NBA Finals: Los Angeles Lakers (2) vs. Milwaukee Bucks (1)
The one thing that this playoff format could rob NBA fans of is the Los Angeles playoff series between the Lakers and the Clippers. Under a regular format, it is all but a guarantee that the Lakers would face the Clippers in the Western Conference Finals.
However, in this format, we have the Clippers falling to the Bucks in the semi-finals on the other side of the bracket. Quite frankly, this series could go either way, but the Clippers have a much harder road to the semi-finals than the Bucks and I think that will wear the Clippers down.
The Clippers have the Dallas Mavericks in the first round. Dallas is a tough team that is going to play the Clippers close and while the Clippers will undoubtedly win the series, I think this is a series that goes six games. Dallas is 1-2 against the Clippers in the regular season and lost the last matchup by just three, granted Paul George did not play.
In the second round the Clippers have the winner of the Celtics-76ers, which either way, is not a fun matchup to have in the second round. The Celtics are the more talented team but the 76ers match up really well against Boston, but I still give the edge to Boston in seven games.
The Clippers then have to face a team that is very similar to themselves as they have great defensive pieces and depth and are offensively fueled by their wings. Jayson Tatum is playing on an entirely different level right now and the threat of Kemba Walker, Gordon Hayward and Jaylen Brown makes Boston a tough team to guard.
The Clippers win the series, but it is grueling. Six or seven games with at least one in overtime, with every single game coming down to the last possession. At this point, the Clippers have had 12-13 tough games, whereas the Milwaukee Bucks swept the Orlando Magic and beat the Heat/Thunder in five games.
The Clippers lost both games against the Bucks this season and both Kawhi and George were active for the second matchup, where the Bucks throttled them 119-91.
It will obviously be closer than that, but I think the Bucks edge out a six or seven-game series against the Clippers where it becomes obvious that the Bucks simply have more on-court chemistry because of the more reps that they have had together.
That leads to a Milwaukee Bucks-Los Angeles Laker NBA Finals, which a lot of NBA fans might already be expecting. Whichever way that goes is for you to decide. What I know is that it is going to be a really fun series.