2024 NBA Season and Playoffs

[hpantazo]

The already set match ups are tough to predict. It's not like 15-20 years ago where you could just pencil in the higher seed and be right most the time. There's so much talent now.

MIL over Indy is probably the safest bet, Though I could see Indy pushing it to 6 or 7.

Gonna be some low scores in the CLE-ORL Series. I'll give the edge to Cleveland for having the best player and because of Orlando's complete inability to close out close games. This Cleveland team is due for some success at some point, right?

MIN-PHX is the ultimate defense vs. Offense series. KD and the Suns know they'll be absolutely flamed by the media if they lose in the first round; I think that'll motivate them to get the job done.

DAL-LAC I see being the most fun series. Talk about one team on the upswing and one team completely falling apart. I just don't see the Clippers being able to patch things back together, especially against the best scoring duo in the league. I'll take Dallas.

With Giannis likely out for several games and possibly the whole series, the Milwaukee - Indiana matchup is nowhere near a safe bet.

[Phantom255x]

What are people's thoughts on the Kings-Warriors play-in game? Because man, that's a tough one to predict. It's also wild that one of these teams could be eliminated this early especially if it's Golden State. Game's at Sacramento which is not an easy environment at all.

I'm tempted to go Golden State because they are kind of like cockroaches, tough to get rid of and they have a ton of experience and the best player (Curry). Kings have been shaky pretty much this whole season and are dealing with injuries.

[radiohead]

The already set match ups are tough to predict. It's not like 15-20 years ago where you could just pencil in the higher seed and be right most the time. There's so much talent now.

MIL over Indy is probably the safest bet, Though I could see Indy pushing it to 6 or 7.

Gonna be some low scores in the CLE-ORL Series. I'll give the edge to Cleveland for having the best player and because of Orlando's complete inability to close out close games. This Cleveland team is due for some success at some point, right?

MIN-PHX is the ultimate defense vs. Offense series. KD and the Suns know they'll be absolutely flamed by the media if they lose in the first round; I think that'll motivate them to get the job done.

DAL-LAC I see being the most fun series. Talk about one team on the upswing and one team completely falling apart. I just don't see the Clippers being able to patch things back together, especially against the best scoring duo in the league. I'll take Dallas.

With Giannis likely out for several games and possibly the whole series, the Milwaukee - Indiana matchup is nowhere near a safe bet.

With how Orlando blew them out tonight, I don’t see how the Bucks would survive the Pacers if Giannis doesn’t play in that series.

[scaryjerry]

What are people's thoughts on the Kings-Warriors play-in game? Because man, that's a tough one to predict. It's also wild that one of these teams could be eliminated this early especially if it's Golden State. Game's at Sacramento which is not an easy environment at all.

I'm tempted to go Golden State because they are kind of like cockroaches, tough to get rid of and they have a ton of experience and the best player (Curry). Kings have been shaky pretty much this whole season and are dealing with injuries.

The warriors aren’t what they once were obviously but I’d be shocked if Steph didn’t summon enough to at least win a play in game

[Phantom255x]

What are people's thoughts on the Kings-Warriors play-in game? Because man, that's a tough one to predict. It's also wild that one of these teams could be eliminated this early especially if it's Golden State. Game's at Sacramento which is not an easy environment at all.

I'm tempted to go Golden State because they are kind of like cockroaches, tough to get rid of and they have a ton of experience and the best player (Curry). Kings have been shaky pretty much this whole season and are dealing with injuries.

The warriors aren’t what they once were obviously but I’d be shocked if Steph didn’t summon enough to at least win a play in game

Yeah. I actually think the Lakers win their play-in, and the Warriors win both of theirs (so against Sacramento, then the Pelicans on Friday).

Sets up Nuggets-Lakers, Warriors-Thunder. More great matchups.

[celticinorlando]

Lakers v Denver right out of the gate would be interesting. Denver still wins but I’d watch

I really expected more from the kings this year. know they have injuries but even before that they weren’t playing consistently good.

[Who]

The already set match ups are tough to predict. It's not like 15-20 years ago where you could just pencil in the higher seed and be right most the time. There's so much talent now.

It is a strange season. So many teams huddled together in that 46 win to 51 range. Nothing between them.

14 different teams in that 46-51 win range.

In the East there is no difference between the 2nd/3rd/4th seeds and the 6th/7th/8th seeds. Boston is the only team in the East with separation from the pack.

In the West, they got 3 teams with 56-57 wins with DEN, MIN and OKC. OKC look more like a regular season team than a playoff team to me. I might downgrade them into that 14 team trailing pack. Then they go all the way down from 4th to 10th in that 46-51 win range.

[Who]

It is a strange season. So many teams huddled together in that 46 win to 51 range. Nothing between them.

14 different teams in that 46-51 win range.

This is something I was alluding to the other day when I compared the Lakers W-L record with the Milwaukee Bucks.

I think LAL gets too much criticism for finishing 8th in the West with 46 wins when MIL finished 2nd in the East with 51 wins.

The gap between all these teams is tiny.

There is really only a top group of 4 teams of 56-64 wins.

Then a second tier of 14 teams in that 46-51 win range. Whether you are LAL in 8th in the West or MIL in 2nd in the East, they are all on the same tier. The differences between them are so small.

[Phantom255x]

It is a strange season. So many teams huddled together in that 46 win to 51 range. Nothing between them.

14 different teams in that 46-51 win range.

This is something I was alluding to the other day when I compared the Lakers W-L record with the Milwaukee Bucks.

I think LAL gets too much criticism for finishing 8th in the West with 46 wins when MIL finished 2nd in the East with 51 wins.

The gap between all these teams is tiny.

There is really only a top group of 4 teams of 56-64 wins.

Then a second tier of 14 teams in that 46-51 win range. Whether you are LAL in 8th in the West or MIL in 2nd in the East, they are all on the same tier. The differences between them are so small.

Those four teams in the 56-64 win category also passed the "40-20" rule. Knock on wood, but I would be stunned if none of BOS/DEN/MIN/OKC won the title. I'm not as high on OKC as the others but ultimately it should still be one of these four, and the favorite is Boston.

[Moranis]

The West is so much deeper and better than the East and yet I'd be pretty surprised if Denver didn't win the West.  They look like the best of that very deep group.  If Boston isn't in the Finals, something has gone terribly wrong as Boston is pretty clearly a few steps ahead of everyone else at this point. 

[Who]

Point Differential Eastern Conference

1 = Boston = 11.4 points per game

2 = New York = 4.6 (2nd seed)

3 = Indy = 3.1 (6th seed)
4 = Philly = 3.1 (7th seed)

5 = Milwaukee = 2.6 (3rd seed)
6 = Cleveland = 2.4 (4th seed)
7 = Orlando = 2.0 (5th seed)
8 = Miami = 1.7 (8th seed)

Interesting to see Indy and Philly 3rd and 4th in the East in point differential despite being the 6th and 7th seeds.

[Who]

Point Differential Western Conference

1 = OKC = 7.4 points per game (1st seed)
2 = Minny = 6.5 (3rd seed)
3 = Denver = 5.3 (2nd seed)

4 = New Orleans = 4.4 (7th seed)

5 = LA Clippers = 3.3 (4th seed)
6 = Phoenix Suns = 3.0 (6th seed)

7 = Golden State = 2.6 (10th seed)
8 = Dallas = 2.3 (5th seed)
9 = Sacramento = 1.8 (9th seed)

10 = LA Lakers = 0.6 (8th seed)

Interesting to see LAL bottom of the pack. Not just of the Western Conference but out of the Eastern Conference teams with 46-51 wins as well.

Miami and Sacramento the only two teams with under a 2.0 points per game differential. Orlando directly on 2.0. Dallas next worst at 2.3. Both Orlando and Dallas are 5th seeds in their respective conferences.

New Orleans stands out. They are in the play-in in the 7th seed but have the 4th highest point differential at 4.4. Only BOS and NYK have higher in the East so 6th overall in entire league. Yet still stuck in the play-in.

OKC with a strong 7.4 point differential. Serious number.

[SparzWizard]

If LeBron is as smart as he think he is, he would tank the first game. Then win the second play-in game to face OKC Thunder. So either the Lakers win the first game, or just get eliminated altogether. Warriors/OKC would also be a dramatically fun series.

[SparzWizard]

Bucks/Pacers rivalry renewed...that'll be interesting.
Cavs/Magic...rematch of 2009 ECF. Two completely different teams since then.
Suns/Wolves...star-studded offense vs ultimate defense. Giving the Suns the edge here.

[SparzWizard]

Something tells me the Heat might pull the upset on the 76ers just cuz. And I would hate that. Healthy 76ers are the second best team in the East, and we'd have a handful in the first-round if that's the case. These aren't the Brett Brown/Doc Rivers 76ers any longer.

I think both these play-in teams will advance to the playoffs first-round.