The NBA regular season is in the books, the playoff seeds are locked in and while there is no doubt about the disparity in talent throughout the respective conferences that doesn’t mean there isn’t potential for at least a handful of lower seeds to score upset wins.
In the NBA playoffs, most of the early playoff rounds are usually quite predictable. Put it this way: nobody is expecting Golden State to lose in the first round. However, it looks like we’ll see a number of entertaining, competitive series early on. That could produce some surprises if they don’t go according to plan for some high seeds. Here is a look at the four NBA first round series that are most likely to produce an upset.
Eastern Conference
(7) Indiana Pacers over (2) Toronto Raptors
The Raptors’ inability to win when it matters the most has been well documented after tripping up in the first round of the playoffs in each of the last two years. Toronto is coming off a franchise-record 56 wins that was just one short of the Cleveland Cavaliers for the best record in the Eastern Conference but that won’t make Raptors’ fans any less wary heading in to a first round series with a dangerous Indiana team. The Pacers never really seemed to find their stride throughout the regular season but Paul George leads a talented cast that has serious upset potential and it wouldn’t be a major shock if Indiana dealt another blow to the Raptors’ franchise with a first-round series upset.
Eastern Conference
(5) Boston Celtics over (4) Atlanta Hawks
These teams technically finished with the same record at 48-34 but the reality is that expectations were higher for the Hawks after they finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference last season. Atlanta struggled to show the same form they did a year ago and they could be in tough against a Celtics’ team that has experienced an incredible turnaround under head coach Brad Stevens these last two seasons. Isaiah Thomas versus Jeff Teague will be an intriguing matchup but more exciting will be how Stevens matches up against Mike Budenholzer. Home advantage should help the Hawks along with the experience they have gained in the playoffs over the past couple of years but it wouldn’t be a shock if the Celtics rose to the challenge and earned the first round upset.
Western Conference
(5) Portland Trail Blazers over (4) Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers took three of four from Portland this season but their average win margin was just 1.75 points and there have been obvious signs of dysfunction within the Los Angeles locker room this season. Expectations are high for the Clippers but there is also a lot of pressure on them to make some noise this postseason. Portland isn’t as deep as Los Angeles but Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum is one of the best guard tandems in the NBA and if there is only one Western Conference series with legitimate upset potential this might very well be it.
Eastern Conference Conference
(8) Detroit Pistons over (1) Cleveland Cavaliers
This is clearly the more unlikely of first round upsets but there is certainly a case to be made for the Pistons to take down Cleveland in the opening round. Detroit won three of the four regular season meetings between these teams and might be the toughest matchup for the Cavaliers in the opening round. Cleveland had no answer for Andre Drummond earlier this year and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was a nightmare matchup for Kyrie Irving. The Pistons have a number of forwards they can throw at LeBron James in order to try to keep him in check and there is no doubt they will try to grind down the Cavaliers with the hope they can wear them down and get the upset. There are plenty of reasons why Cleveland is the favorite to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals but their toughest test could be Detroit in the opening round.
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