NBA Playoffs

NBA+Playoffs

Michael Daly '19, Staff Writer

CONFERENCE FINALS

For the Western Conference Finals matchup, the Warriors are squaring off against the Spurs. This is a very intriguing series because these two teams have represented the Western Conference in every NBA Finals since the 2013 season. For the Warriors, they will need a healthy KD to stop the Spurs; this should pose as no problem as I feel that Kevin Durant will be close to his normal self. The Spurs will give the splash brothers and Co. a run for their money in at least two games, but will ultimately fall short because of Golden State’s offensive arsenal and depth. I have the Warriors getting by the Spurs in six games, especially with the recent injury to Kawhi Leonard. 

Warriors top the Spurs in six games, move onto NBA Finals –   

For the Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics will play the Cavaliers which will be a nail-biting series that will go down to the wire, despite the first game’s seemingly unbalanced sides. Although the Cavaliers won the regular season against the Celtics, I don’t believe this will be in Cleveland’s favor. The Celtics were a surprising number one seed and showed their resilience by rallying from an 0-2 series deficit against the Chicago Bulls in the first round. My prediction for Eastern Conference Final is that the Celtics will win in seven games, pitting them against the Warriors. This also means that a trilogy between the Cavs and the Warriors will not happen in this year’s NBA Finals.

Celtics win the series against Cavaliers in seven games, advance to Finals, 4-3 – 

Now for the long awaited and anticipated, NBA Finals: the Boston Celtics will take on the Golden State Warriors for the Larry O’Brien trophy. This will be the team from Oakland’s third straight Finals appearance and the Celtics first since 2010.  The Warriors will make life very difficult for Boston’s frontcourt by working the perimeter and utilizing the three-ball. I think the Celtics will take game two on the road from the Warriors and game four at home, but that will be all for them. Therefore, it will take Golden State six games to win their second title in three years. I will also predict that a 3-1 series lead will not be blown by the Warriors.

 
The Warriors are the 2016-2017 NBA Finals Champions, defeating the Celtics in six games, 4-2.