The Eastern Conference playoffs are all set and will begin this Saturday. There will be some exciting matchups that look very promising. No doubt that there will be a lot of great games and we will see if there will be any surprises in these matchups. Here are the matchups and a what we can expect from them.
Washington Wizards vs. Philadelphia 76ers
The Wizards had to play in the first ever play in tournament and overcame that obstacle. They first lost to the Boston Celtics but demolished the Indiana Pacers in their next attempt to enter the playoffs. Russel Westbrook and Brandon Beal took command of the team and with the help of other teammates, they made it to the playoffs.
Now, they will play the number one seed 76ers in a tough matchup this upcoming Sunday afternoon. It will be a difficult task for the Wizards as they will play against the best team in the East this year. Joel Embiid is coming from one of his best seasons and is on contention for the MVP race this year.
The 76ers are a great team but must be careful not to be overconfident against the Wizards. They have an amazing coach in Doc Rivers and added two new starters this season in Seth Curry and Danny Green. Furthermore, they have depth in their team with a good second unit that they can count on. This series should see the 76ers advancing, but we all know that anything can happen on the court.
Boston Celtics vs. Brooklyn Nets
The Celtics made it through in the play in by defeating the Wizards and that has earned them the opportunity to play the second seed Nets. As a result, they will play the deadly trio of James Harden, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Durant. It will be a difficult task indeed to stop these three and also Blake Griffin, Joe Harris, Jeff Green, and Landry Shamet who have been playing well down the stretch.
On the other hand, Jayson Tatum has been playing ridiculously amazing but will have to keep scoring lights out in every game just to compete against the Nets. It will be even more difficult for the Celtics since Jaylen Brown will be unavailable throughout the postseason due to injury. Kemba Walker, Evan Fournier, and Marcus Smart will have to step up and help Tatum with the scoring.
Under those circumstances, it seems like the Celtics will come up short since they rely heavily on Tatum scoring a lot of points. The Nets have a much better and solid team all around. Brooklyn should come out victorious in this series, but we must wait and see how things play out. First thing to remember, is that the big three have not played that much together this season. So, it will be interesting to see how they will perform together and to see if they will remain healthy throughout the postseason.
Miami Heat vs. Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks had a great regular season as they have had in the last two season. However, they have failed to translate that success in the playoffs as they have been very disappointing. Giannis Antetokounmpo needs to be dominant in every game and now has the help of Jrue Holiday in offense. Khris Middleton has been playing well and will also help in offense. On tradeline day the Bucks added P.J Tucker to their team to help them on defense and they also have Brook Lopez to help at both ends of the floor.
While the Bucks need to prove to everyone, they are a serious candidate for the title, the Heat come under the radar in this match up. They have a solid team but this year they have been hit with injuries to key players. Tyler Herro missed plenty of regular season games as well as Jimmy Butler and Goran Dragic. We will see how they are physically and see if they can perform amazing as they did last year in the bubble.
Last year these two teams met, and the Heat surprised everyone and knocked out the Bucks. They frustrated Giannis throughout the series, and we saw the rise of Tyler Herro and the All-Star caliber of Jimmy Butler. We will see if this year the Heat can do it again and ruin the dreams of the Bucks to go all the way in the playoffs. The Bucks are heavy favorites in this clash and will try to forget what happened last year in the bubble.
Atlanta Hawks vs. New York Knicks
The Hawks will be returning to the playoffs since 2017 and have a great young team. Trae Young has been playing incredible as well as Bogdan Bogdanovic. The Hawks turned things around when they fired coach Lloyd Pierce and hired Nate McMillan as interim coach. Clint Capella and John Collins have helped the team tremendously on both ends of the court.
The Knicks are back in the playoffs and everyone is excited to see them in this position once again. New York has a solid good young team and have an All-Star player in Julius Randle. He has taken the Knicks to another level with the help of RJ Barret, Derrick Rose, and Reggie Bullock.
This matchup is an even one and a must watch no doubt. Both teams are evenly matched and can create a great series. It will not be surprising if they go to seven games as both teams are inexperienced in the postseason and have nothing to lose. Both teams have great second units, but the Knicks are the team to come on top in the end.
Great Playoff Matches
The Eastern conference will offer four great series in the playoffs. As can be seen every series has great players and key player matchups. The head coaches will have a key role as well as they will try to implement their ideas to the players to execute on the floor. Definitely these matches are to watch and cannot be missed as they are deemed to be some great ones.
