Fast NBA Play-In And Playoff Picks

The NBA play-in is here, and we keep it moving with quick picks that lean hard on injuries, availability, and which teams have real depth. I map out who I think grabs the final seeds, set the first-round matchups, then call out the series that could flip the entire postseason. 
• Play-in format breakdown and the full East and West slate 
• West play-in picks shaped by injury news and star matchups 
• East play-in picks with a major focus on who is healthy 
• Projected first-round bracket and the teams I expect to advance 
• Pistons-Heat, Celtics-Magic, Knicks-Hawks, Cavs-Raptors predictions 
• Thunder-Clippers, Spurs-Blazers, Nuggets-Wolves, Lakers-Rockets predictions 
• Series to watch and why each matchup matters for the league 
So please make sure to like, subscribe, comment, tell anyone who's anyone about the show. 

Transcript

Welcome And Quick Housekeeping

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What's up, everybody? It's your favorite show's favorite show, get a bucket. I'm your host, Trey, as usual. I hope you're all having a wonderful, wonderful day. We have the NBA play-in and playoffs starting now. And that's what we're going to talk about, ladies and gentlemen. But before we do that, please make sure to hit that like and subscribe button. Comment on anyone who's anyone about the show. I'm trying to get the ratings up a little bit, you know, just a little bit. But the NBA play-in, we're going to keep this short, right? We got four teams in the East and the West that are fitting the play. Magic vs. 76ers, Hornets vs. Heat. Those are in the East. Suns vs. Trailblazers. Clippers vs. Warriors. That's in the West. And y'all know how the play-in format goes. 7 through 8 plays first. Then the loser of that round plays the winner of 9 and 10. So we got a couple things to talk about. Because after that, playoff start. Now for the play-in winners, I'm going to just cut right to the nitty-gritty. Between the Sun and the Trailblazers, I would expect the Sun to win if everybody were healthy, right? But I think there's a little bit of injuries going on. So because of that, I am leading the Trailblazers to win. Again, it is due to injuries. Denny Evita's been playing well. They have some interesting pieces. I believe more so in Devin Booker and Dylan Brooks and all of them. But again, because of injury, I lean Trailblazers. Which then I'm looking at the Clippers beating the Warriors and the Sun. Because again, the Warriors are also injured. And when I'm looking at the matchups, I don't know if D Book and Dylan Brooks are going to outduel Kawhi Leonard. Kawhi Leonard has had an MVP-esque season thus far. So again, out of the West, I do expect the Blazers and the Clippers to make those seventh and eighth seeds in the West. Can the Sun and Warriors win? Sure. But again, because of injuries, which is weird, because again, Kawhi Leonard has not been injured for the large part of this season. Because of that, I'm leaning Blazers and Clippers. On the East, though, I do have the Magic beating the 76ers, right? They should win their match. They should win their first matchup. They are the healthier team. Joel Embiid is out with the appendectomy, and I don't think he's coming back anytime soon. Then after that, we do have the Hornet versus the Heat, which the Hornets have been playing a phenomenal season thus far. They've been one of the better teams towards the end of the season. But I do expect the Miami Heat should win this matchup versus the Hornets and the 76ers because of experience and healthiness. Again, 76ers do not have Joel Embiid. That is a big blow to them. As a result, I'm leaning Magic, then Heat making the seventh and eighth seeds. So as a result, ladies and gentlemen, we should see in the Eastern Conference, the Pistons versus the Heat, the Celtics versus the Magic, the Knicks versus the Hawks, and the Cavs versus the Raptors. Now, for the Western side, we should see Thunder versus Clippers, Spurs versus Trailblazers, Nuggets versus Wolves, Lakers versus Rockets. On the East, I'm expecting the top four teams to win. Pistons, Celtics, Knicks, and Cavs. Just keeping it simple, right? You could see the Heat maybe surprise people and beat the Pistons. But I think because Cade coming back and him also being gone due to that collapse lung, that gave the Pistons some time to figure out who should be stepping up. Because they didn't have Jalen Duran either. So they had a good they had a couple of good games where they could actually weather some storms, if you will. So I think the heat will make things a little interesting, but the Pistons' defense and depth combined with a player like Cade coming back and they still have Jalen Duran. I think it's fair to say the Pistons should win. Celtics versus Magic. In all due respect, a couple seasons ago I said that this could be a rivalry that we could see form up. And I could very well see the Celtics again winning this round. However, I told my cousin and a couple other people before the season started, there's a world where the Magic end up getting to the finals. I don't know if they get to the finals, but could they surprise everybody by beating the Celtics? They do match up well with the Celtics when healthy. So again, ladies and gentlemen, I expect the Celtics still giving the Magic a little bit of shot at winning. Because again, Paolo Bancaro, quality player. Franz Wagner, quality player. Desmond Bain, quality player. Jalen Suggs, quality defender. Like they have good pieces on their team. It just so happens that the Celtics have been playing pretty phenomenal. And keep in mind, that was without Jason Tatum. They were the number two, number three seed. Now they got JT back. That's another body who can give you quality production. I'm just saying, I'm expecting Celtics. Knicks versus Hawks. This one's the most controversial round for me in the East because, again, while I expect the Knicks to win, partly because this is probably their final season at really being viewed as a contender for me. The Hawks are pretty spectacular. They have some good athleticism, some good talent from a youth perspective. They have some good vets as well, too. They could, in fact, beat this Knicks team. And I'm gonna be honest with y'all, I would not be overly surprised. I just lean Knicks because of their maturity as a basketball team, player-wise, individual. You have players who are older, more established, their cohesion should be better. So as a result, I lean Knicks. I can see the Hawks winning. And then the Cavs versus Raptors. I don't think the Raptors have enough. I love Scottie Barnes. I love BI. RJ Barrett, he's been hooping well this year. The Cavs do have a better constructed roster to date. But again, ladies and gentlemen, could they be stopped? I do see the Raptors being a little bit competitive. Again, I'm expecting the Cavs to win for sure. Donovan Mitchell, if you lose in the first round, you gotta have some question marks about yourself. So again, I expect the Cavs to win. The Raptors should give a good battle. So again, to recap the East, I expect the Pistons, the Celtics, the Knicks, and the Cavs all to advance. Now let's talk about the West. Thunder versus Clippers, I'm leaning Thunder. I think the Clippers don't have enough depth-wise. And the Thunder have been hooping this entire season. Kawhi is on the Clippers, yes. SGA is on the Thunder. But hear me out too, though. We can say that Kawhi and SGA maybe cancel each other out. What if J Dub is healthy and coming back? What if Chet's doing his thing? I think the depth of the Thunder is what's going to take them over the top in regards to the Clippers. And to be quite frankly honest with you, any team in the playoff. In the play-in, I mean, any team in the play-in. Maybe the Warriors, if they were healthy, but they're not. They lost Jimmy, right? So again, I'm not expecting them to win, but hey, we'll see what happens. But the Thunder, I do expect to win. Spurs versus Blazers. This is a first-round matchup that I think the Spurs would really love because this helps get them their experience, right? I expect the Spurs to beat the brakes off the Blazers. Like, I would expect a sweep. Like if the Spurs can't sweep the Blazers, we have an issue. Because Wimbi, especially if everybody's healthy. Like Victor Wimbinama, easily the best player on the floor. Next best player could be De'Aaron Fox. Like, I get it, Denny Avita's been having a good season thus far. There's no argument that Stefan Castle could be the same caliber player as him. When we're talking about offense and defensive ability, Denny Avita is not the defender that Stefan Castle is. We've seen Stephon Castle get a 40-point triple-double. Like, like the man is special, okay? They have Area 51, meaning Victor and Stefan Castle. So again, I'm expecting the Spurs to win. Also, the management and coaching is a little bit better for the Spurs and the Blazers. Yeah, I lean Spurs. This one should be easy peasy. And again, if it's not a sweep, I'm going to be upset. And I'm not even talking about a gentleman sweep, too. I'm talking about a full-fledged 4-0 sweep, a skunk, goose egg for the Blazers. So if that don't happen, I'd be surprised. The Nuggets versus the T-Wolves. This one's going to be interesting. I do expect the Nuggets to get some get back and win and advance in this playoff round. Partly because the Wolves have been dealing with injuries too. Jaden McDaniels has been injured. Ant's been injured. And we already know how Yoke could be treating Rudy Gobert. Now, if Julius Randle pops off, alright, that'll be a little interesting. But the Nuggets do seem to be healthy. So as long as health intact, I'm leaning Nuggets. Can the Wolves win? Well, yes, because again, there's a if Anthony Edwards ends up being the best player on the floor like he was in the playoffs last year, okay, cool. But ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, we gotta see a redemption game series by these Nuggets. So again, I expect the Nuggets to win. My Lakers going up against the Rockets. Ladies and gentlemen, I I'm I'm I'm gonna say this right now. Even though we're the fourth seed, this is about to be belt to tail. Rockets are about to beat the brakes off of us. And if they don't, I'm of the notion where I should say, y'all gotta blow that up, Rockets. Like y'all gotta make some serious trades at that point. Y'all should be able to beat us because we don't have Luca, we don't have Austin Reeves, and those have been the two of the three of our big players this series, this season. So if we lose, or I'm sorry, if we win against the Rockets and we only have LeBron James, that speaks volumes towards Kevin Durant, and that speaks volumes towards Ime Udoka, and that speaks volumes towards this Rockets roster. So again, we should expect the Rockets to beat the brakes off my Lakers. Because we're injured, we're hampered, and the Rockets are fairly healthy. They have players like Amin Thompson, who is all-star caliber. Al Prince Singun made it to the All-Star. Reed Shepard has been playing well. Like they have a good amount of talent across the board. Even Jabari has been hooping this year. And of course, they have Kevin Durant. So if you can't get out the first round, Rockets, I'm gonna be very disappointed. So again, ladies and gentlemen, my Western predictions Thunder, Spurs, Nuggets, and Rockets, my Lakers are the only team, the only top team that loses in their matchup. Now, some series to watch, again, ladies and gentlemen. I've talked about all of them, so we're just gonna focus on this real quick. Celtics versus Magic. Because, again, I talked about it. The ceiling of those Magic players, we're gonna see if that Desmond Bain trade was worth it. You don't necessarily have to win the series. You have to make it competitive, though. That means taking it at least six games, possibly seven. I'll stomach one, maybe, yeah, only one blowout for sure. But again, the series, this series has got to be entertaining and it's gotta go, not the distance, but it's gotta be entertaining to say the least. Because again, we're talking about the Magic, who have made some interesting moves over the offseason. And again, the Celtics look like championship contenders, so this is a good measuring stick for the Magic. But again, they also match up well, so it should be entertaining. Now, the Knicks versus Hawks, again, I said this. The Hawks are an up-and-coming team, ladies and gentlemen. Ever since they traded Trey Young away, which you can have a gripe about that. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. But this Knicks team better be worried about this Hawks team for sure. Because again, like I said, the Hawks, they have the talent to realistically beat anybody that I've talked about, East or West. They have the talent to do that. Whether they do that, that could be because of youth, inexperience, lack of cohesion, whatever the case may be. But they at least have the talent to knock off any team. And beating a team like the Knicks would set the world on notice. They have arrived. Now, I think next season is really when they're going to take off and soar. But this season, they may surprise us because they got some teams. They got some quality players. Jalen Johnson's been hooping this season. Dyson Daniels continues to be one of the better defenders and perimeter defenders in the league. Like they have a good amount of talent, ladies and gentlemen. So I'm looking forward to seeing this Hawks team. Thunder versus Clippers. I'm not gonna lie, these two teams have been intertwined over the last couple years. Remember, that Paul George trade allowed for the Thunder to partially do what they've been doing. But I also just want to see SGA versus Kawhi Leonard, who has the bigger impact, right? Hopefully J Dub is healthy. I want to see how J Dub does against a Kawhi Leonard who has been playing well this entire season. I'm again, I'm expecting Thunder to win, but can the Clippers show us something? Because if not, we did hear talks about the Warriors trying to acquire Kawhi Leonard before the trade deadline. So it does seem like there's a world where Kawhi Leonard could end up leaving the Clippers fairly soon. So could this be the last year that we see Kawhi Leonard? I don't know. Maybe he requests a trade, maybe he leaves elsewhere. We got to wait and see. But the Thunder versus Clippers, Clippers have been playing okay. And I would love to see how impactful Kawhi is in comparison to SGA. And a head-to-head matchup team-wise, that may get the job done. And again, ladies and gentlemen, like I said, the Nuggets versus the Wolves. We got a couple, we got a history lesson here. Gobert versus Jokik, Ant-Man versus Jamal Murray. Again, we saw Ant-Man get the best of Jamal Murray, and Anthony Edwards is better than Jamal Murray, to be clear. That's not even up for discussion. But Jamal Murray was out of character when they went up against the Wolves. Like the Wolves were locking him down. He was playing really inconsistent. So now will the same thing happen. I can't wait to see this. And then also, can Yokick continue to dominate Gobert? Or will Gobert have some fight back? He usually does fight back a little bit, to be clear. But will it be the same old, same old? Or will Gobert surprise us and show us something? Very curious to watch that. But ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, that does conclude the end of the episode. So again, the play-in starts today. And then the playoffs start Saturday. So I'm curious who you all are favoring in the play in. And then once we get past that, who do you have for the playoffs? I would love to hear y'all's thoughts. But ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, that does conclude the end of the episode. So please make sure to like, subscribe, comment, tell anyone who's anyone about the show. My name is Trey, I'm the host of Good of Bucket. I hope you are all having a good one. Take care.