2023 NBA Playoffs

The NBA (National Basketball Association) season, this year, began on Oct. 18 of 2022. Beloved fans started watching from day one to see if their team would be successful and make it to the playoffs. 

Within the six divisions (Atlantic, Central, Southeast, Northwest, Pacific, and Southwest) there are five different teams in each. The six divisions are divided into either the Eastern or Western Conference. The Western side includes the Northwest, Pacific, and Southwest, and has most commonly been the more successful side, because they have won six out of the last ten finals.

Fourteen teams don’t make it in the playoffs, but continue to work in order to improve for next season. Some fan favorites including the Chicago Bulls and Dallas Mavericks are not going to be seen in the postseason of basketball. The Chicago Bulls used to be a powerhouse team, but have recently been struggling to win games.

After the regular season ends, the Play-In Tournament begins in which the teams that are ranked seventh through tenth, in each of the conferences, compete head to head in order to score themselves a spot in the playoffs. So, in total, there are four teams from each conference playing head to head, and the best two then compete to make it to the playoffs.

This year, the first rounds of the tournament were won by the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder from the Western Conference. And then, for the finals, the Lakers took the win and advanced to the postseason. From the Eastern side, the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat competed, with Miami winning.

After, the playoffs officially started on April 15. Four games are played each day for the rest of the month. 

Different teams face off and if one team loses four games, they are kicked out of the playoffs. For game one of the playoffs, the Lakers beat the Grizzlies with a high score of 128. However, they were beaten by them in Game two. They face off again on April 26.

Overall, it is a seven game series and the first team to win four games is the champion of the series and will advance to the next set. There are three rounds before the championship game, and in total, a team has to win sixteen games to reign supreme.
A few of the hard hitting stories of the playoffs so far is the second game between the Kings and Warriors which reached an audience of 4.32 million viewers. People are also seeming to notice an increase in the amount of fouls that are being called out during the games. Also, the popular player, Stephen Curry from the Warriors, scored a total of 36 points in one game.

The current team with the best stats throughout the season is the Boston Celtics who are going to most likely be one of the teams in the championship. However, it is not as clear as to which team they could be going against. It is said that “The Celtics are a well-rounded team with a deeper, more talented roster than they had last season.”
Other strong teams to watch out for are the Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets.

A current leading player in the basketball playoffs is Devon Booker from the Phoenix Suns who has an average of about 26 points per game. The famous Lebron James comes in for a total of 28 points each game. 

Recently a Grizzlies player, Dillon Brooks, hated on James when he said “I don’t care–he’s old. You know what I mean?” This tension soon escalated when they were smack talking during their most recent game and Brooks ended up hitting James in the groin and getting kicked out of the game.

In June, the NBA season will come to an end with one winner taking home the trophy. Stay tuned to see who it is!