Let’s look at the playoff picture as things stand today with a little less than two months to go.
The NBA All-Star break is upon us, which serves as a timely benchmark for the regular season. The 2023 play-in tournament is set to take place April 11-14, and the playoffs begin April 15.
Play-in Tournament
East: The current play-in tournament would include the following teams in order from 7th-10th seed: Miami Heat, Atlanta Hawks, Washington Wizards, and Toronto Raptors. Ultimately, I could see Miami emerging to win the 7th seed and Toronto making a run to earn the 8th seed. Although Miami has not had its best season, some of the playoff DNA that brought them to the Eastern Conference Finals can be called upon when the time comes. On paper, Miami is the best of these four teams, and they have not been playing like is thus far. Maybe their new acquisition of veteran Kevin Love can get things started. Toronto has a lot of promising talents, such as Scottie Barnes, Fred VanVleet, and Pascal Siakam. Toronto has the most wins out of these four teams, despite being the 10th seed, and I would not be surprised to see them beat Washington and Atlanta.
West: The Western playoff tournament would include the following teams in order of current seed: New Orleans Pelicans, Minnesota Timberwolves, Golden State Warriors, and Oklahoma City Thunder. I think that this serves to be a much more exciting tournament than its Eastern counterpart. It is shocking to see the defending champions in the play-in tournament, but I believe the Warriors will win the 8th seed. This is a championship team, and I think that a healthy Golden State squad could go on another run and be a threat to any team in the West. However, a healthy roster has been hard to come by this season. The Pelicans have been looking better this year than in seasons past, and if Zion Williamson can be healthy for the tournament, they should be able to take care of the Timberwolves to clinch the 7th seed.
Potential First-Round Matchups
East
(1) Boston Celtics vs. (8) Toronto Raptors: The Celtics should have no problem knocking out the Raptors. Boston has been hot and held the best record in the NBA for most of the season. Tatum was involved in the MVP conversation earlier in the season, and I think he could build on his case coming off a high from the All-Star Game, where he won MVP and scored 55 points. Boston has also repeatedly shown the depth of their roster, winning even without superstars like Tatum, Brown, and Smart.
(4) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (5) Brooklyn Nets: It is so secret the Brooklyn Nets lost their star power at the trade deadline. However, Mikal Bridges seems to be leading the charge of his new team, and 21-year-old Cam Thomas has had historic performances this season. Nevertheless, I don’t think the Nets have enough to beat the Cavaliers in a playoff series. It might be a few years before Brooklyn is back to a playoff-caliber team, and Cleveland has been having a good season, thanks to Donovan Mitchell and company.
(2) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (6) New York Knicks: This should be an entertaining series, with the 76ers coming out on top. I could see Philadelphia going on a playoff run the way this season has been, and I do not feel the same is true for the Knicks. The Knicks are just above .500, while the Sixers have 38 wins. Joel Embiid will come alive even more so in the playoffs, and I’m sure he and the rest of the Sixers squI’mcan win the series.
(2) Milwaukee Bucks vs. (7) Miami Heat: The Bucks will likely find themselves in the ECF, if not the Finals, this year, so this should be a quick series against Miami. The Heat is not playing with the same fire as last season when they went to the ECF, and a return seems unlikely. The Bucks are playing like a much higher-level team and will probably have to face the Celtics to see who comes out of the east, who they beat in their exciting last matchup.
West
(1) Denver Nuggets vs. (8) Golden State Warriors: This will be a first-round rematch from last year’s playoffs, but the two teams have different seeds from last year. A full-strength Warriors team is scary for any team to see in the playoffs, especially as the defending champions. However, they have not played like much of a championship team or been at full strength much this season, so I think the Nuggets may take it. The Warriors will fight to make it a long series, but the Nuggets have been playing elite basketball.
(3) Los Angeles Clippers vs. (5) Phoenix Suns: These teams received some roster upgrades as the Clippers recently acquired Russell Westbrook and the Suns’ Kevin Durant. This matchup is one of the harder ones to call. I am leaning toward the Clippers. We have yet to see Kevin Durant play for the Suns, and I think it is a little too late to redeem their season and have the team learn to play with Durant. I see more promise in Westbrook meshing with Paul George and Kawhi Leonard to be the big three that get the win.
(4) Sacramento Kings vs. (6) Dallas Mavericks: For most NBA fans, it is probably surprising to see the Sacramento Kings as the 4-seed or even in the playoffs. They have shocked many with their efficiency and level of play this season. However, I still see Dallas winning the series. Luka Doncic brought the Mavericks to the Western Conference finals last year. With the addition of Kyrie Irving to the team, this could be a scary team to see in the playoffs. Nevertheless, I could see Dallas returning to the conference finals once again.
(2) Memphis Grizzlies vs. (7) New Orleans Pelicans: This may be the most entertaining first-round matchup across the league. We will see fast-paced, high-scoring, and physical games if Zion is healthy for the series. This is another difficult prediction to make, but I pick the Grizzles. They feel they have more to prove after last season’s playoff performance and have the season’s power to do so.
