The NBA playoffs will begin Saturday and while most focus will turn to the Western Conference because of the overall quality top to bottom of all eight teams involved, the Eastern Conference’s bracket shouldn’t be so easily dismissed.
It’s easy to say that things in the East won’t truly get interesting until the second round at least, but that simply isn’t true. Because of evidence gleaned from the play-in tournament, the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs looks like things could be a lot more competitive and interesting.
This doesn’t necessarily mean there’s going to be a ton of upsets, but the possibility of longer, drawn-out series is never a bad thing.
Here’s a look at all four first-round Eastern Conference series and how we think things will shake down with each of them.
(1) 76ers vs. (8) Wizards
Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal, left, goes up for the shot against Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, right, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Philadelphia. (Chris Szagola/AP)
Normally the series between the No. 1 seed and No. 8 – particularly recently in the East – has been a snoozer that most can ignore knowing the top seed will advance in four or five games.
That won’t be the case this year as the Wizards aren’t any ordinary No. 8 seed.
Washington scrapped it’s way to finish No. 8 in the Eastern Conference and while it lost in the No. 7-deciding play-in game, it took care of business against the Indiana Pacers, demolishing them to capture No. 8 officially and build back some momentum and confidence heading into its seven-game series against the top-seed Philadelphia 76ers.
The Wizards finished the regular season as one of the hottest teams in the league thanks largely to the outstanding play of Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook. The star duo weren’t at their best during the play-in tournament as Westbrook struggled mightily against the Boston Celtics in the No. 7 game and Beal looks to still be dealing with a lingering hamstring issue. But both looked about as good as they’re going to against the Pacers on Thursday night, and given the duo's immense talent and how well Washington has played since the start of April it’s hard not to think they’ll give Philadelphia some trouble in the first round.
The Sixers are a great defensive team and feature an MVP finalist in Joel Embiid, in addition to a strong supporting cast including Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris, Seth Curry, George Hill, Danny Green and Dwight Howard.
But talent hasn’t really been an issue with the Sixers in their recent playoff failures. Instead, it’s usually come down to mental fortitude and whether or not they’ve been able to minimize mistakes or, when they make them, have been able to shake them off and move onto the next play and stay locked in.
That’s still a big question mark with Philly, particularly with their stars Embiid and Simmons, and because of that, while their talent will ultimately win out, it won’t be easy for them to do so against a Wizards team that’s now basically playing with house money.
Prediction: 76ers in seven.
(2) Nets vs. (7) Celtics
Brooklyn Nets' Kyrie Irving shoots against Boston Celtics' Marcus Smart (36) and Jayson Tatum (0). (Michael Dwyer/AP)
For all the deserved hype the Brooklyn Nets’ vaunted superstar trio of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden have generated this season, they haven’t really played much together.
There have only been eight games that the troika have all played together this season, which begs the question of whether or not that will matter much as the Nets begin their championship quest.
Honestly, given how ultra-talented all three are, even if they haven’t played much together this season, they should still be able to figure it out quickly and the Nets should end up being the offensive juggernauts we all think they are.
The real question with the Nets, though, is whether they’ll be able to get the job done despite playing with a dismal 22nd-ranked defence this season?
Their porous defence didn’t really impact their ability to rack up wins during the regular season as they finished with the fourth-best record in the NBA, going 48-24, but the playoffs are a different animal as teams are able to narrow in on weaknesses of an opponent and make tweaks from game-to-game.
Against the Celtics, given the unfortunate injury to Jaylen Brown, the Nets will ultimately assert their dominance because they simply have more guns. But with offensive players on Boston like Jayson Tatum – who just went for 50 against the Wizards in the No. 7 game – and Kemba Walker, the Celtics are going to score some points and likely enough to take at least two games from Brooklyn before bowing out.
Prediction: Nets in six.
(3) Bucks vs. (6) Heat
Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo misses a dunk over Miami Heat's Bam Adebayo on Saturday, May 15, 2021, in Milwaukee. (Morry Gash/AP)
Last year, the Miami Heat saw the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks and made short work of them, knocking them out in five games in the second round.
And even though it’s only been a year, expect a different outcome this go-around.
Perhaps because they haven’t been nearly as dominant as they have been the past two seasons Milwaukee has flown under the radar a little this season, quietly earning the No. 3 seed with a 46-win season. This despite making some flashy moves such as trading away their future for Jrue Holiday before the season began, locking up two-time MVP Giannis Antetokoumpo to an extension and acquiring P.J. Tucker just before the trade deadline.
Still, given Milwaukee’s playoff shortcomings there’s likely not a ton of belief from observers around the league, something that will suit Milwaukee fine as it’ll soon become apparent why it’s foolish to sleep on them.
Sure, the Bucks probably got the toughest lower-seed draw in the East, taking on a solid-looking Heat team who finished their season very strong, going 12-4 in their last 16 games. But even though it’s never a good idea to bet against Jimmy Butler – who actually never played in the three regular-season meetings between these two clubs this season – a Bucks team coming in without much fanfare, with an Antetokounmpo who might be feeling slighted after being left off the list of MVP finalists despite another outstanding season and, on paper, a club that’s more talented and features more defensive versatility with the additions of Holiday and Tucker seems too dangerous to falter once again against Miami.
Prediction: Bucks in six.
(4) Knicks vs. (5) Hawks
New York Knicks guard RJ Barrett (9) dunks against the Atlanta Hawks during the third quarter on Wednesday, April 21, 2021, in New York. (Wendell Cruz/Pool Photo via AP)
Two of the best stories in the NBA this season, like most No. 4–No. 5 matchups, this should be a good one.
The New York Knicks’ turnaround has been well documented all season long as new head coach Tom Thibodeau and young stars Julius Randle and Canadian R.J. Barrett have helped revive one of the longest-suffering marquee franchises in all of sports.
Less publicized, though, has been the remarkable turnaround of the Atlanta Hawks.
The Hawks were struggling to start the season, going 14-20, with rumours swirling of a rift between young stars Trae Young and John Collins that was threatening to fracture the locker room. This led to the unfortunate firing of head coach Lloyd Pierce, leading to Nate McMillan taking the reigns as the interim head coach on March 1 and proceeding to lead Atlanta to a 27-11 record the rest of the way – the third best in the NBA since the start of March – and the No. 5 seed in the East from No. 11 at the end of March and, most importantly, all noise around the team about poison in the locker room had all but disappeared.
Coming into this series, both teams have clear advantages over the other -- such as the obvious point guard advantage the Hawks have over the Knicks, with Young likely to get some All-NBA recognition, and the disparity between the benches, with Derrick Rose a sixth man of the year finalist.
However, while we expect this to be a long series, ultimately, the main advantage between the two clubs will lie with the Hawks. New York’s best player, Randle, is unlikely to be outright stopped, but with Hawks bigs like Collins and Clint Capela, he can be slowed down.
The same can’t be said for the Knicks and trying to match up with Young. A similar player to Steph Curry and Damian Lillard, Young has near unlimited range, is an excellent play-maker and features a strong handle to boot. And while the Knicks play some outstanding team defence, they don’t have anyone on the roster who’ll really be able to contain all of what Young can do.
He’s the best player in the series and the Knicks don’t really have an answer for him, and for that reason alone, this is the Hawks’ series to lose.
Prediction: Hawks in seven.
