PRESS BOX: CT sports staff picks NBA playoff

CT Sport Staff

The NBA playoffs are one of the most exciting times in basketball. Read along for NBA finals predictions from The Commonwealth Times sports staff. 

The NBA playoffs will officially start on April 15, after the winners of the NBA Play-In Tournament are set. 

The NBA Play-In Tournament is when teams with seventh through 10th highest winning percentages from the western and eastern conferences earn opportunities to acquire a playoff spot. These four teams fight to earn a playoff spot, according to the NBA. 

Predicting who will go home with the Larry O’Brien Championship trophy can be tricky, but our staff at The Commonwealth Times tried to predict the winners. 

Arrick Wilson’s pick

The Phoenix Suns will take home the NBA championship. After acquiring future Hall of Famer, forward Kevin Durant in a blockbuster midseason trade with the Nets, the Suns have been my front runners since. When you’re looking at the Suns, they almost look perfect. 

The Suns are a four-head behemoth led by Durant and future Hall of Famer guard Chris Paul. These two pieces yet alone are scary. You have one of the greatest playmakers in NBA history with Paul and one of the great scorers ever with Durant.

The Suns also have two rising superstars guard Devin Booker and center Deandre Ayton. Booker has cemented his place in the NBA as one of the best shooting guards in the league, averaging 28 points, 4.6 rebounds and 5.5 assists, according to ESPN. Ayton on the other hand is a great interior player for the Suns, averaging a double-double.

Yes, the Suns do have their weak spots, including their bench being lackluster and overall defense. The Suns traded forwards Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, Jae Crowder and NBA draft picks in exchange for Durant, according to ESPN. These departures do worry me; they were key roles and defensive players for the Suns, but I still have my money on the team from Phoenix. 

With Durant, Paul, Booker and Ayton, the Suns will be raising the title soon. 

Bersabeh Kemaw’s pick

Many teams are competing for this spot, but the Milwaukee Bucks will ultimately take home the NBA championship. 

The Bucks not only have star player Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is averaging 31 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists per game, they also have a good offense, placed at number eight in the league, according to Fansided.

In addition to having a good offense, the Bucks defense is No. 1 in the NBA, according to the NBA.

Stability and skills are two things the Bucks have on both sides of the ball, so they won’t have to worry too much about their opponents. The Suns will be the best contenders for the finals, alongside the Bucks, but with the lack of defense on the Sun’s end, their time will be cut short by Antetokounmpo and the rest of the Bucks. 

Thailon Wilson’s pick

The strongest contenders to make it out of their conference as conference champions to face off in the NBA finals is a repeat of the 2021 finals matchup between the Phoenix Suns and the Milwaukee Bucks

The Suns are currently sitting as the fourth seed in the Western Conference, but don’t let their seeding fool you. The Suns have been a completely different team since they traded for former Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant. 

As long as Durant is healthy, he will be the catalyst for the Suns to make it out of the West again this year. 

After the Suns make it to the finals, that’s when the real challenge begins because they will be facing the Bucks with Giannis Antetokounmpo behind the helm. 

Antetokounmpo has history with the Suns in a magical playoff run averaging 35.2 points, 13.2 rebounds and five assists per game, according to StatMuse.

With the Sun’s lack of interior defense and the massive depth the Bucks have alongside Antetokounmpo’s dominance, the Bucks will once again topple the Suns and hoist up the Larry O’Brien Championship trophy.

Andrew McGhan’s pick

The Milwaukee Bucks will win the NBA championship. They have been great all season and they don’t have any glaring weaknesses that can be exposed in the playoffs.

The Bucks have the best record in the NBA with 58 wins and 22 losses, according to the NBA. They also have the highest win percentage in the league with .725.

The team has major depth on their roster; they have six players averaging double figure points, according to Basketball-Reference.

All the top teams in the western conference teams have glaring weaknesses. The Denver Nuggets lack rim protection. The Phoenix Suns lack depth and defense since trading for Kevin Durant in the middle of the season. The Lakers lack offensively due to the middle season trades and amount of injuries they had over the second half of the season.

The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers can’t match up with the Bucks. Boston’s defense isn’t what it was like in the early part of the season and the 76ers don’t have consistent bench scorers to keep up with the Bucks offensive output. 

Due to the glaring weaknesses in all the top teams, the Bucks will win because they are the most complete team.