NAVL Playoff First Round Analysis
East
1. Royals against 8. Warriors
After a heartbreaking defeat in their first finals in club history, the Royals are back with a vengeance, taking the first seed this year and ready to begin their revenge tour to earn their long-coveted title. The first roadblock is potentially Philadelphia, which looked excellent in taking out a good Baltimore Bullets team last night. We’re not quite ready to predict a rematch of last year’s Finals, but we’d still rather be the Royals here.
Prediction: Royals in five
2. Stags against 7. Monarchs
Chicago has looked sharp, very sharp, in taking care of business here at the end of the season. They have not been swept in a game since New Years Eve, and only the Griz have had a better scoring differential since the beginning of March. As such, Stags fans are starting to allow themselves to believe. In their path stands Montreal, who has been a notoriously tough out for the last 2-3 seasons even if they have not made it far in the playoffs. Monarchs enjoy exactly the kind of height in their pins that has frustrated Chicago repeatedly in the past, so this could be a well-balanced series.
Prediction: Stags in six
3. Express against 6. Knicks
The great bete noire of the Celtics for years are back in the playoffs after last season’s inexplicable back half collapse - Charlotte is back, and ready to get that elusive title. The Knicks did well to come out of the league’s toughest division, and will prove a tough test for whether the Express indeed are back.
Prediction: Express in seven
4. Huskies against 5. Celtics
Toronto won a very difficult Northern, only taking the top spot off Montreal in the last game of the season. Their reward? A hungry, angry Celtics, with local boy Sean MacKenzie playing his first-ever playoff series on native Canadian soil. Proud as Ontarians are and should be of one of the best players in the history of the game, Magic Mac should not expect much love from this homecoming, and two great teams will slug this out, but we’d take Boston’s experience here.
Prediction: Celtics in six
West
1. Grizzlies against 9. Lakers
Minnesota looked sharp against St. Louis last night in punching their ticket to the first round of the playoffs, but things are about to get much, much tougher. It’s hard to think of any more superlatives for the defending champions in Vancouver - they are now one of five teams to ever finish a year with a 64-8 record, falling one game shy of the best regular season in history, but made up for it by breaking the previous record of most sweeps - 43, set by the 1987-88 Warriors - by three games, and had the best average scoring differential per set in league history. It is not an exaggeration to say that this group may be the best in history and at least certainly belongs in that conversation, especially with a rare repeat championship.
Prediction: Grizzlies in four
2. Aces against 7. Magic
The 2021 champs square off against Los Angeles in the first game of the playoffs on Saturday and look ready to run back to the Western Conference Finals after winning their last eight games of the season, including three sweeps. This Magic group is no joke, however, getting hot late in the year to play their way out of a play-in, and Kyle Porter at libero could cause serious problems for the Aces.
Prediction: Aces in five
3. Nuggets against 6. Jaguars
It’s hard to know exactly what to make of the Nugs and the Jags. Denver had the hottest start besides Vancouver only to fall off their clip in late December, while the Jaguars were hot and cold in the midtable until early February where they went on a consistent tear and leapt ahead of when the Magic. We’d like to think Denver has the advantage over a Mexico City team that has never won a best-in-seven playoff series, but if this is the year the Jags finally make a splash, don’t tell us we didn’t warn you.
Prediction: Nuggets in seven
4. Rockets against 5. Sonics
It’s almost unfair to be a Sonics fan this year; you have the best group of players since the 1990s, you are the only club to beat the Grizzlies more than once (three wins, including one of two losses suffered by the first seed in Vancouver), and you hit 60 wins for the first time in club history with the second-best record in the NAVL - and yet there you are at the five spot, starting your playoffs on the road in San Diego. The Rockets for their part did what they had to do to emerge at the head of the West’s weakest division but, while James Harden is still pretty damn great, it’s hard to see them stacking up well against this Sonics roster
Prediction: Sonics in four
1. Royals against 8. Warriors
After a heartbreaking defeat in their first finals in club history, the Royals are back with a vengeance, taking the first seed this year and ready to begin their revenge tour to earn their long-coveted title. The first roadblock is potentially Philadelphia, which looked excellent in taking out a good Baltimore Bullets team last night. We’re not quite ready to predict a rematch of last year’s Finals, but we’d still rather be the Royals here.
Prediction: Royals in five
2. Stags against 7. Monarchs
Chicago has looked sharp, very sharp, in taking care of business here at the end of the season. They have not been swept in a game since New Years Eve, and only the Griz have had a better scoring differential since the beginning of March. As such, Stags fans are starting to allow themselves to believe. In their path stands Montreal, who has been a notoriously tough out for the last 2-3 seasons even if they have not made it far in the playoffs. Monarchs enjoy exactly the kind of height in their pins that has frustrated Chicago repeatedly in the past, so this could be a well-balanced series.
Prediction: Stags in six
3. Express against 6. Knicks
The great bete noire of the Celtics for years are back in the playoffs after last season’s inexplicable back half collapse - Charlotte is back, and ready to get that elusive title. The Knicks did well to come out of the league’s toughest division, and will prove a tough test for whether the Express indeed are back.
Prediction: Express in seven
4. Huskies against 5. Celtics
Toronto won a very difficult Northern, only taking the top spot off Montreal in the last game of the season. Their reward? A hungry, angry Celtics, with local boy Sean MacKenzie playing his first-ever playoff series on native Canadian soil. Proud as Ontarians are and should be of one of the best players in the history of the game, Magic Mac should not expect much love from this homecoming, and two great teams will slug this out, but we’d take Boston’s experience here.
Prediction: Celtics in six
West
1. Grizzlies against 9. Lakers
Minnesota looked sharp against St. Louis last night in punching their ticket to the first round of the playoffs, but things are about to get much, much tougher. It’s hard to think of any more superlatives for the defending champions in Vancouver - they are now one of five teams to ever finish a year with a 64-8 record, falling one game shy of the best regular season in history, but made up for it by breaking the previous record of most sweeps - 43, set by the 1987-88 Warriors - by three games, and had the best average scoring differential per set in league history. It is not an exaggeration to say that this group may be the best in history and at least certainly belongs in that conversation, especially with a rare repeat championship.
Prediction: Grizzlies in four
2. Aces against 7. Magic
The 2021 champs square off against Los Angeles in the first game of the playoffs on Saturday and look ready to run back to the Western Conference Finals after winning their last eight games of the season, including three sweeps. This Magic group is no joke, however, getting hot late in the year to play their way out of a play-in, and Kyle Porter at libero could cause serious problems for the Aces.
Prediction: Aces in five
3. Nuggets against 6. Jaguars
It’s hard to know exactly what to make of the Nugs and the Jags. Denver had the hottest start besides Vancouver only to fall off their clip in late December, while the Jaguars were hot and cold in the midtable until early February where they went on a consistent tear and leapt ahead of when the Magic. We’d like to think Denver has the advantage over a Mexico City team that has never won a best-in-seven playoff series, but if this is the year the Jags finally make a splash, don’t tell us we didn’t warn you.
Prediction: Nuggets in seven
4. Rockets against 5. Sonics
It’s almost unfair to be a Sonics fan this year; you have the best group of players since the 1990s, you are the only club to beat the Grizzlies more than once (three wins, including one of two losses suffered by the first seed in Vancouver), and you hit 60 wins for the first time in club history with the second-best record in the NAVL - and yet there you are at the five spot, starting your playoffs on the road in San Diego. The Rockets for their part did what they had to do to emerge at the head of the West’s weakest division but, while James Harden is still pretty damn great, it’s hard to see them stacking up well against this Sonics roster
Prediction: Sonics in four