With the 2023-24 NBA regular season and play-in tournament complete, the real fireworks can begin.
The 2024 playoffs offer a collection of both young teams hungry to make their mark on the league and veteran squads eager to show they still belong.
There’s plenty of star power to go around with LeBron James, Nikola Jokić, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum, Luka Dončić and others as well.
It’s time to go round by round to make predictions for all 15 playoff series, highlighting key player matchups along the way.
This should be a low-scoring, defensive battle of a series between two young teams looking to establish themselves as powers in the Eastern Conference.
Cleveland is hoping to shake off its pitiful showing in last year’s postseason in which it lost in five games to the New York Knicks despite being the No. 4 seed and possessing home-court advantage.
Beginning the series in Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse is important as Orlando was just 18-23 on the road.
With Jalen Suggs doing his best to stop Donovan Mitchell (who says he’s 100 percent healthy after missing 16 of the past 26 games to a bad knee), Darius Garland will be relied on to help break down an elite Magic defense.
Garland averaged 26.7 points and 8.0 assists in three games against Orlando this season and will need to post similar numbers for the Cavs to win.
Mitchell is the best player in this series but Banchero may not be far behind. The second-year forward and first-time All-Star is the heart and soul of a Magic offense that lives and dies by his production.
Banchero shot 49.3 percent overall and 40.7 percent from three in 46 wins this season compared to just 41.0 percent from the field and 27.4 percent from deep in 34 losses.
Mobley has struggled at times against bigger, stronger forwards and will have to do his best to limit quality looks by Banchero.
Mobley has shot more threes as of late (11 makes in his last 12 games at 45.8 percent accuracy), with his floor-spacing important for Mitchell and Garland to drive.
Cleveland struggled down the stretch with Mitchell in and out of the lineup.
If he’s truly healthy, the Cavs have a notable playoff experience advantage over the young Magic and should eventually advance after a long series.
The Bucks’ fall from the No. 2 seed to the No. 3 seed turned out to be a blessing, as they drew a more favorable matchup with the Indiana Pacers while dodging the Philadelphia 76ers.
The bad news? If Giannis Antetokounmpo doesn’t play, it may not matter who the opponent is.
The two-time MVP is expected to miss the beginning of this series with a calf strain, an injury that could hold him out for two to four weeks, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.
Damian Lillard has proven capable of carrying a team in the playoffs, but the 33-year-old point guard is dealing with lingering groin and abductor injuries himself.
Even a healthy Bucks team struggled earlier in the season against Indiana. This version may not even have a chance.
As much as we’d love to see an Antetokounmpo-Pascal Siakam matchup, a Lillard (if healthy) and Haliburton floor general duel is almost as good.
Halliburton’s midseason shooting slump has subsided (38.8 percent from three over his last 12 games), and he remains one of the best passers in the NBA who should be hungry in his first playoff appearance.