Playoff Bracket
Now that we have an analysis on 55-win teams and 3-seeds of the past, here are my predictions for how the NBA playoffs will shake out:
First Round:
(1) Los Angeles Clippers VS (8) Sacramento Kings……………LAC wins 4-0
(4) Houston Rockets VS (5) Los Angeles Lakers………………..LAL wins 4-2
(2) Denver Nuggets VS (7) Portland Trail-Blazers……………..DEN wins 4-2
(3) Utah Jazz VS (6) Golden State Warriors…………………………UTA wins 4-2
(1) Milwaukee Bucks VS (8) Detroit Pistons………………………MIL wins 4-1
(4) Toronto Raptors VS (5) Indiana Pacers…………………………TOR wins 4-3
(2) Philadelphia 76ers VS (7) Miami Heat………………………….PHI wins 4-1
(3) Boston Celtics VS (6) Brooklyn Nets …………………………….BOS wins 4-3
Semi-Finals:
(1) Los Angeles Clippers VS (5) Los Angeles Lakers…………LAC wins 4-2
(2) Denver Nuggets VS (3) Utah Jazz………………………………….UTA wins 4-3
(1) Milwaukee Bucks VS (4) Toronto Raptors……………………MIL wins 4-1
(2) Philadelphia 76ers VS (3) Boston Celtics……………………..PHI wins 4-1
Conference Finals
(1) Los Angeles Clippers VS (3) Utah Jazz……………………….. LAC wins 4-2
(1) Milwaukee Bucks VS (2) Philadelphia 76ers……………….MIL wins 4-2
NBA Finals
(1) Milwaukee Bucks VS (1) Los Angeles Clippers……………LAC wins 4-3
NBA Champions: Los Angeles Clippers
I have the Jazz making the Western Conference Finals, losing there in six games to the Clippers. Honestly I went back and forth on whether Utah would even make it out of the first two rounds.
But I came to the conclusion that the Jazz can play 4 shooters on the floor at the same time, with Rudy Gobert to set screens and run the rim. Golden State got weaker defensively and would struggle to defend such a lineup.
Meanwhile the Denver Nuggets have gone 3-5 against the Jazz the past couple regular seasons. This would be a thrilling series if it were to happen, one I anticipate would go all the way to game 7. The saying goes “defense travels”, which should help the Jazz as they wouldn’t have home court advantage against Denver in this scenario.