Sak Sports Blog

The Golden State Warriors are heavy favorites to win the NBA Finals, with home-court advantage and a more talented roster on their side. Before the season began, I ranked the Warriors biggest competitors that stood between them and back-to-back championships. You can read the full list here.  In ascending order, I ranked the Celtics, Thunder, Rockets, Spurs and Cavaliers are the teams with the best chances to dethrone Golden State in the playoffs. There's been some major shakeups to each of these teams, which certainly affects how I view them today. Courtesy of ABC Sports 5. New Orleans Pelicans (formerly: Boston Celtics) 4. Cleveland Cavaliers (formerly: Oklahoma City Thunder) 3. Oklahoma City Thunder (formerly: Houston Rockets) 2. Boston Celtics (formerly: San Antonio Spurs) 1. Houston Rockets (formerly: Cleveland Cavaliers) The Celtics and Rockets were the biggest upward movers since October: even though Boston lost Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward for ...

The 2017-2018 NBA playoffs are underway and are already thrilling. The Boston Celtics defeated the Milwaukee Bucks in an instant classic, and the Indiana Pacers stunned the Cleveland Cavaliers to take a 1-0 series lead. As exciting as the present landscape is, let's fast forward to June. The weather will finally be warmer (still snowing sporadically here in the Northeast) and the NBA Finals will be upon us. Here are five potential NBA Finals matchups to look out for in 2018. 5. Toronto Raptors Vs. Portland Trailblazers This might seem like an odd matchup because it doesn't feature any of the heavy hitters from either conference, but it's 100% a realistic possibility. The Toronto Raptors boast the East's top seed and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, and the West seems more wide open than ever, which could benefit the 3rd-seeded Portland Trailblazers. Many NBA fans want a change of pace from the annual Cavaliers-Warriors matchup, but th...