NBA Playoffs Filled with Old Favorites

The NBA playoffs are one of the most anticipated post-season events in sports. The first round of this year’s playoffs started on April 28th.

The playoffs are a best of 7 tournament with 16 teams.  The winner wins the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy. Many NBA stars make their own marks on the game during the playoffs and go from all-stars to legends.

The teams from the Western Conference in the playoffs are the San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, and the Utah Jazz.

The teams from the Eastern Conference consist of the Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Indiana Pacers, Boston Celtics, Atlanta Hawks, Orlando Magic, New York Knicks, and the Philadelphia 76ers.

The teams above are listed from the lowest seed to the highest seed for their respective conferences. The lower the seed, the better the team did in the regular season.

The favorite to win the NBA Championship was the Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Los Angeles Lakers.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have a great chance at winning the Western Conference this year with the play of their two young all-star players, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. The two other teams that seem to have a legitimate chance at winning the NBA Championship are the always dangerous Lakers and the upstart Clippers.

The local favorite is, of course, the 76ers, but the Miami Heat will face the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Championship.

The Heat have too much talent to lose in the east, with LeBron James and Dwayne Wade forming one of the best duos in the NBA. The Lakers should make it to the finals because of all the playoff experience they have and because they have the Black Mamba, also known as Kobe Bryant.