Written by: Chaim Cohen
April 16, 2022
(1) Suns vs. (8) Pelicans
League-high 64 win Suns face off vs. the Pelicans in what should be a quick series. Ever since the Suns lost in the championship last year they have been red hot. Devin Booker and co. have been on a mission this year and don't plan on stopping. They finished the season with the fifth-highest points per game and 7th least allowed points per game. Considering that they are a great team both offensively and defensively I don't think the Pelicans should compete. As good as players like Brandon Ingram and C.J. McCollum are, the Pelicans are at best a mediocre team. The only reason they are even in the playoffs is probably because Paul George wasn't available for the second play-in game. To keep this brief I think the Pelicans maybe get 1 win out and the Suns win in 5.
(2) Grizzlies vs. (7) Timberwolves
Although usually when the second seed plays the 7th seed it isn't exciting, this is an exception. The Grizzlies come in as one of the best teams of the regular season but they do come along with some question marks. Although Ja Morant is by far the best player on the Grizzlies, for some odd reason they do better without him (20-4). Personally, I feel it is foolish for someone to say they are better without him but it is undeniable that this stat is somewhat concerning. At the same time though, one can argue that this just proves how good the rest of their team is so now that they get Ja back they should do great. The Wolves are another interesting story. They have great young talent between Anthony Edwards, Karl Anthony-Town, and De'Angelo Russell. Also, they have arguably the best energy in the entire league. From the games that I've seen the Wolves have been the biggest "try hards" in the whole league. They are the only team that has been hustling on every play and that is because they have the man himself, Patrick Beverly. The Wolves are coming off the Clippers win with a ton of momentum and that should make this series interesting. While I do really want to pick the Wolves in seven, I'm going to respect the regular season the Grizzlies had and choose Memphis in 6.
(3) Warriors vs. (6) Nuggets
The Warriors face off against the Nuggets in what will be the quickest series of the playoffs. The Warriors are arguably the scariest offense in the league and will do damage these playoffs. While everyone already knows Steph Curry is one of the greatest scorers ever, his upcoming sidekick Jordan Poole is becoming one of the most prolific scorers in the league. I would go as far as saying the Warriors have the two best scorers in the entire series. While Jokic is great, he doesn't have enough help to beat this Warriors team. There is no Jamal Murray or Michael Porter jr. so with Will Barton as your second-best player I have the Warriors in 4.
(4) Mavericks vs. (5) Jazz
Although the Mavericks are the third seed this will be extremely tough for them. Superstar, Luka Doncic, is expected to miss some of these first games or possibly the whole series. Considering their second-best player is either Spencer Dinwiddie or Jalen Brunson, the Jazz should win this series, but I'm not overly convinced about the Jazz. The Jazz peaked last regular reason when they finished as the one seed. Even when they were the one seed nobody actually expected them to win the championship. They have been pretty much the same level team since Mitchell's rookie year. I think the Mavericks might just be able to pull off this upset, but the Mavericks need to pull out a win without Luka if they want to win the series. I have the Mavericks winning in 6 or 7.
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