With star player Luka Doncic hurt, the Los Angeles Lakers are down in their series 1-0 against the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are the one seed.
The Lakers now are heavily reliant on LeBron James, because Austin Reeves, another key player, is also managing an injury, though he is trying to play through it. Also, Jarred Vanderbilt broke his pinky mid-game, hindering the Lakers’ offense.
Between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren, the OKC Thunder should be able to hold onto this series easily, as the Lakers have a lot of outside noise they need to worry about.
For the Minnesota Timberwolves, things are looking up. The Wolves are coming off a series win over the Nuggets, and though they play the San Antonio Spurs, they have momentum going into the next game.
The series is currently tied 1-1, but Jaden McDaniels has been clutch for the Wolves, since Anthony Edwards has been dealing with an injury. The Spurs did win the second game thanks to a dominant performance by Victor Wembanyama and great help from the defense and the Spurs’ supporting cast.
Based on how the Timberwolves have been playing recently, they should be able to muscle out this series in a hard battle. It will likely go to game seven, ending 4-3 for the Wolves.
As for the Cleveland Cavaliers against the Detroit Pistons, Detroit leads 1-0.
Though the Cavs have Donovan Mitchell, they will not be able to keep up with Cade Cunningham and the Pistons. Detroit is the one seed in the East.
In the first game, Cunningham had 23 points and Tobias Harris had 20. They also forced 20 turnovers, which led to 31 points. James Harden had seven turnovers for the Cavs and took the loss personally.
Even though the Cavs have great players, they will not be able to keep up with the Pistons, and this series should end in a dominant 4-1 win for Detroit.
The finals series running right now is the New York Knicks against the Philadelphia 76ers, with the Knicks in the lead, 2-0.
For the 76ers, Joel Embiid is out, leaving a major hole for the 76ers’ offense and defense.
This opens a gap for the Knicks to be able to sweep the 76ers in four games. Jalen Brunson and Karl Anthony-Towns have led the Knicks well so far, and the 76ers have not had any answers.
For Philly, Tyrese Maxey has made solid attempts to keep them in the games, as he has dropped 26 points in each game.
Though the 76ers have tried to run with the Knicks, they will not be able to, and they will lose to the Knicks in a likely sweep.
