The teams that will be in the NBA playoffs this year is all but decided. The 8 seeds in the East has been decided. While the seeding can change between now and the start of the playoffs, the teams that are in are Toronto, Boston, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Indiana, Milwaukee, Miami and Washington.
In the West, seven of the eight teams have secured a playoff birth. Minnesota or Denver will be the last team to round out the eight playoff teams. The other seven are Houston, Golden State, Portland, Utah, New Orleans, San Antonio and Oklahoma City.
While everyone technically has a chance to win it all, it looks like it is a 4-team race between Philadelphia, Cleveland, Houston and Golden State.
The reasons why Golden State and Cleveland have a great opportunity is obvious: both teams have played in the NBA Finals the last three seasons, so they know what it takes to get there. While Cleveland lost Kyrie Irving to a trade in the offseason, they are still hitting their stride as the playoffs are upon us. Golden State returns their entire team from last year's NBA Championship team and even though they are dealing with injuries, they still have arguably the best player in the world, Kevin Durant.
Philadelphia, speaking of hitting their stride, has been red-hot lately. They have won 14 games in a row. That's right. 14 games in a row! That was with injuries to one of their best players, Joel Embiid, as well as having missed #1 draft pick Markelle Fultz, all season. They also beat Cleveland the other night, giving them even more confidence.
While some may argue Toronto has a good chance, since they are the #1 seed in the East, they have year-after-year proven to fold in the playoffs. They do not match up well with either Philadelphia or Cleveland, thus the reason why I do not see them having a chance.
As for Houston, they have the best record in the league, best record in the West and have likely MVP winner James Harden. In the offseason, they traded for point guard Chris Paul, who has taken this team to a whole new level. Based off the way they have played this season, especially against Golden State, I see them coming out victorious in the West. I think Golden State's injuries will prove too much against Houston.
Overall, I see a Philadelphia vs. Houston NBA Finals, with Houston winning it all.
What do you think will happen? Let me know and thanks for reading!
