The NBA playoffs kick off on Saturday, and for the most part, the first round is looking pretty predictable.
On Friday, the Golden State Warriors will battle the Phoenix Suns for a chance to most likely lose to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round. The Charlotte Hornets and the Miami Heat will do the same just with the Detroit Pistons.
While most games in the first round are usually easy to predict, there are a couple matchups to look forward to.
The Los Angeles Lakers and the Houston Rockets will be interesting, as both teams are struggling with injuries.
Lakers star guard Luka Dončić will be reevaluated by the Lakers medical staff in hopes of playing in the first round. Without Dončić, the Lakers will lose their best shot at beating Houston.
Since Dončić has been out, LeBron James has really stepped up his game, but he is still having a fairly average season and is hardly a superstar-caliber player at this point.
Still, fans look forward to seeing “playoff LeBron” turn up his effort as he is known to do.
Houston, meanwhile, is missing Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams and will be putting all of their hope on Kevin Durant.
The Toronto Raptors will play the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs have the home-court advantage and are the better team. They have the odds going into the series.
However, the Raptors won all three times the teams have played during the regular season, which will make this an interesting series.
Overall, there are definitely some games to tune into in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
