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My Dream Top 2025 NBA Playoff Matchups: Dream Scenarios and Rivalries

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We break down our ultimate NBA playoff wish list, analyzing dream matchups that would create maximum entertainment and storylines across both conferences.

• Cavaliers vs Pistons (1-8) would put pressure on Donovan Mitchell while spotlighting Cade Cunningham's rise
• Bucks vs Pacers (4-5) as a redemption series for Milwaukee with potential franchise-altering implications
• Celtics vs Magic (2-7) showcasing Paolo Banchero challenging Boston's elite team
• Knicks vs Hawks (3-6) reigniting the Madison Square Garden vs Trae Young rivalry
• Thunder vs Timberwolves (1-8) featuring the Shai vs Ant showdown that needs playoff intensity
• Grizzlies vs Warriors (4-5) continuing one of the NBA's most genuine current rivalries
• Lakers vs Mavericks (2-7) would define the AD-Luka comparisons on the biggest stage
• Nuggets vs Rockets (3-6) highlighting the Jokić vs Sengun international center matchup

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Speaker 1:

What's up, everybody. It's your favorite show's favorite show. Get a Bucket. I'm your host, trey, and, as usual, I hope you're all having a wonderful, wonderful day.

Speaker 1:

Today we're going to talk about, well, my initial NBA playoff wish list. Right, and when I say NBA playoff wish list, keep in mind, again, a lot of people are healthy. Okay, like, we understand, players have been ruled out for the season, right, like, so you know, joel Embiid, for example, is out for the season, so you might not see Philly on this list. Like, I hear that you might not see Victor Wimbinyama and the Spurs on this list, even though you might not have seen them to begin with. But that's what we're talking about, okay, so I just wanted to make sure y'all understand where we're coming from. Okay, but before I say anything further, also, please like, subscribe, comment, tell anyone who's anyone about the show. I'm trying to get the ratings up a little bit, just a little bit. But we'll start it off with my East playoff wish list. Okay, and again, we're not talking about play-in, I'm talking about who makes it out of the play-in and the official one through eight.

Speaker 1:

With that being said, we have the Cavs versus the Pistons. Ladies and gentlemen, I think this would be a wonderful series to look at. Here's why Cavs would actually have pressure on them If you lose to a young Pistons team. Pressure on them If you lose to a young Pistons team. I remember watching the Warriors beating the Mavs. When the Mavs were one seed and the Warriors were eight seed, I wanted to say what was this? Oh, six. That looked bad. But I promise you this would look a lot worse because at least that Mavs team had some veterans on it. Right Like this is a young Piston squad.

Speaker 1:

Donovan Mitchell cannot lose to Cade Cunningham, and I've been said that. Well, donovan Mitchell, if that's your one option, he's a shaky star. He's not going to lead you to the championship Been playing well, been playing well, shaky but they do have a good team and I would expect the Cavs to win that matchup. But again, you cannot lose that and there would be a little bit of pressure. And again, cade Cunningham has been playing pretty well. Also, jaden Ivey's coming back. I'd be interested to see how that pans out too. But don't need to hint at all about that one.

Speaker 1:

Let's go ahead and move on down to the next one. Right, like I said, from an entertainment perspective. Now y'all are hearing why this is my wish list. Also, keep in mind too, this is now going to be a focal point of the NBA Donovan Mitchell versus Cade Cunningham. That could be a mini rivalry, right Like the big brother, little brother, where Cade needs to get over the Donovan Mitchell hump to where you can see Donovan Mitchell maybe pairing with Cade Cunningham later on because he likes how Cade Cunningham plays. We could very well see that happening and their games pair with one another.

Speaker 1:

But let's stop talking about the Cavs versus Pistons, because we got more hoops to talk about, so let's talk about the Bucs versus the Pacers. That's my four through five. Now I gave y'all my one through eight. Four through five can get a little tricky, okay, this is a rematch of last year too. Let's not forget that, ladies and gentlemen.

Speaker 1:

And, like I said, I really hope injuries don't derail this, because I would wholeheartedly expect. One, there to be some pressure on the Pacers, because again, you beat them when they weren't healthy, so now people are putting eyes on you based on what happened last year. But two, there's pressure on the Bucs, but internally, because I believe the Bucs actually could break up if the Pacers win this matchup. You mean to tell me they beat y'all when y'all were injured and healthy? Damn, that's crazy. And you still have Giannis and Dame. That's a Dame shame. You know what I'm saying? Like that's crazy. If that happens, I would expect the Bucs to win that matchup and again, it's a redemption series. Giannis losing that would be tough to see. But again, if they do lose, I do expect the Bucs to break up and we could be talking about a Giannis-Luka pairing for my Lakers. That's all I'm saying. They could try to package it up as the greatest international duo in NBA history. I could see something like that, I could.

Speaker 1:

And then that going up against the Celtics. Let's move on down, actually, to the number two versus number seven matchup, because y'all are hearing the entertainment value for four through seven, and I mentioned the Celtics. Well, the Celtics will be number two and the magic will be number seven. That's right, ladies and gentlemen, the magic are actually a good matchup for the Boston Celtics. And I got to say Paolo Banqueiro can give JT some problems, and then Franz Wagner, especially with his height, uh, that can do well versus Jason Tatum. And, yes, they do have Drew Holiday and Derek White and KP's out there hooping right. Well when he's out there healthy, and then Al Horford still.

Speaker 1:

They have a decent squad still, but this young Magic team is on the up and coming and I will say this could we could view this as a possible future rivalry, because the Magic actually had the Celtics number last year in the regular season, or at least the season before last, I believe. Like one of them two they was beating that tail, that's all I know. So we could actually get this in the playoffs and start seeing some rivalries. Imagine if the Magic beat the Celtics oh my gosh, that's causing mass media frenzy right there or if it gets close, if it goes to a game seven. That's tough and I do expect the Celtics to win a close matchup. By the way, I could see five, I'm hoping for six, seven would be nice I'm being selfish but ideally six, maybe a close five. But it's a competitive series by the Magic, so you got to want to see that matchup personally, especially for everybody healthy.

Speaker 1:

Now another matchup we got to see and this was the final one for the East it's the Knicks at number three y'all guessed it versus the Hawks at number six, because you get Trae Young versus the Knicks again. That's right, the Knicks do not like Trae Young. It's not the Hawks, they don't like Trey Young, they don't like him at all. Yeah, I'm telling you right now and I do believe the Knicks would win that matchup they have way too many people to throw at Trey Young. Here's the thing, though, because the Hawks also do have Jalen Johnson, who's been hooping Well, do that, because he's had some injury issues. Then you got Clint. Well, no, clint been out.

Speaker 1:

I would expect the Hawks to win this one. Dyson Daniels has been hooping now I will say that and he can call Jalen Branson some fits. He's leading the league in steals with like three. That's pretty spectacular. But again, the Hawks are young. I wouldn't expect them to win, but it'd be nice to see them going up against the Knicks. And if they did win because they have been causing fits for some Eastern teams in the first round, basically every time they get out of the play-in It'd be interesting to see them in the second round. I will say that Because, I mean, trey Young is a dynamic point guard and anything can shake. I'm not going to say he's going to win the championship, I'm just saying some things can shake. Seeing them versus the Celtics again, that'd be all right. But again, I wholeheartedly expect the Knicks to win that one. But that's again, ladies and gentlemen, my Eastern playoff wish list.

Speaker 1:

We still got another half to go because we got to talk about the West, right, we got to talk about the West, so let's talk about it. The number one versus number eight seed. We got OKC versus Minnesota. Now, keep in mind, this is I talked earlier about the Shea and Ant rivalry, right? Y'all know how the NBA is trying to package that up. I believe, and I think it'll be a good one. There's a lot of pressure on OKC if you lose. Again. You were the number one seed yet again and you lose early.

Speaker 1:

Now I do expect OKC to win that matchup, only because the team is further along than the Timberwolves. However, the Timberwolves do have the interior advantage and, again, chet has been injured over the years, so I do question how productive he'll be, especially this young in his career. J-dub is still a smidge too early, right? I think they're maybe two to three years away from really actually winning that championship. However, there is still a world where I can see them winning that championship. I just wouldn't bet on them personally. Get close. Good regular season team could definitely turn into something nice, especially if they stay together, because then you built the chemistry together.

Speaker 1:

But OKC versus the Wolves, from a rivalry standpoint, julius Randle is going to have a good game, a good series. Gobert that will be interesting, will say that. But anthony edwards versus shea, that's a matchup in the playoffs we have to get on an almost consistent basis. I'm not gonna lie to y'all, that's good entertainment right there. That's good basketball two dynamic, elite two-way guards who are going to be in the nvp discussion. She's already there and it's going to be there eventually. Gotta have that. It just sucks that it'll be in the first round, but it's early on. We don't expect the Wolves to win. Some people do for the Thunder. That's why we're here. But let's go ahead and move on down to the next one Because, like I said, that's a lot of entertainment value. But there is pressure on OKC, so don't forget that.

Speaker 1:

But we got the Grizzlies versus the Warriors. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a historic rivalry right now. We'll keep in mind in today's NBA because we don't have too much animosity nowadays between teams. But we did have this between the Grizzlies and the Warriors not too long ago. Hell, I remember on Draymond's commercial with Kia, where him and his daughter are talking and he's like she's like, oh, she's just talking about the Wolves. And he was like, yeah, don't forget about the Grizzlies. Like she's like, oh, she's just talking about the Wolves. And he was like, yeah, and don't forget about the Grizzlies. Like, that rivalry pairing is there. It just sucks that we don't get Dylan Brooks there no more, because that was a lot of the animosity that was there, but you still get Ja versus Steph and Draymond. You still have JJ, triple J there. Desmond Bain has been playing well.

Speaker 1:

There's pressure on the Grizzlies because, hey, if you can't win all right, now we're trying to figure out what y'all ceiling, because there's a little bit of expectations on the Grizzlies. You got a star in job. Do you need to trade them, though? Is Triple J really the player that y'all need? Is he a third option instead of a second option? Does he need to do a better job at rebounding and defense, which I think? For rebounding, it's a hell. Yes, he improved his scoring. I will say that, but if you've been scoring more so, and y'all don't get past the Warriors, well, maybe we need to look at what Chris Bosh did and move you down a peg. Desmond Bain is a quality second option. I'm just saying the Grizzlies need to figure out some things because, hell, even John Morant could get moved. Look at Luka.

Speaker 1:

So again, ladies and gentlemen, there is pressure on the Grizzlies and in fact I think there's a lot, because I expect the Warriors to win, barring any suspension or injuries to Jimmy Jeffrey Jordan, because this brother, oh my gosh, he'd be crazy. But Steph Curry, that's the real catalyst to the team and you got Jimmy there to help out and Draymond's still there. Plus, they got other players like John and the Kaminga Podensky. You know Podensky's having a dull year. This is based on expectations. They got enough pieces to hoop. Buddy Heald has been playing his tail off, just only shooting his tail off. So I view the Grizz too young Warriors win, maybe six. But again, that's a wonderful matchup for me Because again, that's a lot of entertainment there, one of the biggest rivalries we have in today's game. Weird to say.

Speaker 1:

But let's move on down to my Lakers at number two Playing the Mavericks at number seven. Listen, ladies and gentlemen, hear me out. I understand. Kyrie's gone. I hear you At the time that I was making my listings and again I say remember, people were injured, aren't injured, but we understand that Joel Embiid's gone too though. So I did knock out the 76ers because at least they are out of contention as of right now. But we Lakers, we were cool.

Speaker 1:

Mavericks were still in the running as well, so I think it was plausible to add them. And that goes back to the Luka AD trade, which you know this will now define who won the trade, at least for this season, because whoever wins that one, they're going to say oh, they won the trade. Now, going forward, you're still going to say Luka because of the age, although, again, if you listen to my earlier edits, earlier show, there are some gripes, a few concerns. But the pressure on both teams, the pressure on Luka and AD, I think that might bring out something marvelous either immense entertainment, especially once it hit social media, or the production on the court would have been astronomical. And again, there would have been more public pressure on Anthony Davis too.

Speaker 1:

And there's a world, ladies and gentlemen, where I would actually lean the Mavs in this situation because of their interior presence. It's too much, we lost too much. Jackson Hayes and Alex Lynn are not going to beat out Anthony Davis, derek Lively and Daniel Gafford, I'm sorry and AD can actually guard Luka and Braun, at least, making it tough on them. And then we got AD in the power forward spot. So who's going to guard him? Braun. So that means Braun's going to get more tired and we need him to score or facilitate. I understand we got Luka as well.

Speaker 1:

A lot of y'all believe in Austin Reeves too. That's going to be an uphill battle, keep in mind. They got PJ Washington, who actually is a really good player across the board. He just showed he can be a really good defender as well, too, when we last played. So again, ladies and gentlemen, all I'm saying is that mavericks lakers series would have been spectacular if injuries did not occur, and that was my wish list. So if y'all believe me too, like that was going to be a phenomenal one. And if we did lose, oh, that's causing a lot of chaos.

Speaker 1:

And now we got more storylines for the offseason. The nba playoffs continue. Now we're focusing onlines for the offseason. The NBA playoffs continue. Now we're focusing on the Mavs. We're looking at the Mavs in a different light now. I'm just saying that would have been a good one.

Speaker 1:

But that's not him at all. On that one too much, although, like I said, it would have been good, but we can't get that. This year we can get for the number three and six teams though the Nuggets versus the Rockets, fingers crossed. That matchup occurs Because we see that we get the up-and-coming teams versus the Vets and I put asterisks like quotation marks around that Because I don't want to say the Nuggets are old, right, but they have been around for a little bit and you also get Jokic versus Sengun. Ladies and gentlemen, that brings more eyes because we're talking about an international focus.

Speaker 1:

Now, seeing Jokic versus Sengun in the playoffs, you don't think that's not going to draw any attention. Come on now. That's a lot right there. I want to see that. Hell, anime fans want to see that because, as pokemon fans, I promise y'all. Y'all remember charizard, charmander, charmillion. Well, charizard is supposed to be yokic and singoon is supposed to be charmander. I mean charmander. So who wouldn't want to see that match? I mean, keep in mind, I think he actually moved up to charmillion, by the way, hello sabonis, like that's a wonderful matchup. So I think we would love to see that Nuggets probably win that matchup Not going to hold y'all, but the Rockets could actually pull it out.

Speaker 1:

They have a lot of talent, they're just young. But this is going to be like a Celtics magic series where, ok, this could be something in the future, like where this is that big brother thing, or maybe even like the calves, pistons, the big brother thing, where, all right, this is the hurdle we need to get over to win the championship, to get to the finals and out of the west. But that's where some of these teams are at this current point in time. So again, ladies and gentlemen, this is the like to me. This is a lovely wish list.

Speaker 1:

Again, just to recap, calves, recap Cavs versus Pistons for the 1-8 seed in the East, bucks versus Pacers for the 4-5. Celtics and Mavs for the 2-7. And then Knicks versus Hulks for the 3-6. And then on the East we have OKC versus the Wolves for the 1-8. Grizzlies versus Warriors for the 4-5. Lakers versus the Mavs for the 2 five, lakers versus the mavs for the two through seven and the nuggets versus the rockets for the three through six. And keep in mind, I've told y'all the ordering right, I've broken this out. So where, if teams win, they get to play one another. So if, okay, whoever wins, okc versus the wolves, they get to play one another. So if OK, whoever wins OKC versus the Wolves, they get to play the Grizzlies versus the Warriors. Like those are storylines too.

Speaker 1:

So again, ladies and gentlemen, I think these wish, these playoff wish lists, are solid, elite, and I would love to hear your thoughts on them, ladies and gentlemen, and if y'all think y'all's are better, I would love to hear those as well. So definitely, please like, subscribe, comment, tell anyone who's anyone about the show. My name is Trey. I'm the host of Get a Bucket. Hope you all can have a good hope. You all have a good one, take care.