After another exciting round of NBA playoffs, we are finally down to the last four teams. And the only thing we know is that the Milwaukee Bucks are the most ready after taking down the Boston Celtics in five games. As you could read from my “what you missed this weekend,” we’ll see what the next step is for Kyrie Irving and the Celtics during the off-season.
“1 kawhi leonard 2019” by Chensiyuan is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
But now we’ll take a look back at the second round predictions and see where we were right and wrong.
I knew that the Bucks are going to win the series, but I thought they would’ve been challenged a bit more by the Celtics with Kyrie Irving and Al Horford. I honestly wanted to see a seven game series. In fact, I think this bad series loss will help Irving make a decision on where he’ll play next.
That also rises the question as to what’s next for Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris as the Sixers season came to an end with the buzzer beat by Kawhi Leonard. Leonard looks like he’s ready to take down the Bucks and Warriors.
Speaking of the Warriors, they don’t care how great James Harden has been all season, as they shut him late in games to take the series in six. What’s next for Houston? Will James Harden ever win an NBA title?
How about the Blazers and the play of C.J. McCollum? These Blazers are out to prove that they are for real after first round exits in the last two years. Damian Lillard and McCollum have pushed their team all the way to the conference finals. They have done this without big man Josef Nurkic and many of us doubted them, myself included.
I took the Oklahoma City Thunder in round one because I didn’t think the Blazers had what it took. They proved me wrong and I picked them over the Nuggets, but as much as I want to… I can’t pick them over the champions.
Here’s the match ups for the chance to make it to the Finals.
Conference Finals:
1. Bucks vs. 2. Raptors
1. Warriors vs. 3. Blazers
That’s what the conference finals look like, but let’s see what our predictions are! We also got an interesting addition to the predictions this week from Adam.
Rahim’s picks:
Aman’s picks:
Joel’s picks:
Dan’s picks:
Adam’s picks:
Last round most of us had the Rockets finally beating the Warriors, until Harden decided to choke again in the playoffs. We had split emotions about the Raptors and Blazers winning, but the Bucks seemed to be everyone’s favorite.
This round everyone is picking both the Warriors and Bucks to win their series and set up for a match up in the 2019 NBA Finals.
After the Los Angeles Clippers and Houston Rockets failed to knock off the defending champions, we look to the Blazers chances and I honestly think they don’t have enough to win a seven game series. With Kevin Durant likely out game one, the Blazers should try to capitalize on that, but Lillard and McCollum have to play at their highest level especially with the way Klay Thompson has been playing defense lately. I’m more interested in how little brother Seth Curry will play big brother Steph Curry. What kind of family betting with their do this time? Who will mama and daddy Curry be cheering for?
How about the Bucks-Raptors? Bucks have been a favorite since the early part of the season and this is probably their biggest test all season.
When coach Mike Budholzer took over as head coach, we knew this was going to be a magical season for the Bucks and they will be looking to make the finals for the first time since 1974. With Giannis playing MVP caliber basketball the Bucks could very well be in the finals, but Kawhi Leonard is also former Finals MVP and he’ll be looking to do it again.
In order for the Raptors to beat the Bucks they will have to find an answer for Giannis. The biggest matchup of these playoffs is this Kawhi-Giannis matchup. With Kawhi being a free agent, this could be the one and only time we see these two battle in a seven game series for a chance at the NBA Finals. And I think it’s Giannis time to take over the league.
Round two might have been exciting, but we are in store for a much larger role in the conference finals. With a brother versus brother series and a first-ever series with Giannis and Kawhi, the ratings are going up despite LeBron James not being in it. Tell us what you think about the picks and who you’re excited about watching this round as we get closer to the NBA Finals.
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