Celtics vs Sixers is the only possible appealing 1st round in the East

[PWB15]

Bucks vs Heat, Raptors vs Nets and Pistons vs Pacers will be Dogshet TV

So hopefully the Sixers don't get the 3 seed or the Celtics don;t move up to number because the East playoffs will be major A$$:lol

Also no matter who the Pistons play they will get swept..Celtics, Sixers, or Pistons

[Prometheus]

As a Sixers fan, I want Boston badly. But I respect them enough that I don't want it to be in the first round.

Unfortunately, we probably won't play them at all this year. Most likely scenario is ECF will be Bucks v Raps, as both Philly and Boston lose in the second round.

But yeah, point here is while the first round may be uninspiring, the east playoffs in rounds two and three will be great...

[Indian guy]

I will be shocked if ratings for the 1st round aren't lowest ever in the ABC/ESPN/TNT era (2003-current). If the playoffs started today, this is what we're looking at:

East

Bucks/Heat
Raptors/Nets
76ers/Pistons
Pacers/Celtics

West

Warriors/Clippers
Nuggets/Jazz
Rockets/Thunder (the only appealing matchup)
Blazers/Spurs

The first 2 weeks of the playoffs will be a nightmare for the league. East will pick up after that with Bucks/Celtics and Raps/76ers, but the West won't get interesting until about the WCF and that's assuming either Houston or OKC make it through to meet GS.

The NBA and the networks have been sitting pretty for a decade (2009-2018) now with all eyes on LeBron going into every postseason. They're gonna feel his absence real bad.

[SouBeachTalents]

The first round almost always sucks. You'll get 1-2 good matchups out of 8 at best. I think the first round was at it's best when it was best of 5, if the underdog stole one of the first 2 games they'd actually have a semblance of a chance of winning the series

[Milbuck]

Pacers/Celtics could be interesting, I don't think it'll just be a blowout of a series. Even if it ends up Boston in 5 or something I see it being a competitive 5 game series. Agree that basically everything else but BOS/PHI would be shit.