AUGUST 13: Following wins by the Thunder and Clippers on Wednesday night, three Western Conference first-round matchups have now been set, with only the Lakers still awaiting their opponent. Those first-round series are as follows:
- Los Angeles Lakers (1) vs. Play-in winner (8)
- Los Angeles Clippers (2) vs. Dallas Mavericks (7)
- Denver Nuggets (3) vs. Utah Jazz (6)
- Oklahoma City Thunder (4/5) vs. Houston Rockets (4/5)
We’ll know by the end of Thursday which two teams out of the Trail Blazers, Grizzlies, Suns, and Spurs will be participating in the play-in tournament in the West, but it may be Sunday before the Lakers know their first-round opponent.
AUGUST 12: As a result of the Pacers’ 108-104 win over Houston this afternoon, the four Eastern Conference matchups for the first round of the postseason have been set. They are as follows:
- Milwaukee Bucks (1) vs. Orlando Magic (8)
- Toronto Raptors (2) vs. Brooklyn Nets (7)
- Boston Celtics (3) vs. Philadelphia 76ers (6)
- Miami Heat (4/5) vs. Indiana Pacers (4/5)
Typically, the Heat and Pacers would be continuing to fight for home court advantage in their series, but the unusual nature of this season means claiming the No. 4 seed instead of No. 5 won’t make much of a difference.
Despite the fact that several teams were within two or three games of one another in the standings when the restart began – or were even tied, like the Pacers and Sixers – the first-round matchups in the East look exactly the same as they did when the season was suspended on March 11.
Over in the West, a small number of teams – including the No. 1 Lakers – are locked into their playoff spots, but most matchups remain up in the air. For now, the most likely pairings are Lakers/play-in winner, Clippers/Mavericks, Nuggets/Jazz, and Rockets/Thunder, but one or more of those could change by Friday.
which series is most likely to be a blowout? most likely to go the distance? thoughts?
Bucks and Toronto are guaranteed blowout winners. Heat Pacers is the only one that is a toss up, although you can’t count out Philly.
Without Simmons in the lineup, it’s quite easy to count out Philly.
I didn’t know you thought Simmons was THAT good
He isn’t..
Bucks 4-0 over Magic
Raptors 4-0 over Nets
Celtics 4-2 over 76ers
Heat 4-2 over Pacers
Sixers win twice? That’s extremely optimistic. More likely 4-1 or 4-0.
Set
Rockets vs Thunder
Nuggets vs jazz
Clippers vs Mavs
I look forward to watching Rockets- Thunder. Could be a war. Nuggets Jazz tough to call as well. Probably the Nuggets, right? Not the Mavs time yet. They’ll continue to grow and be even better next year.
Could be a war, sort of like the Gulf War. But a lot depends on whether or not Westbrook is forced to miss some time. But Schroder will also be rusty after playing just one game before leaving the bubble. Home court advantage will be meaningless so even if OKC is the #4 seed it makes no difference.
Dort’s knee injury might also cause him to miss time as well.
You sound happy about Dort’s injury! Common dude HOU shouldn’t need any OKC injuries to win easily, right?
There is a lot of chatter out there that Portland will push LA…anyone buying it? Is Portland even a lock to grab the 8th spot?
The suns are the most overlooked team in the bubble and also are coming for that 8th spot. The fact that they are undefeated and nobody is talking about them is crazy.
Lakers 4
Blazers 2
Clippers 4
Mavs 1
Nuggets 4
Jazz 3
Rockets 4
Thunder 1
Bucks 4
Magic 1
Raptors 4
Nets 0
Celtics 4
76ers 3
Heat 4
Pacers 2