Anticipating NBA Playoff Semifinals

As the final eight teams compete in the NBA playoffs, spectators are biting their nails waiting to see who goes to the finals.

Nate Hernandez, columnist

The 2015 NBA playoffs are coming to an end. Teams have lived up to their expectations, exceeded them, or didn’t meet them, but we are finally into each conference’s semi-finals, just waiting to see who will move up to the finals and win the championship.

By the look of the brackets for the semi-finals, most predictions about who would go to semis have been made. The Golden State Warriors, Memphis Grizzlies, L.A. Clippers, and Houston Rockets are the western teams who have made it this far, each with well-built teams. The Warriors and the Rockets are the powerhouses in the Western Conference who have dominated in the regular season and are now taking over the playoffs. Stephen Curry, the MVP this year, wears the blue and gold for the Warriors while James Harden and Dwight Howard, two veterans, take control of the court for the Houston Rockets. There’s no doubt in my mind that these two teams will be the last to battle for a spot.

On the other side of the country, we have the Atlanta Hawks, Washington Wizards, and Cleveland Cavaliers, who are competing for a spot in the finals. Although each one of these teams are built with strong offense and defense, I feel that they are no match for Cleveland. After LeBron James signed with the Cavaliers, they have been a powerhouse, dominating their season with only one loss. James, with the help of Kyrie Irving as point guard, might just be unstoppable. I think they have a spot saved for them in the finals, facing off whoever from the west steps up to take them on.

Since Cleveland won their game against Chicago they will face either Atlanta or Washington in the Eastern conference finals. The Hawks and Wizards game will be aired at 6 p.m. EST on Friday, May 15. The Grizzlies and Warriors will also play Friday, May 15, while on Sunday May 17, the Clippers and Rockets will play to determine which two teams in the Western Conference will go to the finals. All eyes are turned to these games to see who will emerge to play in the championship.