Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The NBA Playoffs kick off this weekend with a packed schedule featuring high-stakes matchups across both conferences.
- Key games to watch include a rematch between rivals with a history of dramatic encounters and a rising star’s first playoff appearance.
- Several teams and players face critical moments to validate their seasons and silence doubters.
The NBA Playoffs start this weekend! We made it everyone, we don’t have to talk about college basketball anymore (I’m kidding) (I’m kind of kidding).
This weekend is in a dead heat with the NFL Divisional Round for my favorite single weekend of the year, and I’m here to get everyone ready for what will surely be a wonderful and (if you have a team playing) sufficiently heartbreaking opening weekend. What do you mean Brandon Ingram scored 45 and now the Cleveland Cavaliers are down 1-0? It’s not even 4 p.m. on Saturday?!
Important note while we’re all getting dolled up for a weekend out on the NBA town aka our couches for 22 hours across Saturday and Sunday: It’s much better to preview NBA playoff series than to try to predict them. There are so many wonderful things to discuss about each series, and to distill it all into a soup of predictions would be a disservice to my favorite part of the sports calendar. Alright, time to put on some makeup. First, the schedule, followed by the sommelier’s recommendations and some menu highlights. Hopefully this weekend can get a Michelin Star.
Schedule
Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|
Raptors at Cavaliers (1 p.m. EDT) | 76ers at Celtics (1 p.m. EDT) |
Timberwolves at Nuggets (3:30 p.m. EDT) | Suns at Thunder (3:30 p.m. EDT) |
Hawks at Knicks (6 p.m. EDT) | Magic at Pistons (6:30 p.m. EDT) |
Rockets at Lakers (8:30 p.m EDT) | Trail Blazers at Spurs (9 p.m. EDT) |
What to watch
Obviously, you should watch all of these games. But if you are a normal person with a life, do not have a team in the playoffs yourself and thus need an actual recommendation for which game to sit down and enjoy, I would highly recommend you check out Timberwolves at Nuggets (Saturday, 3:30 p.m. EDT). There is real beef, real history between these teams, with their 2024 series being a legitimate cinematic masterpiece. Nikola Jokic has fried the Wolves like tater tots in their last few meetings, and seeing the Joker at work against a team he has figured out is peak sports viewing experience. That doesn’t even mention Anthony Edwards, who is always box-office, must-see playoff television.
Other than that, I like Hawks at Knicks (Saturday, 6 p.m. EDT) as a sneaky interesting first-round game. Madison Square Garden, Timmy Chalamet and Spike Lee, and a really frisky Hawks team that has flown squarely under the radar but isn’t going to fold easily. The Knicks are tied with the Cavs as the team in the East with the most to prove, so that will be one to watch as well. If you’re a true NBA sicko, stay up until midnight on Sunday to catch Trail Blazers at Spurs, because Victor Wembanyama cannot be missed in his first playoff appearance. Gosh, what a great slate.
Five fascinating players
You may not know too much about Nickeil Alexander-Walker yet, but the guy went from a 9 points-per-game role player, 6th in 6MOY voting on the Timberwolves to scoring 21 a game on 33 minutes and shooting 50-40-90 this year for the Hawks. That’s … almost inconceivable, and he and Jalen Johnson are the reasons they are a feared team in the East despite losing their nominal superstar in Trae Young. Johnson is now arguably a superstar himself, and has taken the face-of-the-franchise belt from Young in record time. He’s a modern player with modern tools and quite a high ceiling — someone to keep an eye on.
Speaking of not having your superstar, I am putting LeBron James, yes, that LeBron James, in this category because he will have to go full Hercules mode to defeat the Rockets with the Lakers missing Luka Doncic. Mr. 23 seasons is going to have to go toe-to-toe with Kevin Durant, four years behind him in year 19. It’s been a very strange year vibes-wise for the Rockets, but Durant has been completely himself offensively and continues to fascinate me as an ageless wonder of scoring.
Finally, how about a curveball in the form of Andre Drummond? He will be paramount to the 76ers’ success thesis without Joel Embiid, and I can’t get over that he shoots threes now. He’s shockingly young, only 32 years old, and seems to want to pivot his career in the late-career Al Horford direction? Fascinating stuff.
Who has the most to prove?
In terms of teams, the Knicks and the Cavaliers feel like boiling pots of prove-it water ready to overflow. New York beat the Celtics last year, but Tatum’s injury muted their enjoyment of the win, and they promptly lost to an upstart Pacers team. Meanwhile Donovan Mitchell and the Cavs simply have to make a Conference Finals one of these days, or there will be some serious questions about Cleveland going forward.
Both Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are auditioning for NBA history during this playoff run, with both able to enter some level of Mount Olympus if they pull off their second championship after the seasons they both just put together. Looking to spoil it all is Victor Wembanyama, who nobody expects to win the Finals in his first playoff run but he absolutely could. Should Wemby succeed this spectacularly and this early? Scottie, remove the limiters on his career ceiling.
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