WESTERN CONFERENCE:
(1) OKC THUNDER
(8) New Orleans Pelicans
OKC will be too much for the Pelicans to handle and anything besides a gentleman's sweep in this series would surprise me. Credit to the Pels for fighting through the loss of Zion and beating a good Sacramento team. However, I believe it will be to the young Thunders determent that they skate through the 1st round. It will give them a false sense of invincibility entering the second round when their opponent will most certainly be up to the challenge of dethroning the regular season Western Conference champs.
PREDICTION: OKC IN 5
(4)LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
(5) Dallas Mavericks
This has the makings of an all time great first round series with enough star power for a high profile Finals matchup. LAs experience will be the difference maker along with Coach Lues playoff success being a driving force for this team. I see coaching being the biggest advantage for LA when it comes to matchups and they will advance without taking too much damage.
PREDICTION: LAC IN 6
(3) MINNESOTA TWOLVES
(6) Phoenix Suns
It seems like a done deal that Phoenix is gonna walk through the Wolves as their playoff woes continue to haunt this franchise. Well I say not so fast.. I think MN will exercise the demons that have lurked inside Target Center since the days of KG and Wally Szczerbiak. This is a franchise that has won two playoff series EVER and that took place in 2004 when KG, Sam Cassell, and Latrell Sprewell lead them to the West Finals. This years Wolves enter the playoffs as the top defensive team in the NBA by a wide margin. They have an MVP caliber player in Edwards that enjoys playing stick defense, a 7-footer in KAT who is a legit 3 level scorer, another 7-footer in Gobert considered one of the top defenders of all time, and a bonafide sixth man of the year candidate in Naz Reid. Yes Phoenix has tremendous star power and the best bucket getter probably ever but they just don't feel like a gritty team to me. I see a great back and forth series with a few blowouts but ultimately the Wolves win a close decisive game 7.
PREDICTION: MN IN 7
(2) Denver Nuggets
(7) LOS ANGELES LAKERS
This will be the biggest upset of the 1st round in the 2024 playoffs. It's a sure fire sign to expect the unexpected in this years Western Conference playoffs. We all know how close these teams finished record wise and each team finished at least 10 games above the .500 mark. The most telling stat to me however, each and every playoff team finished with a winning conference record. This indicates that none of these teams were being bullied. This shows that on any given night in a western conference matchup you didn't know who was going to come out victorious. Denver is not the same team from last year, they lost the heart and soul of their bench and put way too much pressure on their starting unit. The Lakers are rolling right now and if D'Lo stays cooking then Denver is in major trouble. The Nuggets losing the second to last game of the season, against the lowly Spurs, to squander the #1 seed told me a lot about Mike Malones squad. Anthony Davis and Lebron begin their run to bring LA another NBA Championship.
PREDICTION: LAL IN 6
(1) OKC Thunder
(4) LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
Round two opens with the young Thunder feeling themselves against the grizzled vets of the Clippers. The series shifts dramatically after LA takes game one from the inexperienced Thunder. After that slap in the face OKC shows up to game two with a renewed sense of urgency and handles their business. They win comfortably by systematically taking down the Clippers, but LA leaves happy as they earn the split on the road. Back in LA for a pivotol game three and the Thunder get introduced to hard nosed road playoff basketball. Not getting the whistles they've come accustomed to getting all season has them out of rhythm and they show their age by dropping both games on the road to sink to a 3-1 deficit. Don't get me wrong, the Thunder have enough fight to take care of home court in game five but when the series swings back to LA and the Clippers smell blood in the water this veteran group knows they have to end this series in game six on their home court. Although it won't be easy and this will be the tightest game of the series but I see the Clippers slamming the door shut and continuing on their journey to the Western Conference Finals.
PREDICTION: LAC IN 6
(3) MINNESOTA TWOLVES
(7) Los Angeles Lakers
I absolutely hate this matchup for the Lakers and I think the Wolves will be licking their lips as they listen to every analyst talk about how Lebron and AD are about to have the Lakers in the Finals against the Boston Celtics. I just don't see how LA can take 4 games from the Wolves especially without home court advantage. Minnesota has the firepower on offense, the ability and toughness on defense, and enough veterans to not allow themselves to lose concentration. They are capable of dropping a series because of their emotions and nerves getting the best of them. We heard Mike Conley say this week that the Wolves do have a highly emotional team and that they sometimes allow those emotions to negatively impact their game. The fact a highly respected, veteran teammate has voiced this concern will put in every players mind, when we start to slip mentally we gotta lock in immediately and get to work. This series will challenge the inexperienced Wolves mentally more than physically. At that point we will see this Wolves squad come of age right in front of our eyes. Another iconic moment that will be special to witness is Anthony Edwards putting his stamp on the NBA landscape and showing the world he's gonna be a force for many years to come.
PREDICTION: MN IN 6
(3) MINNESOTA TWOLVES
(4) Los Angeles Clippers
Now here we have the best defensive team with a ton of offensive firepower to go along with a good solid bench in Minnesota. On the other side it's the grizzled vets of the Clippers with Playoff P, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, and Russell Westbrook. There's no way this series doesn't go seven games, with the competitive spirit we'll see on both sides of the court. As much as I love the Clippers to make a run, I just can't get past the fact that the Wolves have a defensive stopper for each and every member of the Clippers big four. Jaden McDaniels will have to be the best player for the Wolves defensively because he's gonna have to guard Playoff P, Kawhi, and Harden at different times. Anthony Edwards will also need to guard each of these guys. The player that gets little mention but has been a huge contributor off the bench all season is Nickeil Alexander-Walker. He has the length and wingspan to guard 1 through 4 and he shoots corner 3s with the best of them. So you have those 3 wing defenders that can switch all day long, you also have Rudy Gobert who needs to make his presence felt in the paint. He doesn't have many issues doing that considering he's a 3-time DPOY but he's also gonna have to show that he's capable of running guys off the 3pt line. This isn't a crazy ask like it used to be, he's shown it this year quite often and if he turns up his offensive game a little then we will see the Minnesota Timberwolves heading to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history! I don't think this is far fetched at all and the fact they can do it without having to play Denver or OKC will be their most favorable route. This should keep the TWolves confident, fresh, and god willing.. HEALTHY.
PREDICTION: MN IN 7
Who will win the Western Conference?
0%OKC Thunder
0%Denver Nuggets
0%Minnesota TWolves
0%Los Angeles Clippers