The NBA Playoffs. One of the best times of the year for sports. In the NBA there are 16 teams who make the playoffs and they are seeded one through eight. They play seven game series, meaning you have to win four games to take the series. While these games are usually filled with upsets, it was the complete opposite this year. During the 1st round, there wasn’t a single upset, which is when a higher seeded team beats a lower seeded team. The Heat beat the Hawks in 5 games, the 76ers beat the Raptors in 6 games, the Bucks beat the Bulls in 5 games, and the Celtics beat the Nets in 4. These were all the lower seeded teams winning in the East. In the West, the Suns beat the Pelicans in 6, the Mavs beat the Jazz in 6, the Warriors beat the Nuggets in 5, and the Grizzlies beat the Timberwolves in 6. Again, these were all the lower seeds that won their series. In an interview with Will “Squilliam” Outten, he says, “The Dallas Mavericks are going to win the Championship as the underdogs this year.” After being asked who will lead them to the finals, he replied, “Luka Doncic will surprise the world and play the best series of his life to win the NBA Finals.”

In the 2nd round, the Conference Semifinals, the number one seed in the East is the Heat. The Heat won their series versus the Philadelphia 76ers in six games. The Heat were up 2-0 in the series, but the 76ers ended up tying it back up after a big game four win. Finally, the Heat closed out the series with a game six win. The Heat were led by superstar player Jimmy Butler, who averaged almost thirty points this series. The number two seed, Boston Celtics, play the number three seed, Milwaukee Bucks. This series is always a heated matchup as they seem to play each other in the playoffs almost every year. This series has been going back in forth, alternating who wins each game. The Celtics won the final game, game 7. It was a blowout, winning by 28 points and having five players with double digit points. The Miami Heat and Boston Celtics will be facing each other in the Eastern Conference Finals.

In the Western Conference Semifinals, the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns played a tough round that went to game seven. The Suns started off the series hot, leading 2-0 that quickly went away as the Mavericks tied it back up with a big game four win. Then, they each took a game a piece and forced a game seven. The Suns star player, Devin Booker, three time All-Star, averaged 23 points per game this series. The Mavericks star player, Luca Doncic, a young prodigy from overseas, averaged 32 points per game during this series as the Mavericks won game seven by 33 points. In game seven, Luca Doncic had an impressive 45 points. On the other side of the Western Conference Semifinals, the Golden State Warriors faced the Memphis Grizzlies. The Warriors have been the team to beat in the west recently. They have two star guards with Steph Curry and Klay Thompson who shoot lights out from three. The Grizzlies have a young high caliber player with Ja Morant who is one of the most explosive athletes in the league. The series started out back and forth, tied at 1-1.

The Warriors then won two straight games, making it a 3-1 lead in the series. Back in 2016, the Warriors blew a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals to the Cavilers. Fortunately, they won in game six to advance to the Western Conference Finals. Steph Curry averaged 26 points a game during this series. The Golden State Warriors will face the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals.