It’s April, and that means the NBA Playoffs are just days away! This season the playoff race is going down to the wire, with the West Wildin’ and the East looking like a snail race to the end. The 4-8th seeds are all within one game of each other in the seeding in the West including The Lakers, Nuggets, Clippers, Grizzlies, Warriors, and Timberwolves. On the other hand, the East seeds are all set from 1-10, with the only moving parts coming from the play-in seeding between the Hawks, Heat, Bulls, and Magic. Out West, the Warriors are the hottest team in the Conference, with new life and a 22-5 record since acquiring Jimmy Butler from the Miami Heat on Feb. 5th this year. His energy has jolted the Dubs with new energy including Steph Curry, or
“The Greatest Shooter God has ever created” as ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith says. However, the OKC Thunder sit atop the throne of the West with a record of 66-14, clinching the number one seed on March 20th, continuing their dominance of the league.
In sunny So-Cal, the Lakers and Clippers are silencing doubters, with the LakeShow at #3 and the Clippers in their new Intuit Dome at #5. Doubts around the Lakers’ defense and frontcourt play have seemingly dissipated after how well the trio of Austin Reaves, LeBron James, and Luka Doncic have played together. Meanwhile, turmoil continues in Dallas after the Luka-AD trade, with the Mavs slipping to the 10th seed due to countless injuries to key players such as Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, Derrick Lively, and PJ Washington among others. Another western disappointment comes from Arizona where the Sun isn’t blazing bright for the Suns in Phoenix. Despite having arguably the greatest scorer in NBA history, Kevin Durant alongside Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, head coach Mike Budenholzer hasn’t been able to put the pieces together as they were just eliminated from postseason contention days ago.
Tanking teams are still present, like the Hornets, Wizards, Jazz, and Pelicans all having 21 or fewer wins this season. Despite each of these teams building young talent, all these small market teams continue to struggle to find success outside of punching their ticket to the draft lottery every year. More disappointment looms among fans on the East Coast in Philadelphia. The passionate Philly fans are forced to watch their 76ers fall apart from injury and podcast distractions all season, falling to a record of 24-56 despite championship aspirations with the additions of Paul George, Rookie Jared McCain, and others in the off-season. On a brighter note, the Pistons have completely made a 180 from their past season of 14-68. While their roster looks very similar on paper to the last year, the additions of Malik Beasley, the return to Detroit of Tobias Harris, Tim Hardaway Jr., and mid-season addition Dennis Schroder have propelled Detroit basketball back to the playoffs at the #4 seed in the east. This marks their first playoff appearance since 2019 when Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond led the team.
As far as season awards go, SGA (Shai Gildgeous-Alexander) is looking like the lock to win the MVP with odds of -4000, leading the #1 Thunder to back-to-back first-seed seasons. With Victor Wembanyama sitting out for the season since February 20th due to blood clots in his shoulder, Draymond Green has taken over as the favorite to win the DPOY (Defensive Player of the Year) at -450, which would mark the 4-time all-star and 4-time champ’s 2nd DPOY award (2017). After rookie of the year favorite Jared McCain suffered a season-ending knee injury, the race for the award was up in the air. However, due to injuries to Spurs’ De’Aaron Fox and Wembanyama, Stephon Castle has put together a very strong rookie campaign and is aligned to win the ROTY (Rookie of the Year) favorited at -1400 odds.
Junior Benny predicts the Warriors to win it all this year. “We have Steph Curry, and we got Jimmy Butler. No Luka, LeBron, or anybody can stop that. We’ve been winning games too.” While Vegas has a close race between the Thunder (+170) and the Celtics (+190). They have the Cavs at +550 and the Warriors and Lakers following tied at +1400 odds. For fans of teams that are looking from the outside of the playoff picture, mark your calendars for the draft lottery on May 12th, and the Draft on June 25th. This year’s draft class is noticeably stronger than recent years, with Cooper Flagg heading all mock drafts and coming in with tons of expectations and hype. Not to mention other key prospects such as Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey, and VJ Edgecombe. Now whether it’s your team in the playoffs or where your team’s lottery ball drops, there’s tons of excitement and things to keep an eye on as the 24-25 NBA season nears its finale. Go out and support your team till the end of the season, but more importantly, GO DUBS!