Western Conference First Round
Let's face it, the defending champs are still the team to beat this year. And there's absolutely no way Danilo Gallinari and Lou Williams can outscore the splash brothers and Kevin Durant no matter how good they're playing this season.
Winner: Golden State Warriors
As much as we love the Utah Jazz and the solid offense-defense duo of Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, not a lot of teams will be able to match the firepower that James Harden brings. With Clint Capela and Chris Paul ready for action, Houston will win this one easily.
Winner: Houston Rockets
With Jusuf Nurkic out and CJ McCollum coming from some time off due to injury, Portland will be in a tight spot against an OKC team that is getting major contributions from both Russell Westbrook and Paul George. Looks like it will be another first round exit for the Trailblazers.
Winner: Oklahoma City Thunder
We know it's almost a mortal sin to count out the Popovich helmed squad but the young core of the Nuggets looks like they're ready to make a statement in the post-season. Experience is on the side of the Spurs but we simply can't count out the 4th best team during the regular season. We know that both teams match up well with their starting lineups so it might be up to Denver's bench to make the difference in this one.
Winner: Denver Nuggets
Eastern Conference First Round
Giannis. 'Nuff said.
Winner: Milwaukee Bucks
They might have ended up with similar records during the regular season but Indiana will be playing without their best player in Victor Oladipo and that's a pretty huge handicap against Kyrie Irving and the rest of the Celtics.
Winner: Boston Celtics
When D'Angelo Russell and Spencer Dinwiddie are playing at their best, Brooklyn is a tough team to beat. But if Embiid remains healthy, we're picking the 76ers to win this matchup. With Jimmy Butler, Ben Simmons, and the constantly underrated Tobias Harris, this team will be too much to handle for Brooklyn in a 7-game series.
Winner: Philadelphia 76ers
You can argue that Orlando has the slightly better individual frontcourt talent in Vucevic and Gordon but everything else goes to Toronto. The Raptors are loaded with talent in all positions and it would be surprising not to see them advance to the conference semis.
Winner: Toronto Raptors
Western Conference Semifinals
Last year, the Rockets almost knocked out the Warriors. And if there's a team in the Western Conference that can do it, it's probably them. But there's a huge difference between being able to (possibly) and actually doing it. And with the Warriors' superior lineup and Harden's tendency to disappear during the Playoffs, our money's still on Golden State.
Winner: Golden State Warriors
Denver swept the Thunder in the regular season and that's enough for us to root for them in this matchup. We know that OKC has more collective playoff experience than the Nuggets and that will certainly come into play. But the young core of Denver is just too good (and too fun to watch) to root against.
Winner: Denver Nuggets
Eastern Conference Semifinals
Again, Giannis. Let's face it, all stats and analyses fall apart when the Greek Freak is involved. He is the best player in the league and we don't see any reason why he can't be that in the post-season as well. Boston will make this hard but Milwaukee finished with the best record in the regular season for a reason.
Winner: Milwaukee Bucks
This is going to be an exciting series that will go for at least six games, most likely seven. There are two glaring holes that will prevent the 76ers from going deeper in the playoffs: Embiid's health and Ben Simmons' inability to shoot. The Raptors have enough talent underneath the basket to go against Embiid and a lot of elite level defenders (led by Kawhi Leonard, no less) to neutralize the pair of Tobias Harris and Jimmy Butler while they leave Simmons unguarded around the perimeter and beyond.
Winner: Toronto Raptors
Western Conference Finals
There's really no reason not put the Warriors behind any other team in their conference. As much as we love what the Nuggets have done this season and how bright their future looks, Golden State will most likely get their 5th straight NBA Finals appearance.
Winner: Golden State Warriors
Eastern Conference Finals
The Raptors were right behind the Bucks after the regular season with 58 wins and this is going to be toughest seven game stretch for Milwaukee this year. Giannis Antetokounmpo will have his hands full evading Toronto's stifling defense while having to work extra hard on the other end to stop their offense. It's a toss-up between these two teams but we're putting the Bucks ahead slightly simply because they have the best player in the world playing for them.
Winner: Milwaukee Bucks
NBA Finals
Love them or hate them, there's no denying the talent that is playing for Golden State. They're beatable, yes. But to beat them 4 times in 7 tries when they're really competing? That's a nearly impossible task for any team. We feel like the Bucks will make it interesting to some extent but Golden State probably won't even need seven games to finish the series off.