Jude Magnotti ‘26
EE Sports Columnist
Eight teams left, 22 at home, and only 1 will take home the Larry O’Brien trophy.
We are through one round of the NBA playoffs, and have already gotten more spectacle than we ever thought possible! Whether it was the electric game 2 between the Knicks and Sixers at MSG, or Donovan Mitchell scoring 50 in a Cavs loss, fans have already been treated to far more entertainment then they ever thought they would see out of the first round.
With that being said, the second round is upon us, and we have got plenty of matchups to dive into.
First up on the chopping block we have the matchup between the Knicks and Pacers. Both of these are riding high after coming off victories against two injury-riddled powerhouse teams. Unfortunately for New York, the Sixers and Bucks were not the only ones injured. As of me writing this the Knicks are currently up 2-0. However, Mitchell Robinson is gone for the season, OG Anunoby has already been ruled out for game three, and Jalen Brunson is dealing with some serious groin issues after taking a blow to the crotch in game two.
With the series heading back to Indiana, the Pacers look to capitalize off the Knicks array of injuries and snag two easy games at home to even the series to 2-2. With Tyrease Haliburton not playing at his best, these two games are essential for the Pacers if they want to stay alive in this series.
The Knicks two best players might potentially be out for the next two games and if they can not beat a one legged Knicks team led by Isiah Hartenstein, then they don’t even deserve to be in the playoffs to begin with. I have Indiana taking these next two games, but the Knicks rebounding with a win in game five. After that I believe Indiana forces will play a desperation game 7 at MSG. However, I believe that in the end the power of Spike Lee’s ridiculous court side outfits will be too much for the Pacers to handle and I have the Knicks going to the Eastern Conference Finals in 7.
Now, moving over to the other side of the East we have what should seemingly be a 1 sided matchup in Cavs vs. Celtics.
The Celtics gave this assumption validation after their 25 point win in game 1. Unfortunately for them, Donovan Mitchell came back with a VENGEANCE and the Cavs gave the Celtics a taste of their own medicine with another 20 point win in game two.
Most people’s faith in the Celtics is still intact (including mine). However, these alarming blowout losses to the Heat in round 1 and now again to the Cavs in round 2 raise questions about their competency against the best teams in the league. Nevertheless, I have not seen enough to question them yet and I have the Celtics winning the next 3 and heading to the ECF in five.
Flipping over to the Western Conference, we are going to deal with what has been one of the biggest shockers of the playoffs so far: The Wolves going up 2-0 on the Nuggets.
Coming into this year NO ONE and I mean NO ONE thought the Wolves would be this good let alone be up 2-0 on the defending Champions. Jokic has been stifled by Minnesota’s tenacious defense and Murray has lost his cool multiple times including one that resulted in a 100K fine for throwing a towel at a ref.
If it was not already enough of a hole being down 2-0, the Nuggets are traveling up to Minnesota after losing both of the opening games at home. With their backs against the wall and Anthony Edwards closing in on them, the Nuggets will need to figure out something to save their season FAST. Otherwise, we will be seeing Karl Anthony-Towns in the Western Conference finals and that is a thought I simply can not bear.
Jokic has three MVPs now; he needs to match that count in Championships!!!
Finally, last but not least we have what is a rather interesting series between the Thunder and Mavs. At first glance, the Thunder look like an easy favorite. However, we have learned throughout the years to never count Luka out and, as a result of that, this series is very hard to judge.
As of me writing this, the series is tied at 1-1 with no indicators as to where the pendulum might swing. If you ask me, I am still putting my money on Luka and the Mavs. Nevertheless, in a series between teams this evenly matched, anything goes and ANYTHING can happen.
With the matchups underway and still plenty of playoffs left to go, us fans still have weeks of excitement we have yet to experience, 100s of TVs we are yet to throw, and incalculable amounts of damage we are yet to do to our vocal chords. Nevertheless, it’s only a matter of time before we see what happens next, and these playoffs are just getting started…
Photo courtesy: Getty Images: The Independent