The playoff seeding is ready, however the prime seeds will not know who they’re taking part in till the play-in video games are completed on Friday. This is our greatest guess to what these matchups will likely be and our rating of which of the sequence are going to be essentially the most entertaining.
1. Denver Nuggets (2) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (7)
We do not but know if the Lakers will defeat the New Orleans Pelicans Tuesday and seize the No. 7 seed, however after Sunday’s dismantling of New Orleans on their residence courtroom, it is trying unlikely that the Lakers lose to the Pels.
That units up a possible rematch of final 12 months’s Western Convention Finals, which specialists have known as (each critically and sarcastically) the “best sweep in NBA playoffs historical past.”
Denver additionally swept the Lakers within the season sequence, however the in-season event champions have proved that they are harmful in massive video games. Plus, this sequence pits Nikola Jokic, poised to win his third MVP in 4 years, towards all-time nice LeBron James and all-time actually good Anthony Davis. The Nuggets ought to nonetheless be assured, however let’s simply say they’d be much more assured in the event that they hadn’t blown the top seed Friday night time.
2. Boston Celtics (1) vs. Miami Warmth (8)
Something may occur within the one-game Sixers-Warmth contest, so we’re selecting a rematch of final 12 months’s Japanese Convention Finals. Boston seems just like the far superior group, however that is additionally how they seemed final season when the Warmth needed to climb out of the play-in event. This 12 months’s Warmth not have Gabe Vincent or Max Strus, however they now have former Celtic Terry Rozier on board, doubtless in search of revenge towards his previous group. And do not assume Miami’s Kevin Love has forgotten that Boston’s Kelly Olynyk knocked him out of the playoffs in 2015.
