OKC Thunder: Predicting playoff seeds and first round winners
Shontelle Matano:
If the NBA season plays out the remainder of the schedule, I believe these will be the final seedings for the Eastern and Western Conference.
East:
(1) Milwaukee Bucks vs. (8) Orlando Magic: As Milwaukee goes up against the Magic, I believe the Bucks win in four. The first team to clinch the playoffs will be too good for Orlando.
(2) Toronto Raptors versus (7) Brooklyn Nets: The Raptors will win in five as it won’t be the hardest first-round contest. Toronto will come out strong on their quest to win back to back championships, having beaten the Nets four out of five times this season.
(3) Boston Celtics versus (6) Indiana Pacers: Indiana will lose to the Celtics in six games and just falling short with the regular-season series being one apiece this year.
(4) Miami Heat, (5) Philadelphia 76ers: It will be one entertaining first round with Jimmy Butler going up against his old teammates Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. It will be a close one going all the way to game seven with the Heat coming out victors.
West:
(1) Los Angeles Lakers versus (8) Memphis Grizzlies: Ja Morant will lead his next-gen Grizzlies in his first NBA postseason but King James and the Lakers will be too strong winning in four. The future is still extremely bright for Morant and his young team.
(2) Clippers versus (7) Dallas Mavericks: This would be an upset for many but I’m going to say the Mavericks will beat the Clippers in a seven-game series. Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis will lead their Mavs to an unbelievable victory and pose a big challenge in the second round.
(3) Denver Nuggets versus (6) Houston Rockets: Russell Westbrook and James Harden will defeat the Nuggets in six games. I think it will be a tough series but in the end, the Rockets desire to win it all will just edge them out.
(4) OKC Thunder versus (5) Utah Jazz: Last but absolutely not least, in a postseason rematch the Thunder will beat Utah in six games. CP3 will guide the team to their first playoff series triumph in the post-Westbrook era.
Dustin McGowen:
More from Thunderous Intentions
- Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
- Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
- 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
- Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
- Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder
I think the NBA will go straight to the playoffs. Here are my picks:
East:
- Milwaukee Bucks over Orlando Magic
- Toronto Raptors over Brooklyn Nets
- Philadelphia 76ers over Boston Celtics
- Miami Heat over Indiana Pacers
West:
- Los Angeles Lakers over Memphis Grizzlies
- LA Clippers over Dallas Mavericks
- Denver Nuggets over Houston Rockets
- OKC Thunder over Utah Jazz
That wraps up T.I.s OKC Thunder 30 for 30 roundtable series. We hope you enjoyed the series. Let us know if there are other questions you’d like the team to offer opinions on.
Next. Re-Grading the Terrance Ferguson Draft Pick. dark
Wishing everyone a safe and healthy day.