play the Celtics. The Celtics are trying to defend their NBA title. The Knicks will play the Detroit Pistons, and the Bucks will play the Pacers to wrap up the matchups. In my opinion, this conference is really between the Celtics and Cavs, with them most likely competing in the East Finals. Both rosters put up huge amounts of points and have talented coaching. If I had to choose, I’d give the edge to the Celtics because they won the title last year and are even better than last year. In the West, the Thunder will take on the Grizzlies after finishing as the best team in the league. The Rockets-Warriors rivalry is renewed as they will play. To finish, the Lakers play the Timberwolves, and the Nuggets play the Clippers. The West is interesting because the teams are so evenly matched. However, I have the Thunder advancing to play the Nuggets in the West final. This is just based on how the bracket looks. Ultimately, the Warriors could make a run, but they have to go through the Thunder, most likely. Both of these teams are evenly matched and have MVP-caliber players. This time, I will give the advantage to the less experienced because Shai Gilgeous-Alexander carries this team and will probably win ‘Most Valuable Player’. 

Finals

My personal predictions for the NBA Finals are going to be the matchup of the Boston Celtics and the Oklahoma City Thunder. I have the Celtics upsetting the Thunder to become back-to-back champions.  In the end, the Thunder are a young team and the Celtics are not; final point.  The Celtics have a stacked starting lineup, a stacked bench, and a great coach in Joe Mazzulla.  They will win in Game Six, winning the series four to two.