Garbageman's Guide to the 2024-2025 PBSL Playoffs

[garbageman]

Garbageman’s Guide to the 2024-2025 Playoffs

It’s sim-April once again, and that means we’ve got the dirt you crave on all things PBSL. Before we get the playoffs going, let’s stop and take a look at the 8 hottest post-season matches that everyone’s been talking about in this season.


8. Denver Nuggets (1) vs. Dallas Mavericks (8) - WESTERN CONFERENCE

The Dallas Mavericks emerged victorious in a late season battle with the Trailblazers down the stretch for the last seed out West, but finishing 3 games under .500, most are considering this a warm up for the Nuggets for round 2. Losing Otto Porter Jr. will catch up with them before he comes back, but not against the Mavericks. Duren and West are more than enough to overcome the Mavericks mish-mash of respectable players, none of which is the difference-maker that a team needs for a deep run.

PREDICTION: Nuggets in 3.


7. Los Angeles Lakers (4) vs. San Antonio Spurs (5) - WESTERN CONFERENCE

By the numbers, this looks like it could be a really competitive series. It’s great to see the Spurs in the post-season again, but the Lakers are a good team on auto-pilot right now, so while it will be a good series in the box scores, what makes a playoff series exciting is two coaches trying to out-adjust each other. The Lakers have three really nice players in Gustave Lacroix, Damion Williams, and Alvin Briseno, but the Spurs have the best player on the court, James Gebhardt, and Carlos has done a great job of assembling solid talent as the foundation for his Juicy centerpiece.

PREDICTION: Spurs in 6


6. Chicago Bulls (3) vs. Detroit Pistons (6) - EASTERN CONFERENCE

At full strength, this would’ve been much higher on the list, but the Anthony Davis injury is going to put the Pistons in a rough spot until he comes back. If the Bulls can’t take advantage of the Pistons when Davis is on the bench, they’re going to have a lot tougher time putting the Pistons away after he comes back. If Keitt, O’Connor, and company can take a win without the 7x MVP, they’re in a good spot. Either way, these teams know each other very well, and as division rivals, it should be a good series.

PREDICTION: Bulls in 4 or 6 or Pistons in 5 or 7


5. Sacramento Kings (2) vs. Phoenix Suns (7) - WESTERN CONFERENCE

The Phoenix Suns looked like they were kind of moving on from Love, but acquiring Lavar Ball in the offseason looked a little odd when the Suns weren’t really able to, once again, fool anyone into committing to spending a lot of time in Phoenix, Arizona. Then they took Kevin Love back and finished a couple games below .500. The Haynes-less Kings still have plenty of punch with their Mitchell / Hield backcourt. With Pulley, they still have a very good big. Until Haynes gets back, the Kings won’t be totally complete. However, without a fountain of youth, the Suns won’t be either.

PREDICTION: Kings in 4 for the sake of bold predictions.


4. Atlanta Hawks (1) vs. Brooklyn Nets (8) - EASTERN CONFERENCE

Despite being an eighth seed, this could be a closer matchup than the brackets suggest. After a slow start, the Nets made some good trades and made some good adjustments to maximize their acquisition of Joseph Kight and rise up in a tough Atlantic Division. On the other side of the matchup, the Hawks once again lead the Eastern Conference with a talented roster that Wig’s very familiar with in a game that Wig’s very well acquainted with. There’s a reason they’re number one, but I think the Nets will make some noise against them. They have some very good players. I think it just comes down to the Hawks having more very good players.

PREDICTION: Hawks in 7 with Daniel Randle playing at least 30 minutes in every position


3. Philadelphia 76ers (2) vs. New York Knicks (7) - EASTERN CONFERENCE

The defending champs may be starting to show their collective age as the season seemed a little longer for Gary Harris and Chet Dooley...they still played quality ball, it just seemed to come at more of a cost. The 76ers have been knocking on the door for a while, and after another strong season, this could be the year just as well as any of the other years could have been the year. Or maybe it won’t be the year. Nobody really knows. Knicks knocked the 76ers out last time, and I think that will make the plot for revenge all the more entertaining.

PREDICTION: 76ers in 6, 2 additional pages of new 2023-2024 Memes Thread Posts

2. Houston Rockets (3) vs. New Orleans Pelicans (6) - WESTERN CONFERENCE

Nick was supposed to be on auto-pilot, but he ended up making the playoffs for the first time in a while with a respectable record. This would’ve been a much better season to not have your own draft pick. The Pels face their division leaders, the Rockets, who are helmed by the computer’s favorite GM. Both teams have their star power concentrated in their front courts, so expect a lot of grind it out, old school, physical ball. That should make this a real fun series to watch.

PREDICTION: Rockets in 7, surprise 100th birthday party during half-time of game 5.


1. Orlando Magic (4) vs. Toronto Raptors (5) - EASTERN CONFERENCE

The best player in game 1 of any playoff series is going to be amateur Magician, Andrew Wiggins. It’ll be interesting to see how the Magic utilize Wiggins for a deep run, as the T-Wolves’ championship run showed that a player of A-Dub’s caliber can take you all the way. The Magic are otherwise a little greener in experience, but still plenty talented. On the other side of the coin, the Raptors are the team everybody has seen coming with a steady build over the last several years, and they really took a turn in the second half of the season, even while battling injuries. Everyone on the Raptors is healthy again, so that bodes well for the North. The matchup between Ironside and Wiggins will have Bjorn looking at, potentially, his own future, I think that’s the key, though...where Wiggins is now isn’t where Bjorn’s at yet. This is definitely the hardest series for me to predict. The Raptors look like they have stronger weak points, but the Raptors also have weaker strong points.

PREDICTION: Magic in 7...35-6 at home

[Darth Vegito]

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