Five Bold Predictions for the NBA Finals

The 2020/21 NBA Playoffs are finally here! Over the next few months, basketball fans will no doubt shed tears of joy, rage and heartbreak. 

Storylines are already taking shape. Can the Clippers finally find their place in La La Land? Will the Bucks be a deer in the headlights? Is this LeBron James’ title to lose?

It promises to be one of the most open Playoff series in recent years. Lucky for you, we’ve consulted our crystal (basket) ball to find out what happens next! 

Blow the whistle and take your shot, these are our five predictions.

The 76ers Will Make the NBA Finals (Not the Nets) 
While all the hype surrounds the Nets’ big three in Brooklyn, we can’t underestimate one key component that’s essential to Playoff success: team chemistry. 

Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving have barely been on the court together this season, and while they’re offensive arsenal is just about the best we’ve ever seen, their defence looks vulnerable. The Nets tried to plug their defensive holes by reeling in Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge (since retired due to a heart arrhythmia), but we’re still not convinced. 

Meanwhile, Cameroonian big man Joel Embiid continues to terrorise his opponents in the paint, while support cast Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris look like they’re finally ready to take the next step. Let’s also not forget the Sixers’ loss against the Toronto Raptors during the 2019 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals, Kawhi Leonard’s miracle four-bounce buzzer beater no doubt still ringing in their ears. 

The Clippers Will Crash. Again 
Things couldn’t get much worse for the Clippers last season. Steve Ballmer’s high-profile recruits had one of the most colossal breakdowns in Playoff history, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and co. blowing-up a 3-1 lead against the Denver Nuggets.

After running their mouths and provoking cross-town rivals the L.A. Lakers (remember Kawhi’s New Balance advertisement anointing a new king in L.A.?), the Clippers are now running scared, tanking their games against the Rockets and Thunder in order to avoid LeBron James’ Lakers. 

That’s a bad omen. 

The Clippers will face a fired-up Luka Dončić (no doubt affronted by their ladder maneuvering) where we expect them to progress, but we don’t see them getting much further. 

Let’s just hope Paul ‘Playoff P’ George can avoid the backboard. 

Fear the Deer: The Bucks Will Beat Miami
It’s crunch time for the Milwaukee Bucks. Another early Playoff exit would be devastating for the Bucks and coach Mike Budenholzer, whose job has been under intense scrutiny. The Bucks were scorched by Jimmy Buckets, Erik Spoelstra and Pat Riley’s much espoused ‘Heat Culture’ during the Easter Conference Semifinals last year, the Heat essentially building a wall of human bodies in the paint to stop Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks.

There’s no excuses: the Bucks must find a way through this post-season.

If the deer gets caught in the headlights again, expect stakeholders, the media and fans to storm downtown Milwaukee and demand that heads roll.

Basket-Case Boston Will Bundle-Out Early 
The Celtics have been an inexplicable basket-case all season long. Despite their young superstars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum further improving and growing into their roles this year, the team have revealed a startling capacity to capitulate. 

Questions have popped up everywhere: Is the problem basketball savant and coach Brad Stevens? List management? The karmic retribution still emanating from the Isaiah Thomas treatment? One thing’s for certain: Boston will be preyed upon in the post-season. 

Maybe they can invite Kyrie Irving back to Boston to burn some sage… 

LeBron James Will Win Another Ring
The King will retain his throne this year, the 36-year-old LeBron continuing to defy human biology with another NBA season maintaining his brilliant numbers. Although a little less durable than in previous years, LeBron will no doubt bring it when it matters most, his partner-in-crime Anthony Davis proving a worthy companion in the purple and gold. 

In an unpredictable world seemingly spinning off its axis over the past 18 months, it’s time to sit back and celebrate the staying power of basketball’s most significant talent since His Airness, Michael Jordan. 

Long live the king! 

Ready to make your own mark?