Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and the undefeated champion South Carolina Gamecocks captured America’s basketball attention over the past few weeks. Men’s professional basketball now takes the wheel as the NBA playoffs have arrived. Plenty of exciting matchups have surfaced after the Play-In Tournament ended. Interestingly, the final four participants from the 2023 NBA Playoffs square off again in the first round this year. As you may recall, the Denver Nuggets swept the LeBron James-led LA Lakers and defeated the Miami Heat en route to their first-ever NBA championship. Every team has completed game one of the playoffs thus far. How are they doing? Take a break from your NFL mock drafts and catch up on some NBA hoops with me!
LA Lakers
The Lakers decided to quickly rip off the Band-Aid and attack their toughest matchup (the Nuggets). As the 8th seed in the Play-In tournament, the Lakers were fortunate that Zion Williamson hurt a hamstring at the tail end of a tight fourth quarter. Williamson had 40 points then and was rolling in his quest for his first postseason action. The Lakers could have avoided a matchup with the Nuggets by intentionally losing against the Pelicans. However, rolling the dice on a win-or-go-home game against the Sacramento Kings was dangerous. The Lakers went on to close out the Pelicans and accept the Nuggets challenge.
Why avoid the Nuggets? The Lakers have lost nine straight to the Nuggets going back to 2022. It is a bad matchup for James and Anthony Davis because Denver has too many offensive options and an infinitely better coach.
Denver Nuggets
The defending champion Denver Nuggets still have to close out future Hall-of-Famer LeBron James in a playoff series (which is no easy feat), but they must be happy with their playoff positioning. There are no super teams! Every potential Western Conference matchup (outside of LA) involves teams getting serious playoff reps together for the first time. The Nuggets are healthy. I’ve written extensively on their best player, Nikola Jokic, and the same talking points hold. Fans of the Mile High City are sitting pretty right now as favorites to repeat as champs.
Miami Heat
The injury-plagued Miami Heat were hobbled throughout the season, resulting in a franchise record of 35 different starting lineups. It’s also safe to say that they lost some games to lesser teams due to a lack of effort. One win shy of avoiding the NBA Play-In Tournament, the Heat lost a physical war with the Philadelphia 76ers for the 7th seed.
Moreover, Jimmy Butler went down in that game and is expected to miss at least several weeks. This is why teams want to avoid the Play-In. Extra games leave you vulnerable to injuries and extended minutes attempting to make the postseason. Despite dismantling the Chicago Bulls to seize the final playoff spot, the Heat have their postseason work cut out for them.
Boston Celtics
The Celtics are here on business. After losing a heartbreaking 2022 NBA Finals and a coaching scandal, expectations were high in 2023. The inexplicable loss to the 8th-seeded Miami Heat meant an offseason of questions and another 82-game grind waiting for them. Boston put in the work, though.
The Celtics finished with the best record in the league and are hungry for revenge—not even revenge against the Heat necessarily, but against the naysayers who say Jayson Tatum and Jalen Brown can’t win a chip together. They have all the pieces and the health to get it done this season.
The Conference Finals Re-Matchups Thus Far
It is going about how you would expect. Lakers-Nuggets is a slugfest of maximum intensity. LeBron and crew are fighting, but the Nuggets have more weapons. Denver blasted them by double digits in game 1. The Lakers have to hope that the problems the Porter family have endured recently manifest themselves in missed shots for Michael Porter Jr. LA should also think about shooting more in the paint. The three-point shooting is too weak, and the Nuggets do not have a shot blocker.
Meanwhile, in Boston.
— Belly Up Sports Writer (NBA) (@thaherojoe) April 21, 2024
The Miami Heat were trampled by the Celtics in game one. It was the Heat’s first Game 1 loss to an Eastern Conference team in three years. Maybe trusting Eric Spoelstra only gets you so far these days. An absent Jimmy Butler definitely caps the Heat’s ceiling. Defensive adjustments should be the main focal point for a competitive rest of the series. Defending a wide-open Sam Houser at the three-point line would be a welcome adjustment.
Other Games in the NBA Playoffs
The LA Clippers, without Kawhi Leonard, demolished the Dallas Mavericks. The Cavaliers and Knicks performed well against the Magic and 76ers, respectively. The Minnesota Timberwolves are the most impressive team so far, as they throttled the Phoenix Suns by 25. The Milwaukee Bucks made it look easy against the Indiana Pacers. Even without an injured Giannis Antetokounmpo (he is slated to return from a calf injury soon). The best series so far is the Oklahoma City Thunder and the New Orleans Pelicans, who played a tight game on Sunday. OKC survived in a two-point thriller.
Happy NBA Playoffs!
Photo Credit for featured cover image: Getty Images.
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1 Comment
Well written!