The NBA regular season has officially come to an end, which means playoff basketball is set to begin! Overall, the NBA had a huge and questionable trade happen around the deadline but other than that the storylines have been pretty mild. The main storyline for this NBA season has to be the Dallas Mavericks probably making the biggest mistake in basketball history by trading away their young superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis. This trade sent shockwaves throughout the whole NBA from other team executives, to the players, and definitely the fans. Personally when I saw this trade I was dumbfounded and could not fathom why the Dallas Mavericks would trade a top five player in the league for a player that can barely stay healthy. Moving on from the trade that shook the NBA world there were two teams that really set themselves apart during the regular season. The Oklahoma City Thunder have arrived and have been establishing their dominance over the rest of the NBA this season which earned them the number one seed of the western conference. Also, the Cleveland Cavaliers reintroduced themselves with a 15-0 start on the season which led to them claiming the number one seed in the eastern conference. 

The playoffs technically begin Wednesday, April 15th with the start of the “play-in tournament.” The play-in tournament is a new system put in to permanent use in 2022 for the NBA playoffs. How does the play-in tournament work you may ask? The first six teams in each conference automatically qualify for the playoffs. Therefore, teams ranked seven through ten in each conference participate in the play-in tournament. The play-in tournament consists of three games to determine the seven and eight seed in the NBA playoffs for each conference. Game one includes teams that rank seven and eight in each of their respective conferences, the winner automatically gets the seventh seed in the playoffs while the loser has another chance to get into the playoffs in a winner take all game three of the play-in tournament. Game two is where teams ranked nine and ten will face off with the winner going on to play the loser of the first game in the deciding game three, the loser of game two is eliminated. Game three is the last chance to make it into the playoffs, this is where the loser of game one takes on the winner of game two to battle it out with the winner getting the eighth seed in each conference and the loser missing the playoffs entirely. Definitely a unique system the NBA implemented back in 2022 and I am here for it! Mainly due to my Chicago Bulls being just good enough each year to make the play-in tournament in recent years. In the eastern conference side (for the play-in tournament) we have the Orlando Magic (seventh seed) taking on the Atlanta Hawks (eighth seed), I like the Orlando Magic winning this one over the Atlanta Hawks. Also, we have my Chicago Bulls (ninth seed) taking on the Miami Heat (tenth seed) in the second matchup of the play-in tournament. Yes, you already know I’m rocking with my Bulls to win this game to take on the Atlanta Hawks for the eight seed in the playoffs! Obviously I am riding with my Chicago Bulls to beat the Atlanta Hawks to make it into the playoffs as the eight seed in the eastern conference. On to the western conference play-in tournament matchups. In game one we have the Golden State Warriors against the Memphis Grizzlies, this is a crazy matchup to have for a play-in tournament game. We have the best shooter in NBA history going up against one of the most athletic guards in the NBA in Ja Morant. However, give me the Golden State Warriors to win this one putting them as the seventh seed in the playoffs. In game two we have the Sacramento Kings taking on the Dallas Mavericks. I like the Sacramento Kings winning and moving on to the game three showdown against the Memphis Grizzlies. Game three to decide the last spot in the NBA playoffs I will take the Sacramento Kings beating the Memphis Grizzlies in a close battle to advance into the eight seed on the western conference side of the playoffs! 

The NBA playoff first round series start on Saturday, April 19th. The chart below will show the matchups for these series, including my predictions of the play-in tournament games.

Western Conference:

(1)Thunder vs Kings(8)

(2)Rockets vs Warriors(7)

(3)Lakers vs Timberwolves(6)

(4)Nuggets vs (5) Clippers

Eastern Conference:

(1)Cavaliers vs (8)Bulls

(2) Celtics vs (7)Magic

(3)Knicks vs (6)Pistons

(4)Pacers vs (5)Bucks

I am not going to break down each series/game of the NBA playoffs, however I am going to speak about a few teams I have my eye on and project The Finals matchup and the winner of the 2025 NBA Championship. Starting off you know I have my eye on my Chicago Bulls team especially if they do what I project and squeak into the NBA playoffs after the play-in tournament. The Bulls are a young and feisty team that really have nothing to lose, however I do not see them pulling the ultimate upset and beating the number one seed Cleveland Cavaliers (unfortunately). The only other team in the eastern conference I have my eye on is the other “young” team and that’s the Detroit Pistons. They have a matchup against the three seed New York Knicks in which I do believe they end up beating/upsetting the Knicks in a seven game series! Other than that the eastern conference does not really have any surprises or teams that I specifically have my eye on, with that being said give me the…. Boston Celtics to come out as the Eastern Conference champions. Heading out west, how can you not have the Houston Rockets on the teams to watch, they came out of nowhere this year and sneak up on everyone and get the second seed in the west!? However, the Rockets are a young team and they will end up going up against the Warriors (if the play-in tournaments goes the way I project), with that being said give me the seventh seed Warriors to be the “big” upset in the west by knocking out the number two seeded rockets. The only other team I would say I have my eye on would probably be the number four seed Denver Nuggets. Coming into the playoffs the Nuggets decided to “shake up the team” by firing their coach and GM!? That’s a bold move in my opinion, but they still have the best player in the NBA Nikola Jokic with a good surrounding cast I expect the Nuggets to make a deep run into the playoffs or completely fall apart and lose the first series in four games. That all being said, I am going to go with the Oklahoma City Thunder to win the Western conference finals, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a superstar and has a great young surrounding cast that have a bad taste in their mouth from getting bounced out of the playoffs last year in the semifinals.

The Finals have been set with the Boston Celtics winning the eastern conference and the Oklahoma City Thunder winning the Western Conference, assuming my projections are correct. This will be a tough series in my opinion, I like the Boston Celtics with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown the best duo in the NBA if you ask me. Also, my best friend (shoutout Ethan) is a huge Boston sports fan so I have kept up with the Celtics most of my life. However, this Oklahoma City Thunder team is an absolute blast to watch. The Thunder have the new superstar guard taking over the league, mixed with youth and great coaching they can definitely make a run at the championship against the Celtics. All that being said, I have to go with the Boston Celtics going back to back and winning the 2025 NBA Championship. The Celtics just have to much fire power  with Tatum, Brown, Porzingis, Holiday, and White just name a few. They also have the next best coach in the NBA in Joe Mazzulla who definitely connects and has these players locked in! In ending, I have the Celtics beating the Thunder in six games (4-2) going back to back and claiming the 2025 NBA Championship. Dare I say lookout the Celtics dynasty is back and looking to takeover the NBA!?