Photo Courtesy: Erik Drost
By DaVince “Dino” Wright
I told you so!
This has been one of the most entertaining playoffs in the NBA in years. The teams that are still playing haven’t let us down. The Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Los Angles Clippers and a few other teams have been bounced by some good teams. The Denver Nuggets are being thrashed by Minnesota Timberwolves and are down by 2 games. The Indiana Pacers are being chastised by the New York Knicks. The Boston Celtics are tied 1-1 with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Celtics are close to sending them home! Let’s take a closer look at each series and I will give you guys my prediction of the winner of each series.
New York Knicks vs Indiana Pacers
New York lead series 2-0
Date: May 10
Time: 6:00 PM
TV: ESPN
New York is up 2 games and poised to take Game 3 as well. Here’s the problem, New York’s injury report is a problem. Point guards Jalen Brunson is a game time decision while shooting guard OG Anunoby is out with a hamstring injury. Indiana could take a game with these players hurt right now. Indiana has a solid team but lack veteran depth to help these young guys through the playoffs and beyond. They are not moving past the Knicks in this series. I’m taking New York in this series and it is going to 6 games easily.
Final Prediction: New York Knicks in 6 games (5-1)
Denver Nuggets vs Minnesota Timberwolves
Minnesota leads series 2-0
Date: May 10
Time: 8:30 PM
TV: ESPN
Looks like the defending NBA champions are in some big trouble. Sure, Nuggets center Nikola Jokic won the NBA MVP award this season but those young wolves on the other side of the floor seem to be starving for a championship. Denver can turn it around but will need Jamal Murray to be at least 70% healthy on the floor. The Minnesota defense is led by a young player who’s only 22 years old. Anthony Edwards has torched everybody this season. He averaged 30.1 points per game against the Phoenix Suns and was primarily guarded by Kevin Durant. This series is going 5 games to the Timberwolves.
Final Prediction: Minnesota Timberwolves in 5 games (4-1)
Boston Celtics vs Cleveland Cavaliers
Series Tied 1-1
Date: May 11
Time: 7:30 PM
TV: ABC
Everyone thought that Boston was going to punish the Cavaliers in this series. In game 1, Boston showed how good they are by blasting the Cavaliers by 24. In Game 2, Cavaliers point guard Donovan Mitchell scored 29 points to lead his team to a shocking victory on the road. Celtics guard Jayson Tatum has been quiet this series, while Jaylen Brown carried the team so far throughout this series. I’m taking the Celtics in 6 games and moving on to the next round of this year’s NBA playoffs.
Final Prediction: Boston Celtics in 6 games (5-1)
