2020-2021 NBA Playoff Bracket and Analysis

This is giving me a ridiculously frustrating time right now, so I'll come back to this and format it later when I have some use of my eyes...good luck trying to read it...Tried 6 different times to format it, and nothing worked, so I'll just come back to it East Philly 4-2 over Washington Brooklyn 4-2 over Boston Heat 4-2 over Milwaukee Atlanta 4-2 over Knicks Philly 4-2 over Atlanta Heat 4-2 over Brooklyn Philly 4-3 over Heat West Utah 4-3 over Memphis Phoenix 4-2 over Lakers Denver 4-3 over Portland Clippers 4-3 over Dallas Utah 4-2 over Clippers Phoenix 4-2 over Denver Phoenix 4-3 over Utah NBA FINALS Phoenix over Philly 4-2 2020-2021 NBA CHAMPIONS Phoenix Suns Kind of a short synopsis for now, and maybe I'll go back and adjust it when I have more ability to use my eyes. A lot of this stuff is from earlier assessment, and I haven’t had the chance to go over any changes recently, but I still pretty much have an idea of the thought process behind these picks, assuming health, and assuming whatever rotatioo decisions are made aren’t too much of a surprise... Starting with this Heat- Milwaukee rematch, I think both teams kind of got a little better in certain areas, and also got a little worse in other areas, so that should be interesting to look out for. I felt like last year, while I did think the Heat would win, Milwaukee was hurt by the lack of any adjustment to their rotation, with certain players sitting that I felt would have a potential impact on the series. It should be interesting to see what Budenholzer does this year, with arguably a higher leverage situation for him. I think Milwaukee could get big offensive contributions from Bobby Portis, making jumpshots, as well as Bryn Forbes, and I could see someone like Donte Divincenzo or Pat Connaughton causing some problems at the guard spot, away from certain attention. Jrue Holiday is also an upgrade from what they had last year, with his size potentially being difficult to deal with on both ends. I also am still a little worried about the matchup with Brook Lopez, as I was last year, so those are things to watch out for. I also am not sure about what Trevor Ariza's contributions guarding Giannis might look like in comparison to Jae Crowder, and when factoring Crowder's big time shooting last year, that could be a big deal. I still think the Heat have enough to throw at Giannis defensively, and he is going to have to either make more jumpshots, or become more of a facilitator in certain moments, which are areas he hasn’t been able to overcome previously. For the Heat, their guards are going to have to come up big, and they need to knock down shots, and rebound. I feel like if they do those things, they should be fine, although I think this will be a lot closer than last year, even factoring the multiple close games in what was a short series last time. I am curious to see how the Heat decide to go with their rotation, as that has been unclear throughout this season. If things don’t go well, turning to young guys like KZ Okpala and Precious Achiuwa to give them length, and another defensive look at Giannis might be the move, but it might be hard to do that, unless one of them gives them something offensively. Nemanja Bjelica feels like he should matter in this series, with the Heat losing the element of a floor spacing big when they moved Kelly Olynyk. He can also potentially help mitigate some of the matchup problems I outlined earlier. I wouldn’t mind seeing him in a situation where maybe Portis is at the 5, and he might be able to put the ball on the floor, and make plays for the Heat in those scenarios, with Portis not being a great defender. Obviously, another factor to consider in this series is Giannis did tweak his ankle last year, and the Heat were also banged up. Those first 2 games are probably going to be extremely important in the outcome of this series, and I'm curious to see how Milwaukee responds to what happened last year, as well as how focused the Heat will be to get back to where they were, and finish unsettled business. The Heat are still playing with that chip on their shoulder, after being overlooked, and a little disrespected recently. If Butler and Bam come out aggressive, and they get something from any of their guards, I think they hold off, outside of a potential back breaking performance by Khris Middleton

After Trade Deadline/Buyouts 2020-2021 NBA Predictions (1st week of April, 2021)

East	West
1. Philadelphia 76ers	1. Utah Jazz
2. Brooklyn Nets	2. Phoenix Suns
3. Milwaukee Bucks	3. Denver Nuggets
4. Boston Celtics	4. Los Angeles Clippers
5. Atlanta Hawks	5. Portland Trail Blazers
6. Miami Heat	6. Dallas Mavericks
7. New York Knickss	7. Los Angeles Lakers
8. Washington Wizards	8. Memphis Grizzlies
9. Indiana Pacers	9. Golden State Warriors
10. Charlotte Hornets	10. San Antonio Spurs
11. Chicago Bulls	11. New Orleans Pelicans
12. Toronto Raptors	12. Sacramento Kings
13. Cleveland Cavaliers	13. Oklahoma City Thunder
14. Orlando Magic	14. Houston Rockets
15. Detroit Pistons	15. Minnesota Timberwolves

Eastern Finals  

Philly over Heat

West Finals

 Phoenix/Denver/Lakers over Utah

NBA Finals

I'm going with Phoenix. I feel like they have strong versatility, and if healthy, can matchup with anyone. Its very close between them, Denver, and Utah, and I can throw the Lakers in there, and I think they edge those teams out, although its obviously hard to pick againsst Lebron and Anthony Davis carrying them, but I also think they made themselves worse by signing Andre Drummond

2020-2021 NBA Champions

Phoenix Suns

After All Star Break/Pre Trade Deadline 2020/2021 NBA predictions

East	West
1. Philadelphia 76ers	1. Utah Jazz
2. Brooklyn Nets	2. Los Angeles Lakers
3. Milwaukee Bucks	3. Phoenix Suns
4. Miami Heat	4. Los Angeles Clippers
5. Charlotte Hornets	5. Portland Trail Blazers
6. Boston Celtics	6. Denver Nuggets
7. Indiana Pacers	7. San Antonio Spurs
8. Toronto Raptors	8. Dallas Mavericks
9. Atlanta Hawks	9. Golden State Warriors
10. New York Knicks	10. Memphis Grizzlies
11. Chicago Bulls	11. Oklahoma City Thunder
12. Washington Wizards	12. New Orleans Pelicans
13. Cleveland Cavaliers	13. Sacramento Kings
14. Orlando Magic	14. Houston Rockets
15. Detroit Pistons	15. Minnesota Timberwolves

Eastern Finals  

Philly over Milwaukee

West Finals

 Lakers over Utah/Clippers

NBA Finals

I'm going to have to stick with LeBron again, for now. Multiple possibilities still there.

2020-2021 NBA Champions

LeBron James and Anthony Davis (Los Angeles Lakers)