Bold Predictions for 2023 NBA Playoffs 2nd Round

It's already been a pretty bonkers 2023 NBA playoffs. The East's top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks are out. All it took was five games. The second and third seeds in the West—the Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings—are also gone.

Jimmy Butler had a 56-point game in the Miami Heat's upset over the Bucks. Stephen Curry just dropped 50 on Sunday, which is the most ever scored in an NBA Game 7.

No one could've predicted all of this. Predictions in general are a fool's errand. No one can predict the future. Not even sportswriters.

But that doesn't stop us from trying.

Now that the second round is officially and fully set, it's time for some bold predictions on each of the series now ahead of us.

Prediction: Boston Makes Quick Work of Philly

Injuries are a difficult part of the game, and the Philadelphia 76ers are anxiously hoping that (likely) NBA Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid will be able to compete against the Boston Celtics as he tries to recover from a knee injury. As good as the Sixers have been this season (54 wins, three behind the No. 2-seeded Celtics), that's been on the broad shoulders of their All-Star center.

That doesn't mean Philadelphia isn't dangerous if Embiid isn't able to play in the first few games of the series. Notably, James Harden and Tyrese Maxey are explosive enough offensively to give Boston a challenge. But the Celtics, who fell to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals last season, are just too talented, deep and playoff-tested.

The defensive tenacity of Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Malcolm Brogdon and Derrick White, along with Jayson Tatum and Brown's offensive firepower, should be enough to make relatively quick work of the Embiid-less Sixers. The team's hope may be stealing the first game in Boston, giving Embiid time to join the fray when the series shifts back to Philadelphia.

But that's a bit much to ask, as Boston should be heavily favored to win the series, which should last no longer than five games.

—Eric Pincus

Prediction: Jamal Murray Will Outscore Devin Booker

The Denver Nuggets cruised past the Phoenix Suns in Game 1, 125-107. And that result certainly influences any bold predictions for the series now. But given the way Devin Booker played in the first round, this is still bold.

Booker looked completely unstoppable against the Los Angeles Clippers, averaging 40.0 points, 7.3 assists, 3.5 threes and 2.3 steals over the last four games of that series. Even without Paul George for all of that series and Kawhi Leonard for most of it, that kind of production is eyebrow-raising.

Denver looks poised to make things more difficult than L.A.'s depth pieces, though. Throughout Game 1, the Nuggets threw quick traps at Booker, jumped him off ball screens and simply lived with whatever happened from there (early, that meant a lot of open looks for Deandre Ayton). Booker still scored 27 on 10-of-19 shooting, but offense looked a little trickier for him than it was in the first round.

Really, though, this prediction is all about Playoff Jamal Murray.

Three years ago, Murray had a legendary playoff run when he spearheaded two series comebacks in which his team trailed 3-1. In an epic one-on-one showdown with Donovan Mitchell, he had two 50-point games and one 42-pointer. And in Saturday's Game 1 victory over Phoenix, he looked every bit that level of offensive weapon and fed off a raucous crowd on the way to 34 points (including 20 in the second half).

Now that he has another peer to trade haymakers with in Booker, expect this focus and firepower to keep up.

—Andy Bailey

Prediction: Kevon Looney vs. Anthony Davis Matchup Will Decide Series

While the billing may be Stephen Curry vs. LeBron James, the Golden State Warriors/Los Angeles Lakers second-round series will hinge on the Anthony Davis vs. Kevon Looney matchup.

That's not to suggest the low-scoring Looney needs to match Davis point for point. Looney's impact will be measured without scoring as the Warriors' best and only real shot at slowing down L.A.'s All-Star forward.

Davis' offense was hot and cold in the first round against the Memphis Grizzlies. Sometimes he wilts, and sometimes he Wilts. Coach Darvin Ham expects the Chamberlain version, but the Lakers tend to be on the losing end when Davis is non-aggressive or settles for fadeaway jumpers. That's what the Warriors need from Looney to out-physical Davis and push him to some of his worse tendencies.

Looney's effort as a rebounder, defender and glue player is why the Sacramento Kings are on vacation and the Warriors advanced to the conference semifinals. He may not get the accolades, but his impact on the game is just as important (if not more) than some of the flashier Golden State scorers.

Curry and James will do the magical things they do. Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, Jordan Poole, Austin Reaves, D'Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, etc., all matter in the series. But the heart of the battle will be the one matchup the Warriors have a single answer for and how effective Looney can be in that role.

—Pincus

Prediction: Jimmy Butler Will Lead Series in Scoring

The Miami Heat stole Game 1 against the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden, but the lasting image of the game may be Jimmy Butler's rolled right ankle and Miami coach Erik Spoelstra's reaction to it.

Following the mid-fourth quarter injury, Butler stayed in the game to hit two free throws (and played a few more possessions after that), but he was clearly hampered. When asked by ESPN's Cassidy Hubbarth how it felt after the game, Butler smiled and said, "Like a rolled ankle."

He finished the game with 25 points, which matched Jalen Brunson's total and came up one shy of RJ Barrett's. And of course, if the ankle costs him some time, it'll be tough for him to keep pace with those two (and potentially others) for the series lead in total points.

But few things have been more clear about the playoffs than Butler's superhuman status on this stage.

He looked every bit the player who dragged the Heat to the Finals in 2020 (and maybe then some) in Miami's first-round upset over the Milwaukee Bucks. In the last two games of that series alone, he scored 98 points and shot 59.0 percent from the field. And you can bet the intensity that carried his team across the finish line in those two wins will accompany Butler to the recovery process for this ankle injury.

If that means he's back for Game 2, this prediction might not even be all that bold. But even if Miami plays it safe and punts on the next one (having already stolen home-court advantage), it feels like Butler could have a couple of more superheroic scoring outputs in him.

—Bailey