The 2015 NBA Playoffs are quickly approaching. See if your favorite team will be competing for the title.
The end of the NBA season is in sight, as the playoffs are set to begin April 18.
With only a few games remaining during the regular season, only a handful of teams are still fighting for a chance to play in the playoffs. Others, however, are preparing their teams for a deep playoff run.
If the regular season was to end today, eleven of the sixteen teams that played in the last postseason would be back. The four new teams include Boston, Milwaukee and Cleveland in the Eastern Conference and New Orleans in the Western Conference. Meanwhile, Indiana, Miami Heat, Charlotte and Oklahoma City would not be returning.
{{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="898c2714-dca0-11e4-88d0-477b7dbaf71f"}}
There aren’t many surprises to the current playoff picture, but the biggest is most likely the Thunder. Oklahoma City was a competitor last season, but, after the injuries it dealt with this season, the playoffs might only be a dream. Russell Westbrook has played well in Kevin Durant’s absence, but one person can’t replace a star of Durant’s caliber.
Coming into the season, many people were aware Golden State was one of the best teams in the league, if not the best. The “Splash Brothers” are leading a team that has played better then anyone could’ve guessed they could all season long. They are going into the playoffs as the number one team in the league and look prepared to make a deep playoff run.
The Cavaliers were the one team that many people wondered about prior to the season. After LeBron James signed his deal to come “home,” they were immediately listed as the favorite to win the title.
{{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="7be617be-d7e1-11e4-9d23-f3100f45c0ef"}}
After a very shaky start and many injuries, it looked like the Cavaliers would be on the outside looking in during the playoffs. But Cleveland soon found itself in the top half of the conference and rising. Now, it’s the favorite to win the championship in the minds of many NBA fans.
San Antonio, the defending champion, is not entering the playoffs as the top-seed in the West, but rather the six-seed. The Spurs have nearly an identical roster to last year and years prior to that. Although they are not as high of a seed as usual, that should not mean anything to their competition. The Spurs’ players have plenty of playoff experience and should always be taken as a threat.
{{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="5996f63a-d271-11e4-84ea-0f377e107377"}}
In the East, the Pacers, Heat and Hornets have an outside chance of still making the playoffs, but they would most likely need to win out while the Celtics, Nets and Bucks would need to lose out. The West has just one team with a chance to make the postseason: the Thunder, which matches up to the Pelicans well.
My prediction:
Eastern Conference finals: Golden State over San Antonio
Western Conference finals: Cleveland over Atlanta
NBA finals: Warriors over Cavaliers in six games.
@Dannyjo
dj240613@ohio.edu
