After meeting in the NBA Finals a year ago, the Celtics and Warriors will have to overcome early second-round deficits if they hope to compete again for a title this June.
The Celtics lost the first game of their second round series to the Sixers on Monday, despite the fact that the game was played in Boston and Philadelphia was missing MVP center Joel Embiid. The Warriors lost Game 1 to the Lakers on Tuesday even though they made 21 three-pointers to L.A.’s six. The two teams’ disparate styles were on full display, as the Lakers knocked down 15 more two-pointers and 20 more free throws than Golden State.
Even though Embiid is on track to return in Game 2 on Wednesday and Boston has lost its home court advantage, the Celtics are still the favorites to advance beyond the second round, per BetOnline.ag. That’s not the case for the defending champions though, as the Lakers are now considered the betting favorites in the West’s No. 6 vs. No. 7 matchup.
Neither the Celtics (-158) nor the Lakers (-155) are overwhelming favorites in their respective series, but they’re still viewed as better bets to make the conference finals than either the Heat (-118) or Knicks (-102), according to BetOnline.ag.
That matchup of Eastern Conference upstarts is essentially viewed as a toss-up, with the Heat’s split of the first two games in New York having been negated by Jimmy Butler‘s uncertain status going forward after he missed Game 2 with a sprained ankle. Miami is already playing without Tyler Herro and Victor Oladipo — missing Butler may leave the team with too little firepower to knock off the Knicks, but if he’s able to return for Game 3 on Saturday, the Heat’s position looks much stronger.
Of the eight teams in the second round, the Nuggets (-430) are the biggest favorites to make the conference finals after registering two strong home wins over the Suns. But with the series heading back to Phoenix, a home victory or two for the Suns could significantly alter the outlook of that matchup.
If the Suns hope to mount a comeback, they’ll likely have to do so without Chris Paul, at least for the next two or three games. The future Hall of Famer has a strained groin and isn’t expected to return to action before next week.
With the first round behind us and this year’s potential title contenders emerging, we want to check in on your thoughts on this spring’s playoffs. Has your NBA Finals pick changed since the postseason tipped off? Which four teams do you expect to make it through to the conference finals? Are the Nuggets the best bet to advance, or is there another team you’re more confident in?
Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!
I got no problem in the east. My only prediction has been that the Celtics are coming out, and they’re good enough to win the whole thing.
Lakers-warriors should go 7 games, but I have no idea who will come out. Can Day-to-Davis continue to go 40 plus minutes? Will a player of consequence on either team get hurt? Winner of this series of course goes to the finals. Denver’s better, not good enough.
With all their guys back from injury this playoffs, Denver is looking like they should take care of Phoenix in 6.
Kerr simply has to play Loon Dray Wiggs Klay and Steph together for 35-40 minutes and he refuses to do it. Why is he resting these guys and breaking them up into horrible rotations that dont work, when the season is ending soon?
Also benching Kuminga for no reason but acting like Donte D isnt some back end player and he keeps giving him minutes and theyre all bad – the guy is choking and isnt cut out for the big moments. GSW has 7+ guys who are. Play them please.
Warriors do not have an answer to combat a healthy Davis
Yes they do, Kerr just refuses to play his NBA superstars NBA superstar minutes. Austin Reaves played more minutes than any GSW player last night.
My predictions two weeks ago
Lakers win because of 15 more free throw attempts per game
Last night
Lakers 29
Warriors 6
50 3pt shots will do that to you
Refs falling for flopper Schroeder, gross.
If GSW gets 3’s to fall its probably GSW in 6 or 7.
What if they get 23 to fall ?
If they get 3s to fall. Boss you have strong opinions for someone who watched the highlights
Nostradunker picked Kings/Bucks. Not looking good at the moment…anything can happen tho
Giving it a 3-year window that prediction could look very good. You were just a little early that’s all. Giannis isn’t going anywhere and we can all see that the kings are up and coming.
Yes very true, and I am not a Bucks fan so it doesn’t bother me but I like to be right dammit!
Also pretty much every series so far has been a lot of fun and only getting more interesting as things tighten up. Whatever happens in these playoffs it will be exciting to watch.
Celtics with Brogdon seem to be better than their Finals team last year and the strongest team this year… Embiid hasn’t historically shown any success in playoffs, unlikely to change this year.
NYK v MIA, no Butler, no chance. With Butler, still not a title team.
Denver with Murray and MPJ healthy and depth look really good. Despite the MVP snub, Jokic is playing to prove he is a champion… which is what really matters.
GSW v LA.. I can’t count either out as both teams have guys that know how to win under incredible circumstances. But I prefer GSW because LA is more likely to lose someone to an injury AND\OR GSW simply has more experience together as a team and will solve for AD.
Finals: Celtics over Denver
Brogdan is definitely a big addition to the team they had last year. But their young and inexperienced head coach is a downgrade.
True… that might have showed up tonight in the Eastern Conference Finals against MIA. Butler was amazing,though.