Planning for the First Round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs

Hey everyone!

The play-in games have concluded, and now we know which teams have made it to the first round of the NBA playoffs. The LA Lakers, Atlanta, Miami, and Minnesota have all earned a spot. Now that we have this confirmed, let's look at all first round series, make predictions, and then look at all first round targets to look at for this game.

East:

(1) Milwaukee vs (7) Miami: The Bucks won 58 games this year and feature Giannis. This series is fairly safe to pick from early.

(2) Boston vs (8) Atlanta: Boston followed closely behind Milwaukee in wins and finished with 57. This is another safe bet and you can pick Atlanta Hawks early on.

(3) Philadelphia vs (6) Brooklyn: Philadelphia has a known history for playoff disappointment. That being said, it rarely occurs in the first round where they have often been a safe bet. Brooklyn dropped a lot after trading KD and Kyrie, and might not have even been a playoff team without having those two for the first half of the year. Pick Nets early.

(4) Cleveland vs (5) NY Knicks: Cleveland is the favourite here, but there is little reason to jump on this series early on, especially since three other series in the East look like sure things. Give this a few games and decide later.

West:

(1) Denver vs (8) Minnesota: As long as Jokic is healthy, there is no reason to doubt Denver here. This is a fairly safe early series to pick from. 

(2) Memphis vs (7) LA Lakers: This series has the makings to be tightly contested. You can't count out a team with LeBron and AD. Wait this one out.

(3) Sacramento vs (6) Golden State: There is little reason to pick from this series early. Golden State is likely the favourite to win, as the defending champs playing against an inexperienced Kings squad. However, Golden State only won 11 road games all year. The strategy here is simple: If Golden State steals a game on the road, they will win this series. You can look at picking Kings the moment they drop a home game.

(4) Phoenix vs (5) LA CLippers: Phoenix adding Kevin Durant makes them a lot of people's favourites to win the entire west. They are a good bet, but the LA Clippers are good enough not to count out too soon. Give this at least one game. A healthy Kawhi goes a long way. 

We've identified our targets for elimination (Miami, Atlanta, Brooklyn, Minnesota), so here are your early targets for Drive to the Finals:

Jimmy Butler, MIA, 34 PRA

Bam Adebayo, MIA, 33 PRA

Tyler Herro, MIA, 30 PRA

Trae Young, ATL: 39 PRA

Dejounte Murray, ATL: 32 PRA

Mikal Bridges, BKN, 33 PRA

Spencer Dinwiddie, BKN, 30 PRA

Anthony Edwards, MIN: 34 PRA

Karl-Anthony Towns, MIN: 34 PRA

Rudy Gobert, MIN: 26 PRA (and one punch)

These players should help you get through the early days in order to feel out the other series that need a few more games to decide what to do with them. Keep in mind there are only two games on Monday, where we only get Nets vs 76ers and Warriors vs Kings. Be sure to keep this in mind in your picking strategy.