The NBA playoffs are back in full effect as the first round continues this week. All rounds of the NBA playoffs are a series of the best of seven games. Facing off in the Eastern conference, with the eighth seed is the Miami Heat, playing against the first seed the Milwaukee Bucks, the Heat lead the Bucks 2-1 so far, and game seven is hosted in Milwaukee so home court advantage can help give the bucks a major push to finish the first round strong. Staying in the Eastern conference in the second seed the Boston Celtics lead the seventh seed Atlanta Hawks 3-1 so far as they head back to Boston for game five of the series. The first Sweep of the playoffs happened with the third seed the Philadelphia 76ers and the sixth seed Brooklyn Nets, The 76ers pulled off a 4-0 sweep against the Nets with a final score of 96-88.  The last two teams in the Eastern conference are the fifth seed the New York Knicks and the fourth seed Cleveland Cavaliers, the Knicks lead the series 3-1. The Knicks took Game 4 after a good performance in the 4th quarter leading to a 102-93 win against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Moving on to the Western conference in the first seed the Denver Nuggets have a 3-1 lead against the eighth seed Minnesota Timberwolves, Minnesota rallies behind a standout performance by Anthony Edwards to stay in the playoffs which lead 108-114 victory. The seventh seed Los Angeles Lakers are up 2-1 against the second seed Memphis Grizzlies, LeBron James and Anthony Davis dominated the Grizzlies for 56 combined points in the Lakers 111-101 Game 3 win. The defending champions in the sixth seed the Golden State Warriors lead the third seed the Sacramento Kings 3-2. In their last meeting Steph Curry dominated the kings by using his ability to make tough threes and using the help of his teammates. The Phoenix Suns in the fourth seed closed out the fifth seed Los Angeles Clippers in a tough game five ending with a final score of 136 – 130.

With the second round of the playoffs approaching many predictions have been made and changed. The fan favorite coming out of the western conference is between the Phoenix Suns, and the Golden State Warriors, and the LA Lakers. Out of the eastern conference the Philadelphia 76ers are the number one fan favorite to make it to finals, behind the 76ers are the Miami Heat then the Boston Celtics. Round two of the NBA playoffs will be very interesting to see who pulls away and moves on to the conference finals and then on to the NBA finals for a chance at the championship.