2024 NBA Playoffs Kick off Next Week
By: Dylan Tehada
The NBA regular season has come to an end and the playoffs have begun. The league's biggest stars will take center stage in hopes of hoisting the Larry O’brien trophy and fulfilling their championship dreams. With the Play In tournament wrapping up this week and first round matchups starting next week, we are excited to see how the playoffs shake out and which stars will perform for their teams.
This season featured some unforgettable moments and NBA fans are in store for a lot more legendary performances in this years’ playoffs. The competition in the league this year reached an all time high as teams across both conferences out performed preseason projections. One of the most exciting and surprising teams this season was the Western Conference No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder, led by young stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren. This year’s Thunder team set an NBA record for the youngest No. 1 seed in the league’s history with an average age of 23.4. There is indeed a youth movement going down in the league as the Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic, and Indiana Pacers, who were 3 of the top 10 youngest NBA teams, all punched their ticket to this year’s playoffs.
While a new era of NBA stars is upon us, there are still plenty of storylines surrounding legends and veterans in this year’s playoffs. Nikola Jokic and the reigning NBA champs will look to defend their title as the No. 2 seed in the West. The best team in the league, the Boston Celtics, led by their formidable starting five of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, and Derrick White seek to return to the NBA finals and bring a title back to Boston. The three headed beast of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradely Beal will look to make a run in their first season together in Phoenix. Giannis Antetokounmpo and new All-Star teammate, Damian Lillard, will look to continue their regular season success and make a run in the East. LeBron James and Anthony Davis will look to defy all odds as a play in team and help lead the Lakers to the promised land once again. In addition, star studded and hungry teams like the No. 4 seed Los Angeles Clippers, No. 3 seed Minnesota Timberwolves, No. 5 seed Dallas Mavericks, and No. 2 seed New York Knicks, will all look to continue their momentum from the regular season, as well, as they seek to make a name for themselves.
While there were indeed surprises in both conferences this season, one of the biggest storylines of this past year was how competitive the Western conference was. The difference between the No. 1 seed Thunder and No. 10 seed Warriors was just 11 games by the end of the year, which is less of a margin than the difference between the No. 1 seed Celtics and No. 2 seed Knicks (14 games) in the Eastern conference. With the recent addition of the play in the tournament, underdog teams in the 7-10 seeds have a chance to make the playoffs and go on a run upsetting higher seeds. Against all odds, play in teams have found a great deal of success in the past as the runner up in the NBA Finals, the Miami Heat, made a run as the 8 seed in the Eastern Conference.
The Play-In tournament is already underway and some exciting games have taken place. The Los Angeles Lakers clinched the No. 7 seed in the West after defeating the New Orleans Pelicans, who will now face the Sacramento Kings to determine the No. 8 seed in the West. In the East, the Philadelphia 76ers clinched the No. 7 seed after defeating the Miami Heat, who will now face the Chicago Bulls to determine the No. 8 seed. Both No. 10 seeds in the West and East, the Golden State Warriors and Atlanta Hawks, were eliminated from playoff contention after losing their respective games in the tournament.
All in all, NBA fans are in for a very entertaining 2024 playoffs and we are excited to watch all the storylines play out during this postseason.
