Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo exciting the crowd after a dunk. The 24 year old superstar looks to make a run in his 4th playoff appearance. Photo courtesy of Keith Allison; Wikia Commons.

The NBA Playoffs began on April 14. With multiple title contenders in  both conferences, this year’s playoffs should be very exciting.

In the East, watch out for the Milwaukee Bucks and the Greek Freak, Giannis Antetokounmpo. They are at the very top in the East standings and are projected to make it very far in the postseason. Aside from the Bucks, the Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto Raptors, and Boston Celtics are all possible contenders for the Finals in June. The Brooklyn Nets are about to make their first playoff appearance in three years and they have one of the most exciting young players in the league; D’Angelo Russell. While personally not expecting a playoff run, the Nets will definitely be fun to watch. In the West, watch out for the defending champion Golden State Warriors and their one-two punch of Kevin Durant and Steph Curry. Aside from Golden State, the Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers are all teams that could make a run in the playoffs.

The OKC Thunder were supposed to be title contenders this year. After staying in the top three in the West standings for the majority of the season, the Thunder slipped all the way down to the eight seed. Many still consider OKC to be serious contenders but they have definitely made things harder for themselves by dropping to the bottom of the playoff standings and losing home court advantage. Portland is another team that has been in talks for title contention. After losing their starting center for the remainder of the season with an injury, their chances of making the conference finals just became much more slim. Not only that, but the Trail Blazers are known for choking every year in the playoffs.

This year is LeBron James’ first absence from the playoffs since 2004 and therefore his first absence from the Finals since 2010. This year’s playoffs will surely have a very different feel to it without LeBron James.

As for the hometown team, the Wizards did not make the playoffs this year due to injuries to John Wall, Dwight Howard, and Otto Porter (prior to his trade).

The 2019 NBA Playoffs will surely by one of the most exciting postseasons in basketball history.