Playoffs first round predictions

It's time for the first round of playoff predictions, starting with the East and then the West, starting with what I think is the easiest to predict, to the least predictable.

Bucks 4-1 bulls

This series is the best predictor, the Bucks will win, the Bulls will win one normally, and winning two games will be an overstepping.

The Bucks have been the league's top defenses for the previous seasons, and this season only ranked 14th, especially in their third quarter, where defense ranked first in the league. In addition, the Bucks' performance is very volatile, and they can win the strong team on the road and lose the weak team at home.

Even so, they should have no suspense in taking down the bull. The Bulls' defense, ranked 23rd in the league, will be more amplified in the playoffs, and the absence of the ball brother will still have a great impact on them. Holliday effectively limited DeRozan on both occasions against DeRozan, who tended to outperform in the playoffs.

Heat 4-1 Hawks

Last year the eagle was punched in the face, and this year continue to look at the eagle.

First, the Eagles have declined in strength compared with last season, and second, Capela's injury has had a great impact on the Eagles. The Heat aren't the Cavaliers, Spoo is not Bistav, Adebayo is not rookie Mobley, and the Eagles can be eaten raw on the inside.

It was the second series in the East without suspense, and the Heat won.

76ers 4-3 Raptors

The series was a bit unpredictable, with the Raptors winning 3-1 in the regular season to the 76ers, who relied on defense. The playoffs are not the same as the regular season, and you can't use the regular season to infer the playoffs.

The reason the Raptors won was that they played better and better in the second half of the season, with 5 players on the team scoring in double figures, Siakam being more stable than 2 seasons ago, and the big long front line that everyone talked about. But their strengths, but also may be their weaknesses, the playoffs need stars, team basketball is not an advantage, referring to the Eagles playing the Cavaliers, four All-Stars are not good. Van Jordan's three-point shooting rate after the All-Star has fallen badly, which is related to his injury, and I don't know how he is recovering now, which is still important for the Raptors. As for Siakam, the last time he played the playoffs was in the bubble, and his performance was unbearable.

The 76ers have embiid, the best player in the series, and despite Harden's decline in form, if he is the second-best player in the series, there will be opposition, but there will also be many people who will recognize. A team has two of the best players in the series, which is often guaranteed to win a series. However, the shortcomings of the 76ers are also obvious, and Harden has declined seriously, whether it is the end of the basket or the shooting ability. In today's league, no one can defend Embiid, but Embiid alone can't win the series. Sebel's inability to play on the road is also a disadvantage for the 76ers.

Given that the 76ers have home-court advantage, it is still predicted that the 76ers will win this series.

Nets 3-4 Celtics

This series is the worst in the East, on the one hand, I think the Nets have the best player in this series, Durant, and Irving is also very strong, on the other hand, the Celtics are a more balanced team in attack and defense. If you look at the data, the Celtics win, if you look at the players, the Nets win.

The Nets' Simmons and Celtics' Williams are both important to their respective teams. Williams' absence had a greater impact on the Celtics. Simmons is said to be making a comeback in this series, but it's hard for me to believe that he can come back to play at a high level in the playoffs without playing for a season and without any training with his teammates.

I've also wavered several times in my predictions for the series, but my gut feeling is that the Celtics have a big chance of winning, so I chose the Celtics to grab the seven-win Nets.

Suns 4-1 Clippers

The Suns are balanced offensively and defensively, fifth in the league in offensive efficiency and third in the league in defensive efficiency; there are stars, Booker is very likely to enter a team this year, Paul is the league assist king; the coach is a plus, Mondi almost locked in the best coach of the year; has playoff experience, last year reached the Finals; the whole season has no ups and downs, no obvious weaknesses.

The Clippers' and Pelicans game isn't over yet, and it feels like the Clippers will win. No matter who qualified, there was no drama when they met the suns, the suns and them were not at all an order of magnitude, did not need to analyze too many details, and the west had the least suspense in the series.

Warriors 4-3 Nuggets

The Warriors' big three are no longer the big three of the past, Curry is in an unstable state, and although Thompson still averages 20 points per game, his state is not what he used to be. Still, there are more people the Warriors can use across the team.

Last year I predicted that the Nuggets would win over the Blazers, not because the Nuggets were strong, but because the Blazers' defense was too poor. The Warriors are not the Trail Blazers, and the Warriors' defense has ranked first in the West over the past month.

The Warriors have the second most turnovers in the league, and Jokic will improve his playing time, which are the advantages of the Nuggets, but overall, the Warriors are better, optimistic that the Warriors will win the Nuggets.

Grizzlies 4-2 Timberwolves

The Grizzlies' progress this season has been all-encompassing, not just Morant. Bain became a quasi-All-Star, Jackson became the league's top defensive player, and the team did well without Morant. The Grizzlies are 6th in defense and 4th in offense. Simply put, the Grizzlies are a really strong team, not luck.

The Timberwolves' starting five is of high caliber. In the game against the Clippers, Towns fouled too much, and it seemed that the Timberwolves were instead blessed. But if you want to win the series, the Timberwolves need Downs' high level of fouls, and his foul problems are not an accidental factor. Jackson fouled 272 times this season and ranked 2nd, Towns 267 times ranked 3rd, and downs would have a hard time winning if they got into a foul quagmire.

Overall, the Grizzlies are dominant overall, predicting a 4-2 win over the Timberwolves.

Lone Ranger 4-3 Jazz

The Jazz have hit a bottleneck in the playoffs of the past few seasons, with Gobert being named by opposing defenders and often collapsing suddenly. They also made a lot of attempts, such as the introduction of Guy and other operations. But this season has not improved, the Jazz have tried a small lineup this season, very bad, still need Gobert to be on the floor. When Gobert is on the floor, he will be named by the opposing defender.

The Lone Ranger, though, needs Doncic to do just that.

While several players, including Dinwiddie, also have the ability to create chances, and they actually have a winning percentage of more than 50% this season without Doncic, Mitchell tends to be better in the playoffs, and the Lone Rangers have no one who can stand out in the playoffs.

If Doncic can make a comeback in Game Three, the Lone Rangers can win the series, otherwise the Jazz will. I guess Doncic can still win if they can return in game three and back in game four at the latest.