It’s the most wonderful time of the year, NBA fans.
With the NBA playoff picture getting clearer, take a look at the must-see opening round match-ups beginning in the Western Conference.
Mile-high repeat or Hollywood payback?
(#2 Denver Nuggets vs. #7 Los Angeles Lakers)
Here we go again.
Defending champion and second-seed Denver Nuggets (57-25) and the seventh-seed LA Lakers (47-35) meet each other anew a season removed from their Western Conference Finals showdown.
Denver steamrolled in the 2023 playoffs. They went 16-4--including a sweep of the Lakers in the West Finals--en route to the franchise’s first-ever title.
Mostly spending atop of the West this season with the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Nuggets stayed dominant behind two-time MVP Nikola Jokic. This was apparent even with Jamal Murray missing a huge chunk of the regular season play, dealing with hamstring and ankle injuries.
The Lakers, on the other hand, mostly run back the same roster that made a deep playoff run last year and were even crowned as the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament champs. Los Angeles though fell through a rough patch right after, but picked up the pace with a 23-10 record in their last 33 games before scraping past the New Orleans Pelicans in the Play-In tournament.
Jokic put up another MVP season, posting 26.4 points, 12.4 rebound, and nine assists in 79 games on top of an insane 58/36/82 shooting splits as Murray remains the second Nuggets leading scorer at 21.2 points.
Anthony Davis had probably his best season yet as a Laker, finishing the season averaging nearly 25 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, and two blocks in 78 games and has a strong case for the DPOY award. In his 21st season, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer LeBron James shows no signs of slowing down with a 25.7-point, 7.3-rebound and 8.3-assist average on a 39-year-old body.
Denver swept the regular-season series against the Lakers, 3-0, have an average winning margin of 10 points, and never trailed in the first two meetings.
While Jokic and Murray did their thing in those meetings, Michael Porter Jr. also torched Los Angeles averaging 21.3 points per game on 60.5% shooting.
One thing is for sure, this rematch could possibly be some West-Finals feels despite being in the opening round.
Wolf-packed defense vs. scorching-hot offense
(#2 Minnesota Timberwolves vs. #6 Phoenix Suns)
For the first time, the Minnesota Timberwolves (56-26) and the Phoenix Suns (49-33) face each other in probably one of the most compelling first-round playoff series.
The Timberwolves took two decades to record their best regular season behind their trio of superstars Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Anthony Edwards.
With the three-time DPOY winner Gobert anchoring the league’s top defense, Towns proving he's one of the best shooting bigs, and Edwards showcasing a remarkable rise in play, this team might be up to something special in this year’s playoffs.
However, their top notch defense will be tested by a three-headed offensive nuclear monster in Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal.
The trio averaged a combined 72 points this season. With 254 career playoff games in between them, the Suns might have had enough firepower especially in crucial games when buckets are needed the most.
Phoenix swept the season series against Minnesota, 3-0 — with three double-digit wins.
This series also features some interesting individual match-ups.
In an interview, Edwards considers Durant to be the "greatest player of all time" as both stars suited up for Team LeBron in the 2024 All-Star Game.
Booker and Towns were long-time friends, and were college teammates at Kentucky. They entered the NBA together in 2015.
In this intriguing battle of lock-down defense and unstoppable offense, who will emerge the victor?
Third times the charm?
(#4 Los Angeles Clippers vs. #5 Dallas Mavericks)
The fourth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers (51-31) face a familiar foe in the fifth-seeded Dallas Mavericks (50-32). It's their third opening round meeting in the last five years.
In the 2020 and 2021 postseason, the Clippers eliminated the Mavericks in six and seven games respectively.
Behind a talented quarter of Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Russell Westbrook and James Harden, the Clips seemed to figure it out in the early part of the season until February, going 31-8 and having the league leading offensive rating at 122.3 points per 100 possessions.
But Los Angeles stumbled after the All-Star break and went 15-14 the rest of the way.
Dallas re-signed Kyrie Irving last summer, still underperformed around February, traded for PJWashington and Daniel Gafford, and everything seems to have clicked for Luka Doncic and the gang.
The Clippers won the regular-season series, 2-1, but those matches were held in December, around the time Dallas was struggling and while they were without Washington and Gafford.
Doncic once again had a stellar season, averaging a 34-9-10 statline on 49/38/79 shooting splits, including a monster 73-point game, while Irving was piling up 25-5-5 season.
Stopping, or to be realistic, slowing down Luka is most certainly the Clippers' top priority.
Not only is he a gifted scorer but has also grown into a playmaking wizard, the Slovenian now can let Irving do his thing and pick his spots.
Putting Kawhi or PG might be the Clippers' best option, but it could take a toll on their mid-30’s bodies.
We might probably see a lot of offense in this series, but it might come down on who can clamp down on defense when needed.
Thunderstruck
(#1 Oklahoma City Thunder vs #8 New Orleans Pelicans)
If we asked you a year ago who would finish as the top seed in the West, you'd probably say the Nuggets again or the Clippers or the Suns.
Well, not this time, says the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Led by a top-three MVP contender Shai Gilgeous Alexander, the Thunder became the seventh different franchise in the last seven seasons to earn the No. 1 playoff seed in the West and is the youngest team in doing so.
With Chet Holmgren, Josh Giddey, Jaden Williams to name a few, nobody expected that this young OKC team would make the playoffs or even be the no. 1 seed.
Awaiting them are either the New Orleans Pelicans.
OKC holds a 2-1 season-series edge over the Pelicans. Apart from the glaring difference in seeding, the Thunder has the sweet perk of being healthy for this series, while the Pelicans will limp along with a big question mark.
For Zion Williamson's hamstring issue, two more weeks are required before a reevaluation can be conducted.
Does having no Zion for the Pels means no problem for OKC? Could be, but this is the playoffs, folks.
Just two seasons ago, the Pelicans took the fight to then top-seed Phoenix Suns in the 2022 playoffs in six grinding games--and you guessed right--without Williamson.
But for the series to become more interesting, Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum need to step up. Otherwise, it's game over for the Pelicans and Oklahoma City would march past the opening round for the first time in eight years.
