Mars Johnson|Marlin Chronicle
Eight teams remain in the hunt for the NBA championship as the first round came to an end this past Sunday. Perhaps the most surprising storyline from the first round stems from the No. 3 seed Lakers losing the series to the No. 6 seed Timberwolves.
I was close to having a perfect bracket through round one, but the Nuggets’ defeat of the Clippers was my one mistake.
The next four series have the potential to go six or seven games, as all eight teams seem to have a legitimate case at a championship.
In the Western Conference, I think that the No. 1 seed Thunder will defeat the No. 4 seed Nuggets in seven games to advance but it is hard to doubt the championship experience of Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic. The Nuggets won it all two years ago against the Miami Heat.
The Thunder dominated the regular season earning a 68-14 record and seem to be a formidable contender even with such a young roster.
The league’s top MVP candidates, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of Thunder and Nikola Jokic of Nuggets, will now get a chance to prove why they are the MVPs.
On the other side of the West, the No. 6 seed Timberwolves will face the No. 7 seed Warriors. The Timberwolves fell short of their goal last year losing in the Western Conference Finals to the Mavericks.
As for the Warriors, four championships in the Stephen Curry era speak for themselves as they look to push the narrative of being the greatest dynasty ever.
I don’t think the Warriors have the size on the defensive side to contain the Timberwolves after watching the Lakers get exposed for their lack of size and I think the Timberwolves will win this series in five games.
If my predictions are correct, that would put the Thunder and the Timberwolves in the Conference Finals in which I have the Thunder moving on to the NBA Finals.
For the Eastern Conference, the No. 1 seed Cavaliers are facing the No. 4 seed Pacers. The Cavaliers have had a similar season to the Thunder with such a young team dominating the regular season and earning the No. 1 seed.
However, I think the Pacers are dangerous in transition and shooting the 3-ball which I think will propel them to the Conference Finals knocking off the Cavaliers in seven games.
In the other series in the East, the reigning champion No. 2 seed Celtics will face the No. 3 seed Knicks. I think this could be an all-time series between the two historic franchises, but I do think the Celtics will prevail in seven games.
This would set up a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference Finals between the Celtics and Pacers. The Celtics swept the Pacers last year, but I don’t think it will be quite as easy to do it again.
I want the Pacers to win it, but I would have to take the Celtics winning in six games to set up an NBA Finals match between the Thunder and the Celtics.
This hypothetical series has all of the potential to go seven games, which would be the first time an NBA Finals series went to a game seven since 2016 when the Cavaliers defeated the Warriors.
I think if this series were to happen, the Thunder would defeat the reigning champs in seven games with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander winning Finals MVP.
No matter how the bracket plays out, we are set for an epic finish to the 2024-25 NBA season.
By Coy Camiscioli
