By Tyler Vanderelst |Staff Writer|
The National Basketball Association (NBA) playoffs are underway and the 2016 NBA Champions, the Cleveland Cavaliers are set to make a run for their second straight cChampionship title, but it is looking like they will not start as the No. 1 seed like last year’s playoffs.
This time of year is a crucial time for many NBA teams as they focus on winning games to improve their seedings.
Teams that are normally in the playoffs that are projected to make it this year from the West: are Golden State Warriors (No. 1), San Antonio Spurs (No. 2), and Los Angeles Clippers (No. 4).
The other teams rounding up the West are: Houston Rockets (No. 3), Utah Jazz (No. 5), Oklahoma City Thunder (No.6), Portland Trail Blazers (No. 7) and Memphis Grizzlies (No. 8).
One match up that plenty of people will have their eyes on will be the Houston Rockets against Oklahoma City Thunder.
This round one playoff game will feature the two front runners to win the MVP, Russell Westbrook of the Thunder and James Harden of the Rockets.
The Rockets will go into this game as the favorite to win because they are the No. 3 seed while the Thunder are the No. 6 seed. One fan, Christian Cisneros said this will be one of the best series this year.
“I can’t wait to see the two MVP candidates prove why they should be MVP in a seven-game series,” said Cisneros
For the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics took the No.1 seed and were followed by the Cavaliers with the No. 2 seed. The Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards and Atlanta Hawks grabbed seeds three, four and five, respectively, while the Milwaukee Bucks scooped up seed No. 6.
The Indiana Pacers took the No. 7 seed and the Bulls nabbed the No. 8 seed, leaving the Heat out of the playoffs.
This year marks Lebron James’ first time not as the No. 1 seed in the East since he has joined the Cavaliers.
Shakir Syed is a Cavaliers fan who believes his favorite team will still win the championship.
“When you have Lebron James on the court it is hard to pick any team to beat them because he is so good he can single-handedly take over a game,” said Syed.
However, many people believe that the championship game this year will be a repeat of the past two years, featuring the same two teams in the Cavaliers and the Warriors.
In the past four years, this is the second time the same teams have played each other in the finals in back-to-back years. Previously, it was a battle between the Spurs and the Heat.
With the Warriors having arguably the best team in the NBA and being on a hot streak right now it is hard to imagine that they won’t be in the championship game.
However, with Lebron James, the Cavaliers will still have a shot to make the championship games as well.
Round one will run through April 24 at the earliest and April 30 at the latest depending on how long each best of seven series goes.
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