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The 2021 edition of the NBA Playoffs are fast approaching, and though it’s something which seems like it’s said every year, this is one of the most hotly contested title races in recent years. The two Los Angeles teams, Brooklyn and Utah lead the charge while all of Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Dallas and Denver have claims of their own, so here are our NBA Playoff predictions.
Champion: Los Angeles Lakers
This was a genuine toss of the coin, but the reigning champs have the experience on the big stage and have the most unstoppable 1-2 punch in the league. LeBron James is pushing 37, but as he reminded us all in last year’s NBA Finals, he’s still the best player in the world when it matters most. He can control the game like arguably no one else in basketball history, and a guy called Anthony Davis standing at his side makes the Lakers an incredibly formidable opponent. Their success is contingent on the health of these two, both of whom have dealt with injuries throughout this season, but if they’re fit and firing the Lakers will be tough to beat.
Runner-up: Brooklyn Nets
Almost certainly the team with the best chance of knocking LeBron, Davis and the Lakers off their proverbial perch is Brooklyn. With Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving all running around, this is one of the most potent offences in the history of the NBA, and they are deservedly predicted to win the NBA Finals by many experts. Their Achilles heel is on the defensive end, particularly at the centre position, and with the Lakers boasting some pretty talented big men this is potentially the only thing that could stand in their way. It’s for that reason we’ve sided with the Lakers to win the whole thing, but if the Nets can lock in defensively and do what we know they will do on offence, it would be no surprise to see them win the whole thing.
Potential surprise packet: Dallas Mavericks
There is one reason why the Mavericks have the capacity to surprise everyone with a deep run in the Playoffs, and his name is Luka Doncic. The Wizkid from Slovenia came back from a shortened off-season, by his own admission, a little out of shape, but he has well and truly worked his way into his best form. The Mavs would be a surprise for a reason — they will likely finish in the bottom half of the seeding positions in the competitive Western Conference and will have to beat some extremely good teams from the outset of the Playoffs. Doncic, however, has already shown a penchant for the big moments and Dallas is clearly capable of being consistently competitive against the best teams, so if they’re close enough often enough, they could be dangerous.
The next tier of contenders
This could be a long list. The Jazz have been the best team in the league all year and deserve to be taken seriously, while Phoenix — led by Chris Paul and Devon Booker — aren’t far behind. The Clippers’ best is extremely good and Denver, though hurt by Jamal Murray’s ACL injury, still have the likely MVP in Nikola Jokic leading the way. On the east coast, Philadelphia are almost impossible to beat at home while Milwaukee have a guy called Giannis leading the charge, and both of them could beat the Nets out of the Eastern Conference.
It’s hard to remember a season in which there are so many NBA Championship contenders — none of the above teams winning would come as a surprise, while there are even a couple of others we haven’t mentioned who are capable of causing an upset. It’s fair to say that the 2021 Playoffs are shaping up as one to remember.
