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NBA Playoffs Predictions: First Round Eastern Conference · The Stop and Pop

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: The playoffs is almost set.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: We have the playing tournament right now and so far the seventh seed 76ers beat the
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: eighth seed Miami Heat.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: So now Philadelphia will move on to beat the seventh seed and will face the Knicks in the first round.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: We still have to figure out who the AFC will be as in Chicago and Miami have to
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: face off for that eighth spot.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: But for now, I'm gonna get my predictions on the first round of the Eastern Conference.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: So let's start with the first matchup I'm gonna talk about is Boston versus whoever
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: is the AFC between Miami and Chicago.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: So, Boston, best team in the league, 64 wins.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: I don't see them losing anytime soon.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like Miami would have gained them some problems.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: You know, playoff Jimmy always comes through in some way, somehow.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: But unfortunately, he is due to miss some weeks with a spring MCL.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: And...
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not sure if they'll be able to get past Chicago with how Kobe White's been playing fantastic.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: DeMar DeRozan is doing his thing.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: And Chicago, even though they only have 39 wins, they have been a tough team to compete against.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: So I do think Chicago will beat Miami in the play-in game and go on to play against
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: the Celtics,
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: but I think the Celtics will win that in four.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: Next match I want to talk about is my New York Knicks versus the 7th place 76ers.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: Let's face it, Embiid hasn't been the same since he returned back from the injury.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: And the Knicks seem to always have his number in some way.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: The Knicks are looking like a team that's primed for a deep playoff run.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: And even though the Sixers are really deep, I can't trust them right now.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: Embiid's not playing too well.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: He usually struggles in the playoff time.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm taking the Knicks in six.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: Next match I'm going to talk about is the Bucks and the Pacers.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: The three squad and the six squad.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: You know,
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: it's been a lot of bad blood between them ever since the game where the Pacers took
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: Giannis' career-high game ball.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: And unfortunately, Giannis will be out possibly for the first round.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: So Giannis won't get his redemption just yet against the Pacers.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: But they still have Damian Lillard, who was the best player in that series.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: So I do think the Bucs will have to rely on Damian heavily.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: for this round.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: And he has to tap into that Portland Trailblazers mentality that he had.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: But I feel like the Bucks have enough to win against the Pacers in five games.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: The next matchup I wanna talk about is the Cavaliers and the Magic.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: This is a very tough matchup to
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: predict the four and five seed is always you know the closest seeds in the
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: postseason so it's always a good matchup and it's always really interesting to see
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: but i've been really high on the magic this year from watching your games they're
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: really defensive minded they get into you they really cry you out on defense
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: And Ben Carroll is just a playing beast.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: And Franz Weiner is playing good.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: They're all playing really fantastic.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: Jalen Suggs is flying all over the place on defense.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: Mo Wagner is only a face with his antics.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like the Cavs have enough to beat them, to beat the Magic.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: But I do feel like the Cavs might not realize how
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: good they can really be, if that makes sense to people.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland,
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: they haven't quite figured it out who is the guy,
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: even though we know Donovan Mitchell is the guy,
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: but I feel like they don't mesh well together on the basketball court.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: I do feel like one of the problems with the Cavs is that
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: They have to make a decision on Jared Allen and Evan Mobley.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: Do they decide to go forward with just one of them?
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's hard to tell because I feel like even though they're playing well,
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like Jared Allen ultimately is in a way holding back Evan Mobley.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like Evan Mobley should be at the center position so he can really grow.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: And he's kind of like the modern day center.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like he can be that person who anchors the defense but also can score in a basketball.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like with how the game is played today with floor spacing and how the game
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: is kind of like spread out,
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: even with bigs,
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: Evan Mobley will be beneficial at the five.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: And then they have to go for like a smaller type of forward at the power forward position.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like that's the decision they have to make because I'm not sure if it's
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: going to work long term for them.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: So I do think the Magic can pull it off, but I won't be surprised if the Cavs pull it off.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: So that's really the series I feel like it's hard to predict.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: But yes, that's who I have for my postseason predictions in the first round.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: Celtics in four, Bucks in five, M06, Knicks in six, and four and five, I want to say Magic in seven.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: Stay tuned for the Western Conference predictions.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: And don't forget to like, subscribe, and share this podcast.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: And thank you guys for listening.