AD: What’s up everybody? Welcome back to another episode of EE-SPN. My name is Arjun Dhruv and I’m joined here with my co-host, Manas Kottakota. Now that the first round of the NBA playoffs are over, we’re going to be looking at the second round and previewing the matchups while also giving our predictions for later rounds in the series. So, let’s start in the Western Conference with the Thunder playing the Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals. Manas, take it away.
MK: I think the series will surprise most people, even though the Thunder have been really dominant in the regular season. The Nuggets and the Clippers, I both expected them to give a good fight to the Thunder. So I wouldn’t be surprised if the Nuggets took it to six or seven games, but at the end of the day, I think the Thunder are just too dominant and will win in six.
AD: Yeah, I think the Thunder showed their dominance with their blowout wins over the Grizzlies, but they also look like they were struggling a little bit, and I think if Ja Morant didn’t get hurt, they would have dropped a couple games to the Grizzlies. So that’s why I actually have the Nuggets surprising the Thunder, and I have them winning in seven, just because of the fact that they played really well in game seven of the last series, and the Clippers are a really good team who I would have also picked to beat the Thunder. So I have the Nuggets going to the Western Conference Finals.
MK: Yeah, that is true, because we all knew how Memphis was a lot worse than the Thunder, but still in the last two games, it ended up being quite close. So if the Thunder play like that, the Nuggets will definitely be a much bigger challenge.
AD: Let’s move on to the second matchup in the West, with the Timberwolves facing off against the seven-seeded Warriors. So, Manas, for that series, who do you have winning, and how many games?
MK: I have the Warriors winning in seven games. I think this is going to be another hard-fought series for the Warriors, the Timberwolves are definitely better than the Rockets, but I like the specific player-to-player matchup for the Warriors better than it was for the Nuggets.
AD: I’m going to have to actually disagree with you on this one. I think the Timberwolves are gonna shock the Warriors. I think the Warriors played a good series against the Rockets, but there was no reason for that to go to seven games. They should have beat them much earlier against the inexperienced Rockets team. And even though they didn’t have Jimmy Butler, I think they’re gonna have a lot of trouble with the bigs on the Timberwolves like Naz Reid or Rudy Gobert, since they won’t have many people to guard them.
MK: That’s definitely true. Because last time Rudy Gobert didn’t have a big, he dropped his career game like 27 and 24, so the Warriors will definitely have to be careful to not let him perform on that again. But, I just feel like the experience of the Warriors will definitely come to fruition and help him play better.
AD: Okay, moving on to the east, we have the Cleveland Cavaliers going against the Indiana Pacers. So, what do you think?
MK: I think the Pacers are definitely a good team. They have lots of offensive firepower. I just don’t know what they can do, really, once Darius Garland comes back. So I feel like the Cavaliers are gonna win, but this is definitely gonna be a challenging series. The Pacers may not look that good on paper, but they definitely get a lot of possessions, and they score really well, like players like Andrew Nembhard are performing really well in the playoffs, so you definitely can’t count them out. The Cavaliers are just a better team.
AD: Yeah, I actually think the Pacers are one of the most underrated teams in the playoffs this year. Last year, they made the Eastern Conference Finals, which a lot of people don’t really remember. But the Pacers are just a really good team, and they showed that they belong here, since they beat the Bucks even with Giannis in five games, and they already stole one against the Cavs, even though Garland was out. If they split the series in Cleveland and then go back and win both in Indiana, that’s a 3-1 lead for them. So I think they have a really good chance to win this series, and I think it’s going to go to seven, and it’s a toss up for who’s gonna win.
MK: Yeah, I’d have to agree with that. And for the other matchup in the east, we have the Knicks and the Celtics. What do you think about that?
AD: I don’t think the Knicks are ready to compete for a title. To compete for a title, you have to beat teams like the Celtics. So I just don’t see the Knicks really winning the series. And I think the Celtics take it in five games, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they took it in four.
MK: Yeah, the Celtics are definitely a much better team. The Knicks were struggling with the Pistons. Technically, it should have been 3-3, with that one call at the end. So we don’t even know if the [Knicks] really deserve to be here. So this is gonna be really challenging for the Knicks. And also, throughout the season, the Knicks are 0-4 against the Celtics, and the Celtics are now completely healthy, so I really just don’t like the odds if I’m a Knicks fan.
AD: So let’s talk about the conference finals. So what are the teams that you have going in each conference final?
MK: Well, based on predictions, on the west, I see the Thunder and the Warriors, and on the right, I see the Cavs and the Celtics, which will be a really good series.
AD: Yeah, I think I see the Nuggets of the Timberwolves in the west, and then the Cavs and the Celtics in the east as well. So, who do you have winning the whole finals?
MK: Assuming that the Celtics are going to win in the east, I think the Thunder will put up a better fight based on their matchup, because their defense is probably a little stronger than the Warriors’. Even the Warriors have been really good since getting Jimmy Butler. I just don’t like them having to play so many long series. I don’t know how their older players will be able to perform, like they just had a seven game series. I’m anticipating this one to be a seven game series and if they go against the Nuggets, that’s also probably gonna be a really long series. So yeah, I’m just assuming that the Thunder and Celtics are gonna be the matchup.
AD: I think that the Warriors have too much veteran experience to fall in the Western Conference Finals. So I think that if they do, or if they are able to make it past the Timberwolves, then they’ll go on to win the whole thing. But, if the Timberwolves win like I predicted, I think the Nuggets could come out of the west, or the Thunder, depending on how that series goes. But in the east, I think that the Cavs and Celtics are basically guaranteed to make the Eastern Conference finals. I still have the Celtics winning just because of their experience from their last year’s finals run and their overall team depth.
MK: I would disagree with what you just said about the Timberwolves and Nuggets. I feel like if they match up, the Thunder are definitely going to come out on top, because they got better from last season, and they beat the Nuggets last season, so I don’t really see how they can lose.
AD: Okay, so that’s all for today’s episode. Thank you guys so much for listening. We’ll see you guys next time.
