With March Madness ending on Apr. 8, fans have been in need of good basketball and the NBA playoffs starting up on Apr. 16 fill that need. With stars like Lebron James, Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic playing, the NBA playoffs can be some of the most exciting basketball of the year.
The NBA play-in tournament is composed of the four teams who didn’t make the playoffs and the play-in gives those teams a chance to play for a spot. In the first play-in game on Apr. 16, New Orleans Pelicans versus Los Angeles Lakers, despite an impressive 40-point, 11-rebound game from Zion Williamson, the Pelicans couldn’t secure the win, losing 110 to 106 and earning the Lakers a playoff spot against the defending champion Denver Nuggets.
The second play-in game of the night was the Golden State Warriors vs the Sacramento Kings, where the Kings pulled out a dominant 118-94 win, led by forward Keegan Murray, who scored 32 points. Then on Apr. 19 the Pelicans played the Kings for a spot against the Oklahoma City Thunder and, despite Williamson missing the game due to injury, the Pelicans were able to pull out a 105-98 win. The Miami Heat and the Chicago Bulls played on Apr. 19 for the last playoff spot against the one-seed Boston Celtics and, despite the loss of star guard Jimmy Butler, the Heat were able to get a 112-98 win.
In the first round, on Apr. 21, the Thunder, led by guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and rookie center Chet Holmgren, were too much for the Pelicans without star Zion Williamson, as they got swept in four games by a combined point differential of 62. The Thunder will face the Mavericks in the second round
The Clippers, without key player Kawhi Leonard, were able to steal game one on Apr. 21 109-97. The Mavericks then stole the next two games 96-93 on Apr. 23 and 101-90 on Apr. 26. The Clippers tied the series, winning 116-111 on Apr. 28. The Mavericks then took a controlling 3-2 lead 123-93 on May 1. The Mavericks won game six on May 3 114-101 with a 30-point game from guard Kyrie Irving.
The three-seed Minnesota Timberwolves took on the Phoenix Suns on Apr 20, who have a Big Three of forward Kevin Durant, guard Devin Booker and guard Bradley Beal. However the Timberwolves young core was too much for the Suns as they swept the Suns in four games with standout performances from guard Anthony Edwards as he averaged 31 points a game in the series.
The defending champion Nuggets took on the Lakers and the winner would go on to play the Timberwolves in the second round. The Nuggets won game one 114-103 on Apr. 20 then won game two 101-99 on a game winner by guard Jamal Murray. The Nuggets stole game three 112-105 taking a controlling 3-0 lead. The Lakers won game four on Apr. 27 108-119 to make the series 3-,1 however lost the series two days later on another Murray game winner.
The rival Heat took on the one-seed Boston Celtics, who have faced each other three times in the past four postseasons. The Heat were without standout player Jimmy Butler due to an injury in the play-in. The Celtics were able to cruise by the injury-ridden Heat squad in five games. The six seeded Indiana Pacers took on the three-seed Bucks without their star player Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Bucks took game one on Apr. 21 with guard Damian Lillard having 35 points, however the Bucks lost the next three. They won game five 115-92 on Apr. 30 despite not having Lillard or Antetokounmpo. However the Pacers won the series after they won game six 120-98.
Then the two-seed New York Knicks faced off against the seven seed Philadelphia 76ers. The Knicks won game one 111-104 on Apr. 20, then won game two on Apr. 22 104-101. Despite a 40-point performance by guard Jalen Brunson, the 76ers got a 125-114 win on Apr. 25. However three days later, on Apr. 28, the Knicks won 97-92, taking an assertive 3-1 lead. Guard Tyrese Maxey of the 76ers led them to a 112-106 overtime win on Apr. 30. Maxey had 46 points in the win. However, on May 2,the Knicks clinched the series 118-115.
The four-seed Cleveland Cavaliers took on the five-seed Orlando Magic. The Cavaliers won the first two games 97-83 and 96-86 on Apr. 20 and Apr. 22. The Magic took the next two games 121-83 and 112-89 on Apr. 25 and Apr. 27. The Cavaliers took a 3-2 lead winning game five 104-103 on Apr. 30. The Magic tied the series up winning game six 103-96, setting up a game seven to advance to the second round and play the Celtics. Despite a 38-point performance by forward Paolo Banchero, the Cavaliers won 106-94 on May 5.
In the second round the Timberwolves took on the Nuggets for a chance to play in the conference finals. Minnesota won the first two games with impressive performances from Edwards, scoring 43 points in game one on May 4 and 27 on May 6, giving the Timberwolves a 2-0 lead. The Nuggets quickly responded, winning the next three games to take a 3-2 lead in the series. The Timberwolves won game 6 115-70 on May 17 setting up a game 7 where the winner will go to the conference finals on May 17
The Celtics took on the Cavaliers and, after a dominant performance in the first round winning in five games, they won in five once again with guard Jayson Tatum having an 7impressive series, averaging 27 points and 10 rebounds per game to secure his teams spot in the conference finals
The sixseed Pacers took on the twoseed Knicks, where the winner would play the Celtics. The Knicks won the first two games 121-117 on May 6 and 121-130 on May 8. The Pacers tied up the series, winning the next two. The Knicks took a 3-2 lead in the series, winning game five 121-91 with game six on May 17, where the Knicks could potentially send the Pacers home.
The sixseed Mavericks took on the oneseed Thunder, who won game one 117-95 on May 7. The Mavericks won the next two 119-110 and 105-101 on May 9 and May 11. The Thunder tied the series up winning game 100-96 on May 13 and the Mavericks then won game five 104-92 on May 15.
Students are deeply invested in the playoffs with much debate about who will win. “I think the Nuggets will win the finals again because they have the most experience in the playoffs and Nikola Jokic is really hard to stop,” freshman Noah Hurwitz said.
Others disagree. “I think the Timberwolves or the Knicks will win the championship because they have the most well rounded rosters,” freshman Benidict Santos said
