Bold Playoff Predictions

A lot of crazy things can happen in the playoffs like the Miami Heat making a Finals run last season as the 8th seed. I am making 8 bold playoff predictions and will rank them by how bold they are. I hope you like hot wings because I am ranking these predictions on a spiciness scale: Mild, Medium, Hot, and Wild. There will be 2 predictions for each level of spiciness.

Sweeping your opponent is not an easy task. There are 15 total series within the playoffs, and there is typically at least 1 series that ends in a sweep. Over the past 10 years, there have been 3 or more sweeps in 6 of those postseasons. However, in the past 3 seasons the most sweeps in a postseason have only been 2. Each conference is stacked with talented teams, but with the right matchups we could see this happen.

 

Sabonis, Jokic, and Luka are the top 3 players in triple-doubles and have combined for 71 this season. This can depend on how far these teams will advance in the playoffs. If their teams can combine for 6 or more playoff series, then you can almost count on this happening.

At the moment, the Bucks are projected to play either the Philadelphia 76ers or the Miami Heat. With Joel Embiid back from injury, the 76ers will prove to be a tough matchup for any team they face in the first round. The Heat have dealt with injuries throughout the season, but when you have Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Coach Spoelstra you can never count them as an easy out. They made a finals appearance last year as the 8th seed, so there is evidence that they turn it up a notch in the postseason. The Bucks have gone 15-17 since Doc Rivers was hired as their head coach and have lost 6 of their last 7 games. The Bucks should make a run in the playoffs with the talent and experience they have on their team, but it’s not hard to picture them losing in the first round for the 2nd straight year.

 

The play-in tournament has only been around for 3 years and involves seeds 7-10 to determine who gets the final two playoff seeds. Out of the 12 teams to advance to the playoffs, only two teams have advanced passed the first round, both occurring in the 2023 playoffs as the Lakers advanced to the Western Conference Finals and the Heat made it to the Finals. The other 10 teams have all lost in the first round within 6 games. This year will be a more competitive year than last year, but with the right matchups it can happen again.

 

This feat has only happened once in NBA history in the 2021 playoffs. No more than 4 players have ever averaged over 30 in the same postseason besides that year. With the increased scoring in recent years and the rise of young superstars, it’s possible for a big group of players to accomplish this again.

Only 3 players have ever averaged a triple-double in the playoffs. Those players are Oscar Robertson (1962), Jason Kidd (2007), and Russell Westbrook (2017, 2021). There has been at least one player every year since 2015 who came close to accomplishing this feat in the playoffs (minimum of 7.5 in each category). Three players have recorded 20+ triple-doubles this season, and those three guys will all make the playoffs. It’s not hard to imagine at least 1 player to average a triple-double over the course of the playoffs, but for 2 players to do so would be historic.

 

This might be a little too wild, but anything can happen in the playoffs. Jamal Murray has been dealing with injuries throughout the entire season, and if he isn’t fully healthy, the Nuggets chances for another title run will drastically change. Boston has been dominant all season, but they have struggled in late game situations. Questions still remain whether the Celtics core is ready and mature enough to get over the hump and finally win their 1st ring together.