Breaking Down First Round of 2021 NBA Playoffs

Western Conference

#1 seed Utah Jazz vs. #8 seed Memphis Grizzlies: The Utah Jazz had a dream regular season, and going against a team as inexperienced as the Grizzlies is an ideal matchup for the top seed in the Western Conference. While the Utah Jazz have a slim chance of making a deep playoff run, they have more than enough firepower to dispatch an average Memphis team. Somehow the Grizzlies knocked off the Warriors to clinch the eighth seed, but that will be the final game Memphis wins this season.

Prediction: Jazz in 4

#2 seed Phoenix Suns vs. #7 seed Los Angeles Lakers: It is shocking the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers find themselves as the seventh seed, and Phoenix will be unable to compete with a team as experienced as the Lakers. The Lakers have a plethora of playoff experience up and down their roster while, outside of Chris Paul, the rest of the Suns roster has virtually no playoff experience. The Suns fairy tale season will come crashing down in the first round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs. LeBron James and Anthony Davis will dominate the series as the defending champions finally begin to put all the pieces together.

Prediction: Lakers in 5

#3 seed Denver Nuggets vs. #6 seed Portland Trailblazers

This matchup has all the makings of a great playoff series. The Nuggets have the presumptive 2020-2021 NBA MVP in Nikola Jokic and the Blazers have one of the best backcourts in the entire league. The Nuggets did not have the services of All-Star Jamal Murray for the final month of the regular season, and a loss that big will finally come back and bite the Nuggets. The Blazers have the offensive weapons to pull off the upset against the Nuggets in a tight series.

Prediction: Blazers in 7

#4 seed Los Angeles Clippers vs. #5 seed Dallas Mavericks

For the second year in a row, the Clippers and Mavericks face off in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. The Clippers won in six games last year. While the Clippers have grave issues closing out games, and living up to the immense pressure on their shoulders, these issues will not hold the Clippers back against the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavericks simply do not play good enough defense to knock off a Clippers team that led the league in three-point percentage this regular season. History will repeat itself in 2021.

Prediction: Clippers in 6

Eastern Conference

#1 seed Philadelphia 76ers vs. #8 seed Washington Wizards

The duo of Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal is certainly dynamic, but it is not a winning formula. Westbrook has melted down in the playoffs before and the same thing will take place in this series. The Sixers seem to have righted the wrongs of years past under Doc Rivers, and Philadelphia should have no problem defeating a Wizards team that cannot be counted on.

Prediction: Sixers in 5

#2 seed Brooklyn Nets vs. #7 seed Boston Celtics

The Nets trio of James Harden, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden have only played together a handful of times this season, and the Boston Celtics have massively underwhelmed this season. Both of these facts make it tough to know how this series will ultimately unfold. At the end of the day, the Brooklyn Nets are the far more talented team, and even though chemistry will be an immense issue for Brooklyn later in the playoffs, the Nets will quickly send the Celtics packing in the first round.

Prediction: Nets in 5

#3 seed Milwaukee Bucks vs. #6 seed Miami Heat

The Milwaukee Bucks look to exorcise the demons of the 2020 NBA Playoffs when the Miami Heat handled the Bucks in five games in the second round. The Bucks have disappointed over the past two postseasons but will flip the script on the Miami Heat this time around. The Heat are too Jimmy Butler dependent and Milwaukee has improved since the last time they faced the Heat in the postseason.

Prediction: Bucks in 6

#4 seed New York Knicks vs. #5 seed Atlanta Hawks

The New York Knicks find themselves in the NBA Playoffs for the first time since 2013. Head Coach Tom Thibodeau has the Knicks playing tenacious defense, but New York has trouble scoring enough to compete with the cream of the crop in the Eastern Conference. Luckily for the Knicks, the Hawks are inexperienced, and will not be able to take advantage of New York’s offensive deficiencies. The Knicks will eventually prevail in a long series.

Prediction: Knicks in 7