The
NBA regular season is over and now, we'll be analyzing what did this NBA Sunday left us, and unveiling what's coming next for the 10 teams that will continue their journey in the upcoming play-in tournament and the playoffs. We have some fantastic duels ahead so lets' check them out!
Oklahoma City Thunder (1)
OKC ended up being the top team in the West after defeating a secondary Mavs team. A spectacular regular season for one of the youngest teams in the league, who play a different, more team-oriented basketball. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been the Thunder's leader, as he finishes third among the scoring leaders of the league, averaging 30.3 points. Nobody expected this when the season started but OKC stayed focused throughout the entire competition winning 57 games. The rival it's coming from either four of these teams: Pelicans, Lakers, Kings and Warriors.
Shai's team holds a negative record against the Lakers, prevailed 3-1 vs Golden State, splitted their 4 games 2-2 against Sacramento, and won 2-1 the individual series against New Orleans this season. Except the Pelicans, the three other teams are vastly more experienced than the Thunder. It will be a tough test right from the start for them, we'll see if they rise up to the challenge.
Denver Nuggets (2)
Denver defeated Memphis, tied OKC's 57-25 record but the Thunder holded the tiebreaker so the Nuggets finished with the 2nd spot. Another huge run for Denver and -probably- a new MVP trophy for Nikola Jokic. The Nuggets learned to win last year and this year they've been looking solid, winning when they have to win. If healthy, this team is a major title contender as no team has been able to fully figure out how to stop the Joker.
Michael Malone's team will have to wait to know who their opponent will be. Denver's first round series will be either against the Lakers or the Pelicans. The Nuggets swept LA in the regular season series and outclassed the Pelicans 2-1 as well.
Two amazing playoff series are confirmed. The Minnesota Timberwolves finished third after losing against Phoenix in the final game. The outcome of this is going to be a first round series between these two teams. The
Los Angeles Clippers will be facing Luka Doncic's
Dallas Mavericks.
Minnesota Timberwolves (3) vs Phoenix Suns (6) Karl-Anthony Towns is recovered as the Wolves will be taking on the Suns continuing what they've started in the last game of the campaign. This should be an exciting clash between Minnesota's elite defense vs Phoenix's prolific scorers. Phoenix swept the regular season series but the Wolves have remained consistant the entire year as the Suns struggled through some stretches. Phoenix has the experience and Minnesota has the better team so this could very well may be a seven-game series, with no clear favorites.
Head to head 2023-24: Phoenix 3-0
Last game: April 14th, Phoenix wins 125-106
Los Angeles Clippers (4) vs Dallas Mavericks (5)
Perhaps the most exciting matchup of the first round of the playoffs. The Mavs and the Clippers know each other very well, with some legendary playoffs moments exchanged in the recent years. The Clippers need everyone to stay healthy to compete against the Mavericks. Dallas finished the regular season in great form so this is another series that could extend to seven games. It's been a long way since both teams faced each other, will homecourt advantage play a big role in this matchup?
Head to head 2023-24: LA leads 2-1
Last game: December 20, Clippers win 120-111
Play-in Tournament
New Orleans Pelicans (7) vs Los Angeles Lakers (8) An instant rematch from the final game of the regular season. LA prevailed over the Pelicans, sentencing them to go through the play-in tournament in order to earn a spot in the playoffs. The Lakers took care of business against New Orleans, who featured Brandon Ingram's return to the lineup after a knee injury. New Orleans has homecourt advantage but the Lakers are filled with experience in this situation. With the King on the roster, the Lakers should surpass the Pels.
Head to head: Lakers 3-1
Last game: April 14th, Lakers win 124-108
Sacramento Kings (9) vs Golden State Warriors (10) A one game rematch for last year's first round series between these two. Last playoffs, the Warriors survived in a seven-game battle against Sacramento. Both teams play a similar kind of basketball and know each other very very well. Malik Monk is still out for Sacramento, Kevin Huerter is ruled out for the season so the injuries have piled up for the Kings. This should be an advantage for Golden State. The Warriors finished 8-2 in the last ten games of the campaign, but will need to win outside San Francisco to stay alive in playoff contention.
Head to head 2023-24: 2-2
Last game: January 25th, Kings win 134-133
