Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press
Los Angeles Lakers (1) on Trail Blazers or Grizzlies (8)
If the Blazers are hanging on to the eighth seed they recently snagged out of the Grizzlies, this series has some potential.
Damian Lillard is sitting on an absolute tear in the bubble. If he’s anywhere in the playoffs anywhere this level is – and the Lakers will not have Avery Bradley to plague him – Portland could steal some games.
Gary Trent Jr. and Carmelo Anthony feel it too. CJ McCollum has experience in taking over big games. And Jusuf Nurkic is back. Everything comes together at just the right time for the Blazers.
But LeBron James is still LeBron James. And Portland has no one to control him. The Lakers would probably win this series, but we have reached a point where a Blazers uprising would not be shocking.
As for the Grizzlies, they have a lot of intriguing young talent, but they seem less willing to challenge The King on the biggest stage of the game.
Los Angeles Clippers (2) over Dallas Mavericks (7)
This series has the potential to be a blast. Like Lillard, Luka Doncic has been unreal in Orlando. In fact, he’s the only player with at least 100 minutes and a better box plus / minus in August. And the way he engages in crime when he is surrounded by gunfire is electrifying.
But this Clippers roster is just loading. They could throw Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, Marcus Morris or even Patrick Beverley at Doncic. They may not be able to stop him, but this is a group that will make things really difficult.
At the other end, Kawhi, PG and Lou Williams will pick a defense that is 18th this season (and 19th in the bubble).
Denver Nuggets (3) on Utah Jazz (6)
When these two teams played Aug. 8, it took two hours for the Nuggets to get to the top. Even without their second leading scorer, Bojan Bogdanovic, the Jazz will not go down without a fight.
Rudy Gobert remains one of the game’s most influential players, and he keeps Nikola Jokic well below his typical production in head-to-head matchups. Donovan Mitchell may be envious of wild swings in efficiency (he shoots 38.2 percent in Orlando), but he may walk away at a moment’s notice.
However, the Nuggets need a lot of answers. With Jokic orchestrating from the middle of the floor as empty post and Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. (average 22.0 points in the bubble) flying around him, the Utah defense (15th in the bubble) will be overwhelmed.
Oklahoma City Thunder (4) over Houston Rockets (5)
The tachometers on take machines around the internet will recur as Chris Paul knocks the Rockets out of the playoffs.
Last summer, Houston traded him and a load of picks to the Thunder for Russell Westbrook, who may be missing a decent chunk of this series.
And although Houston is defeated, the Thunder are at full strength. On the season, OKC is plus-7.4 when CP3 shares the floor with Danilo Gallinari. Both would have to play more in the playoffs.
Steven Adams is perhaps the biggest problem for the Rockets. Against the philosophy of the micro-ball, he would have to perform on the board and get a very open appearance from Paul, Dennis Schroder and rising star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
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