‘ The Atlanta Hawks officially punched their ticket alongside the Brooklyn Nets following the third-annual NBA Play-In Tournament, and now the stage is set for 2021-2022 NBA Playoffs. The first set of games are only hours away, with the Jazz and Mavericks tipping off at 10:00 a.m. on ESPN.
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82 games have come and gone seemingly in a flash, with 16 teams still standing only one thing is for certain: NBA fans worldwide will be heavily invested in the emotional rollercoaster that is the NBA Postseason.
For the Eastern Conference, eight teams are officially in contention for their respective conference and ultimately the NBA Championship with the Atlanta Hawks having claimed the eighth seed in a spectacular win against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
With all that being said, we’ll now get into each series, weighing in potential win conditions as well as our own predictions on how the respective series’ will play out.
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No. 1 Miami Heat (53-29) vs. No. 8 Atlanta Hawks (43-39)
Despite being the first seed this year with some solid momentum going into this series, the Miami Heat have their work cut out for them seeing the Atlanta Hawks in the first round considering that last year’s Playoffs saw the Heat making a first round exit while the Hawks making it as far as the Eastern Conference Championship. Of course things are very much different this time around, having roster changes on both sides, but this series feels more equal than most may think. We can expect the Hawks to go into this with a similar scrappy, team based approach as to last year, as well as many outstanding performance from the likes of Trae Young, and it’s up to the Miami defense to make life as difficult as possible for him. On Miami’s side, we can expect Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo to give it their all every second they’re on the floor, but a big X-Factor for the Heat is in none other than Tyler Herro. Herro has become a household name in Miami, providing a good amount of offense for the team, which can hopefully translate into the postseason.
Prediction: Miami beats Hawks 4-2
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No. 2 Boston Celtics (51-31) vs. No. 7 Brooklyn Nets (44-38)
In an interesting role reversal of last year’s matchup, the Brooklyn Nets find themselves facing off once again against the Boston Celtics, but this time as the seventh seed to Boston’s second, when a year before these teams were in eachothers’ position. Unlike the previous match-up however, this series feels much more even than before. After what was a rocky start to the season, the Celtics have seemingly pieced things together at the right time, allotting themselves solid positioning in this year’s Playoffs, with their young core in Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart leading the way. Unfortunately for the Celtics, however, is the loss of Robert Williams III, who recently underwent surgery for a meniscus injury, who will be out 4-6 weeks, and is set to return in an indefinite amount of time, which is a detriment for Boston considering that Williams has been the epitome of a defensive anchor for this team all season. This doesn’t by any stretch of the imagination mean that the Celtics are doomed, but only means that the rest of the roster need to be prepared to play on both sides of the ball against a Nets team that can be very dangerous if you let them get into a groove. With Tatum having an exceptional season that garnered some MVP conversation, we can expect an amazing series with him going up against Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Although the Nets had some inconsistency throughout the regular season, that doesn’t take away the fact that they have two of the best offensive players in the league on one team. And although we can expect a large amount of the scoring load to be on their shoulders, their role players are going to be one of the biggest keys if they plan on getting far into the postseason, let alone the first round. Nevertheless it feels like this series is going to be one that is remembered for quite some time.
Prediction: Boston beats Brooklyn 4-3.
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No. 3 Milwaukee Bucks (51-31) vs. No. 6 Chicago Bulls (46-36)
The defending NBA Champions set out on their journey to go back-to-back with their first series against the Chicago Bulls. Giannis Antetokounmpo has shown even more development to his game, shooting the 3-pointer at a sub-40% clip, which has made teams that much more confused on how to guard the 2021 Finals MVP. Additionally, with household Bucks name in Bobby Portis having a spectacular season, as well as the other additions to their roster this season, the Bucks have created a lot of floor spacing for their big 3 to operate freely and get to their spots and make the right play. The Bucks are certainly no strangers to Playoff basketball, and have been playing so all season which is why it’s exciting for them to go up against a Bulls team that haven’t seen the Playoffs in some years now. However, this Bulls roster is comprised of some players that have some Playoff experience and even a handful of NBA Champions, but as a collective are fairly green. Bulls’ Forward Demar DeRozan has had a standout season this year, allotting himself some MVP conversations and hopefully alongside Zach LaVine can make a run in the Playoffs.
Prediction: Milwaukee beats Chicago 4-1.
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No. 4 Philadelphia 76ers (51-31) vs. No 5. Toronto Raptors (48-34)
Despite a bit of a turbulent season regarding the whole Ben Simmons situation, the Sixers have managed to put together a solid season up to this point, and now with James Harden in the picture, have high hopes for the team. Joel Embiid has had an MVP caliber season, and is currently in contention in winning the award which to his credit, he has been the very backbone of this organization throughout its hardships. The talent this organization has is up there with some of the best in the league, but can fall very short at times. Although it’s hard to bet against said talent, it’s equally as hard to bet against an under the radar team like the Raptors. Many suspected the Toronto Raptors to be in a rebuild of sorts, now that another piece of their 2019 Championship roster in Kyle Lowry made his exit to the Miami Heat, but they’ve managed just fine, earring the fifth seed. The Raptors have gathered quite a talented roster themselves, many players who seemingly have gone overlooked. Gary Trent Jr. for example seems to have found his stride in Toronto alongside Siakam and VanVleet. Although many may think that this series seems rather one-sided, I personally believe it will not be as easy as one might expect.
Prediction: Philadelphia beats Toronto 4-3.
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