The NBA regular season has come to an end and the postseason is officially upon us with a couple teams to look out for.
The NBA’s playoff format consists of 16 teams (8 from the Eastern Conference, 8 from the Western Conference). Each team is ranked from 1 to 8, based on its record from the regular season. This year, the top teams in each conference are the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Miami Heat. The Heat is heavily favored to win a second straight NBA championship this year.
The end of the regular season saw a dramatic finish as many wondered who would receive the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference. On the final night of the season, the Los Angeles Lakers made their bid to make it into the playoffs and, to surprised fans, even made it into the seventh-seed.
One team to look out for is the Lakers. Although they had a rocky end to the season, the team is always a contender for a championship win. At the start of the season, they appeared to be unstoppable when they added all stars Dwight Howard and Steve Nash to a team that already included Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, two established players who have already won two championships together. However, the team had been sidelined with injuries throughout the year and ended up having to fight for its playoff life on the very last night of the regular season. The only consistent force on this team throughout the year had been Bryant, 5-time NBA champion and future Hall of Famer. He single-handedly carried the team on his shoulders all year long and put the team in position to make the playoffs, despite the injuries to all other star players. Bryant, unfortunately, suffered a torn Achilles only nights before the end of the season. Although the Lakers have now made the playoffs and prove to be a strong team, they will have to play without Bryant, the man who brought them there.
Another team to keep an eye on is the Miami Heat. Since putting the “Big 3” together (LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh) two years ago, the team has made it to the finals both years – losing one and winning the championship in the other. This year, it seemed inevitable that the Heat would win a second straight championship after demolishing opponents in the regular season and, at one point, going on a 27-game win streak, the second longest winning streak in NBA history. This year, the team has managed to beat every team in the league at least once, which makes it more convincing that it can finish this year off with yet another title.
Be sure to tune into this year’s playoffs as the games are sure to excite. The first games of the playoffs begin on April 20.