Miami Heat (1) vs Atlanta Hawks (8)
What is the Miami Heat missing to go all the way?
The Heat finished first in the East despite repeated injuries to their best players. The Florida franchise can count on three All-Stars: Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Kyle Lowry. Three majors who have the common characteristic of weighing on the game both in attack and in defense. The rotation is deep around them, with Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, Gabe Vincent or even Victor Oladipo. It’s a team that plays hard and defends well. With a mind of steel. Talent and complementarity in all positions. It is especially the best coached in the NBA, with the genius Erik Spoelstra on the bench. She has everything to be sacred.
NBA
The Hawks and the Pelicans complete the set, the play-offs can begin
–
2 HOURS AGO
–
And yet, it still gives the impression of a missing ingredient. A Kevin Durant. A Giannis Antetokounmpo. A Joel Embiid. Butler is an excellent basketball player, even more in the playoffs, but he is not part of this ultimate elite either. The 7 or 8 best players who can really take their franchise to the Holy Grail. The absence of a superstar of this caliber is historically penalizing. Almost all NBA champions have been guided by a stronger individuality than any other. It could work against the Heat at some point during these playoffs.
Pronostic : 4-2 Heat
Boston Celtics (2) vs Brooklyn Nets (7)
Should we still consider the Brooklyn Nets among the favorites for the title?
The Nets therefore officially ended this disappointing season in seventh place in the Eastern Conference. It’s still better than the tenth place they still occupied a few weeks ago before finishing with a bang. But it’s still disappointing, especially after being among the frontrunners earlier in the year. It is above all a catastrophic result in comparison with the expectations and ambitions of the New York franchise. The most optimistic will recall that the counters are reset in the playoffs. Well, actually, not quite. Only two teams have reached the Finals this far in NBA history: the Sonics in ’87 and the Knicks in ’99.
Brooklyn is definitely not the usual No. 7 seed. The Nets rely on two future Hall Of Famers, including Kevin Durant, the best basketball player in the world when he is not in the infirmary. As long as KD and Kyrie Irving are fit, the team will believe in their chances of going all the way. The duel between Durant and Jayson Tatum will also be one of the keys to the series. But even with so much individual talent, the margin is very tight for Steve Nash’s men. Because behind, it’s weak. In particular defensively There are certainly good elements (Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, Bruce Brown) but the poverty of the game was highlighted during the second half of the play-in won on the wire against the Cavaliers. Brooklyn is a team that loses a lot of balls and does not master its subject. Capable of the best but also of the worst. A chronic irregularity that rarely makes the mark of champions. Ben Simmons is likely to bring binding to this feverish set but his return – possibly from Game 4 – remains as hypothetical as his level of play after a year without playing.
Kyrie Irving
Credit: Getty Images
So what’s left? An armada that will go as far as its superstars can take it. With probably not enough experience to get a ring this season. It can pass against Boston. But probably less once opposed to Milwaukee or Miami.
Pronostic : 4-3 Nets
Milwaukee Bucks (3) vs Chicago Bulls (6)
Are the Milwaukee Bucks too underrated?
But since when have the defending champions had such a quiet season? The brutal failures of the Lakers and the Nets (to a lesser extent, of course) occupied media attention for months. Meanwhile, the Bucks were able to get through the regular season without pressure. With almost an outsider status before the crash of LeBron James and others. However, this formation knows the way to success and it is armed in all positions. Brook Lopez has returned from injury, Grayson Allen is an interesting reinforcement and Jrue Holiday seems more uninhibited than ever since the coronation last year.
Above all, there is Giannis Antetokounmpo. A total basketball player. The best in the world when Kevin Durant is in the infirmary. Milwaukee has the chance to challenge its “neighbor” Chicago, a losing team, deprived of Lonzo Ball and which has suffered a lot against the main armadas of the Conference. The ideal first round for Mike Budenholzer’s band.
Pronostic : 4-1 Bucks
Philadelphie Sixers (4) vs Toronto Raptors (5)
Is James Harden the player most under pressure for these playoffs?
The first cards of James Harden in the Sixers jersey, just after his transfer last February, already seem far away. The former MVP has been struggling ever since. 21 points on average in 21 matches, but at 40% success on shots and 32% at three-pointers. With all the same 10 assists. He is finally in line with his performances at the Nets at the start of the season. In other words, it is not bad but less sharp than usual. That is problematic. Especially since its statistical volume has almost always dropped in the playoffs.
Joel Embiid
Credit: Getty Images
The Sixers are going to need a big Harden. All eyes will be on him. He did everything to leave Brooklyn barely a year after he did everything to leave Houston. His arrival in Philadelphia sparked great ambitions. It’s almost already the title or nothing for the Pennsylvania franchise, which has not yet reached the Conference finals since 2001. A big challenge for a player not necessarily known for his ability to carry a team. His performances will be scrutinized, as will his agreement with Joel Embiid on the pitch and the way in which they will face adversity. Again, this is not their forte. The potential for eventual disillusionment is very high. Especially against the Raptors who, conversely, have absolutely nothing to lose. They already intend to squeeze Embiid close. Harden will have enormous responsibilities. An exit from the road before the third round would do well before the offseason, where he can claim a massive extension which could pay him more than 50 million until he is 37 years old.
Pronostic : 4-3 Sixers
Phoenix Suns (1) vs New Orleans Pelicans (8)
Chris Paul, now or never for the title?
The Suns proved they didn’t get to the Finals by accident last season. Anthony Davis can blame injuries (the Lakers were leading 2-1 in the first round), Phoenix is definitely the best team in the Western Conference. Arguably also the best team in the league. Monty Williams’ system works wonderfully and every player in the squad knows and respects his role. The Suns have chosen to bet on unconventional patterns by insisting on shots from mid-range, the area least defended by opposing teams.
She can afford it because her two stars, Chris Paul and Devin Booker, excel 5-6 yards from the circle. These two are also terribly effective in the hottest moments, during the tightest matches. All signals are in favor of the Arizona franchise. In terms of talent, complementarity, defense, coaching, complicity. So, could this finally be the right year for CP3? Anything other than a ring would represent a true failure.
Pronostic : 4-0 Suns
Memphis Grizzlies (2) vs Minnesota Timberwolves (7)
Can Ja Morant get the better of the three Minnesota Timberwolves stars?
Basketball is a collective sport that often boils down to its individualities. To have stars. Still. Still. The irony in this duel between Memphis and Minnesota is that the Timberwolves, although seventh, are perhaps more loaded with talent than their opponents. There is Ja Morant at the Grizzlies, of course, but the latter was particularly difficult during the four innings between the two teams during the regular season (20 points at 33%).
Wolves, on the other hand, can rely on several scorers: Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell. Their offense can pose real problems for the Grizzlies. But collectively, tactically, Memphis still seems above. The team is also deeper, with a much better bench. However, the series promises to be committed – and physical – with these two young and relatively inexperienced formations. Perhaps two of the teams of the future, with Morant and Edwards two of the most promising talents of their generation.
Pronostic : 4-2 Grizzlies
Golden State Warriors (3) vs Denver Nuggets (6)
And if it was the most exciting series of the first round?
Stephen Curry on one side, at least when he returns from his ankle injury, Nikola Jokic on the other. This series between Golden State and Denver has no shortage of artists. Between Draymond Green and his science of playmaking and defense, Facundo Campazzo (suspended for Game 1) and his brilliant passes, Klay Thompson, Jordan Poole… the duels between the two teams will be worth a look.
Stephen Curry
Credit: Getty Images
The pace should be high. But the series could also be marked by its absences. Jamal Murray and Michael Porter for the Nuggets and possibly Curry for the Warriors. Poole will also have an important role to play, with or without the double-MVP. He is the potential X-factor of this series. The young man, approached for the MIP, has really taken a step forward and he stands out more and more for his ability to make a difference with the ball in hand. Like the best forwards in this league. It remains to be seen if he can also do it in the playoffs.
Pronostic : 4-2 Warriors
Dallas Mavericks (4) vs Utah Jazz (5)
Is the end of the Jazz cycle inevitable?
Each season, Utah has great ambitions before coming up against its own limits, namely the second round of the playoffs. There’s no real reason for that to change this year. The Jazz kept the same team. A continuity that can sometimes pay off but which looks like the end of the cycle in this specific situation. Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert may be playing their last playoffs together.
On the other hand, the Jazz will eventually have the opportunity to afford a last stand. The injury of Luka Doncic – already absent for Game 1 and uncertain for Game 2 – redistributes the cards on this series. Because behind the Slovenian, the Mavericks lack real individual talent. His mere presence can be enough to lead Dallas very high, a bit like a LeBron James at the start of his career. But without him, it looks complicated.
Prediction: 4-3 Mavericks if Luka Doncic plays from Game 2, 4-2 Jazz if he does not return until Game 3
NBA
Paul George positive for Covid and out for the play-in against the Pelicans
–
14 HOURS AGO
–
NBA
50,000 euros fine: the note is salty for Bridges after his scene in Atlanta
–
A DAY AGO
—
