[OhCanada-Participant]

Seems like the playoffs really are up for grabs more so than ever right now. Every team has question marks and I really see no cler cut favorites to win it all. Lakers lack depth, Bucks are lost once Giannis gets taken out of the game, Boston and Toronto both lack that definitive go to star scoring option to rely on to get buckets late in the game and then you have teams like Portland that got hot at the right time, Dallas that is just a bit inexperienced but has a championship coach, a championship pedigree star in Luka Doncic and have controlled the series other than when Porzingis was ejected. Gonna be fun to watch this play out.

If I had to say my favorites it would go like this.

Clippers- If they can learn to play together better while getting past Dallas they should be considered favorites. Watching them play it seems like they have two teams and leadership groups. Last years core with Beverley, Harrell, Williams and the new guys with Leonard, PG, Morris.

Winner of the potential Celtics Raptors series- I dont really trust Siakam to be the go to guy down the stretch of games. He’s better off finding his moments throughout the game to be a productive 2 way player like Jiimmy Butler in that sense. However Van Vleet I do think could be our closer. He’s developing into a Stephen curry lite type player and I think will eventually become the Raptors 1st option.

As for Boston the Hayward injury hurts them but they still have Tatum who has shown flashes of being a dominate closer and Walker who has built a career on that but lacks the playoff experience. Brown I feel the same way as I do Siakam should not be relied on as the go to option.

[Dazzling Dunks and Basketball BloopersParticipant]

Even though Milwaukee put up a dud in their first game, I still view them as the overwhelming favorites to come out of the east. Not that there first game against Orlando wasn’t concerning, but I don’t necessarily view it as cause for panic. I can remember Toronto losing to orlando last year in their playoff opener as well. I might have said Boston could potentially beat them before the Hayward injury, but it would be hard to see it now. I don’t think Toronto or Miami has the top end talent to beat Milwaukee if they play their A game. In other words, the only way I really see them losing to any team in the east is if they beat themselves.
The clippers lack of chemistry is concerning, I still view them as the team with the most overall talent. If they play their best, I think they beat anybody so I still view them as the favorites out west. The lakers supporting cast does not look strong and their lack of shooting is crippling. Even if James and davis come through with Herculean efforts I’m not sure it’ll be enough. While there are other teams that technically could pull of an upset if everything breaks right, I definitely wouldn’t feel comfortable betting on it.
These are unprecedented circumstances and the likelihood for upsets is probably much higher than in a normal playoff setting, but I still think a bucks-clippers finals is the most likely outcome. I predicted a clippers championship at the beginning of the season, and even with everything that has happened, I still haven’t seen anything convincing enough to change my prediction.

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