The NBA is currently at the beginning of their playoffs, with powerhouse teams facing off to take home the Championship. Every year, the top 8 teams from each conference are seeded and qualify for the tournament. From then on, each team plays their opposite seed in a 7 game series to determine who will move on to the next round.

The qualifying teams this year are some of the most well rounded we’ve ever seen. It may be time for a new contender to step up to the plate for this year’s Championship, replacing last year’s champions Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors. Regardless, we can all expect to watch some entertaining basketball over the next couple of weeks.

The Western Conference, a conference that even a .500 record can’t guarantee a spot, is packed with some great teams who constantly battle to beat each other for the coveted title of conference champion. The Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Portland Trail Blazers all make up the teams that have a decent shot this year for the championship. The two most notable are the Rockets and Warriors. Houston finished the regular season with 65 wins led by James Harden, while the Warriors finished with just 58 wins, 9 less than their dominant season last year. Junior Stephen Peliccia said, “I’m excited to see the Rockets play in the playoffs this year. James Harden has consistently proved this season that he and his team are championship material, and I can’t wait to see him match up against the Warriors.” It is likely we will see both of these teams in the conference finals matching up against each other.

The Eastern Conference qualifying teams are slightly less talented the West, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a chance. The Cavs have Lebron James, possibly the greatest player of all time, but will it be enough to win? “As much as I think Lebron is one of the best players of all time, he’s going to have to carry the team to give them a chance of winning” said junior John Buttarazzi.  The raptors have done extremely well, finishing the regular season with 59 wins along with the Celtics, who had 55. Unfortunately for D.C., the outlook isn’t very good. Although they did pretty well this season and won 43 games, finishing 8th in the league, they just aren’t good enough to compete with top tier teams like the Raptors, Warriors, and Rockets. It wouldn’t be unexpected to see the Raptors and Celtics in the finals, but the Cavaliers could easily be a contender if they address their team chemistry issues and Lebron performs the way we know he can.