The quest for the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy starts now! (© Vera Iarochkina - Dreamstime.com)
It's a huge week for sports. Just this Wednesday, the NHL playoffs got rolling. And now, three days later, the NBA playoffs are kicking off, too! (In fact, we've done a preview of it in the hoops-crazy Issue 68 of OWLconnected eMag — available for free on your tablet or laptop if you're an OWL magazine subscriber!)
In the NBA, all roads to the championship still probably run through Golden State... (Getty Embed)
Here are the awesome matchups that you'll be able to catch when the first round begins this weekend.
Eastern Conference
- Milwaukee Bucks vs. Detroit Pistons
- Toronto Raptors vs. Orlando Magic
- Philadelphia Sixers vs. Brooklyn Nets
- Boston Celtics vs. Indiana Pacers
Western Conference
- Golden State Warriors vs. Los Angeles Clippers
- Denver Nuggets vs. San Antonio Spurs
- Portland Trail Blazers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
- Houston Rockets vs. Utah Jazz
Will the Rockets build on their oh-so-close playoffs last season and dethrone the Warriors in the West? Is the Giannis "The Greek Freak" Antetokounmpo going to make his case as the greatest NBA star since LeBron by stomping straight to the final? Can former Raptor DeMar DeRozan avenge his heartbreaking trade by leading the Spurs to surprise title?
Sports! Cheering! So much CHEERING!! (Getty Embed)
And speaking of the Raptors, is this the moment where we discover that the Kawhi Leonard trade was really worth it? After trades for Leonard, Marc Gasol, and Danny Green—plus the solid year from fan faves Fred VanVleet, Kyle Lowry, and Serge Ibaka—this does seem to be the best team that Toronto has ever had.
We're excited to see how it all turns out. So we'll leave you with a highlight pack from Toronto's most exciting young player, Pascal Siakam. Let's ball, guys!
