These are the NBA playoffs power rankings after Saturday night’s games:
1. Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland dominated their first-round series with the 2nd-best point differential at +15. Over their series, they won by an average of 20+ PPG. They lost the opening two games of their series with the Pacers, but bounced back in game 3. This team is good enough to win out and move onto the Eastern Conference finals.
2. Oklahoma City Thunder
Although they lost game one to Denver, they bounced back with 149 points to win game two. They lost game 3 on the road in OT, and yes, they are down 2-1 in the series, but this team was amazing all year, and they still deserve to be ranked towards the top until they lose a series.
3. Boston Celtics
Boston lost games one and two to the Knicks after blowing massive leads in both. They could have easily been up 2-0 in the series before their big 22-point win in game three. It wouldn’t be surprising to anyone if the Celtics won the next three games and moved onto the Eastern Conference finals.
4. Indiana Pacers
The Pacers have shockingly won the first 2 games of their series against the Cavs before allowing 126 points in their game three loss. Although they aren’t favored to win this series, they were in the Conference finals a year ago and they are capable of pulling off this upset.
5. Minnesota Timberwolves
They lost game one to the Warriors 99-88, but have won the past 2 games to take a 2-1 series lead. They are a better team than Golden State; the only thing that could stand in their way is the experience that the Warriors have.
6. Denver Nuggets
They were able to come away with a 121-119 win. Unfortunately for them, the Thunder were far too much for them to handle in game two, but they surprised everyone by winning game three in OT. They are definitely giving the Thunder a tough series, and although I still think they will lose, we could see a 7-gamer.
7. New York Knicks
New York played close games throughout their first-round matchup against Detroit. The Knicks’ defense has been a mainstay throughout the regular season and has carried over into the playoffs. They won in comeback fashion in games one and two against the Celtics in Boston, but then were beaten up in game three. They could easily be down 3-0 in this series, not up 2-1.
8. Golden State Warriors
Golden State led their series over the Rockets 3-1, but let the Rockets win games 5 and 6 to force a decisive game 7 in Houston. They were able to win it on the road and advance to round 2. They used that momentum to win game one on the road in Minnesota, but have since lost 2 in a row and trail the series 2-1.
