2025 NBA Playoffs: Western Conference Matchups & Predictions

Peter Klein

Breaking down every first-round matchup in the Western Conference, including Lakers vs. Timberwolves, Nuggets vs. Clippers, and Rockets vs. Warriors. Who advances, and where are the key battles?  🏀 Subscribe for NBA news & analysis!    #NBAPlayoffs #WesternConference #NBAPicks #NBA2025 #CouchPotatoDiary  Apple Pod: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3QgazeH... Twitter: twitter.com/primetimeklein IG: instagram.com/primetimeklein Facebook: www.facebook.com/Couchpotatodiary Twitch: twitch.tv/primetimepk Email: couchpotatodiary@yahoo.com We Had No Idea: every Wednesday morning,  instagram.com/wehadnoideapodcast Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands  Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcript

00:00the NBA playoffs are here and we begin our breakdown of them with one of the most intriguing

00:13matchups in the Western Conference as the fourth seed Denver Nuggets take on the fifth-seeded

00:18LA Clippers um it is wild just in my basketball brain to break down a series where the Clippers

00:25are the more stable organization and the team that won a championship two years ago is all over the

00:31place but that's where we're at right now when Denver fired everybody for uh four games with

00:36four games to go before the uh close of the regular season so every coach and GM in sport right now is

00:46rooting against the Denver Nuggets because they don't want that example to be set where oh yeah

00:50there's a fire with four games left and we'll go off and win a championship uh so a lot a lot of

00:54people go Clippers right now um if you are an executive um in the National Basketball Association

01:00but uh they're going up against a bit of a stiff test this LA Clippers team I I didn't think that

01:06they would be great um it's probably one of my worst calls of the year is I thought that they would go

01:10under whatever their win total was at the beginning of the season and I would have to go back and check

01:14but I can't imagine I was predicting that and or correcting that story and even if I was the the

01:20spirit of it wasn't there because I I thought that this team with Kawhi Leonard being banged up and oh

01:25great so we're relying on James Harden and James Harden alone to carry this basketball team cool good

01:31luck with that um but instead that this team that they're a five seed and they're playing really good

01:35right now uh after the all-star break they finished with the fourth best offense in the NBA over the last

01:4128 games this according to Oddshark they were 119.7 points per 100 possessions um so this offense is

01:50really going Kawhi Leonard has been back and he has been excellent so far for the this team and

01:57again you have concerns about how long that can last but I mean even uh do you see the picture behind

02:03me uh even when he was into in Toronto in 2019 he was a little bit banged up for most of that and he

02:09still was able to go get all the way through to to get that Larry OB at the end of everything for

02:14for the Raptors now six years ago as crazy as that is so um he definitely can do it and he definitely

02:20can be someone that can carry the load for Denver I still I still like them in this series you do have

02:27to get quite a bit out of your guys now uh I mean playoff basketball great analysis but Denver

02:34specifically like their depth not great and so Russell Westbrook who started the season as one of

02:39the cool stories in the NBA it's kind of fallen back into its regular patterns again and Jamal

02:44Murray um has had some ups and downs as he continues to recover from an injury that was giving him

02:49problems in the Olympics in the offseason so that they are going to need those guys and Brown and

02:55like their their big guys are going to need to be their big guys and uh those guys like Westbrook

03:01and Brown are going to have to be the depth options that really start to carry them a lot of this

03:06runs through Jokic of course um and it's a interesting matchup against Zubats who is one

03:11of the the better defensive centers in the NBA this season so a lot of signs are pointing toward this

03:18not going great for the Denver Nuggets I do still think because they are at home because they still

03:23have the best player in the world um I I just I have to think Denver comes out on on top of this one

03:30uh one last note Denver 14 and 4 at home in the last two post seasons I'm going Denver in seven

03:35um and that one is plus 375 uh let's move on to the Lakers against Minnesota I'm not going to hit

03:43the thing between everyone Los Angeles Lakers as the three seed taking on the number six seeded

03:48Minnesota Timberwolves um Minnesota does have a team that could be set up to take uh take advantage

03:55of some of the weaknesses for the LA Lakers in 17 games um in the last sorry 17 games

04:02Rudy Gobert this courtesy of covers uh Rudy Gobert has scored 15 or more points 10 times he has grabbed

04:0815 or more rebounds five times he has averaged 15.4 points and 12.5 rebounds while shooting 70.7

04:15percent from the field so look it would be a bit of a tough stretch to come on here and say

04:22that I think the Timberwolves are going to give the Lakers problems because uh Rudy Gobert's offense

04:28I know I know but you have Rudy who is at least good enough that he can take advantage of Jackson

04:35Hayes and warm body X on the inside that the Lakers could throw at them and given how Rudy has played

04:43the last little bit it seems like he has set up to to kind of do that thing um also you have a

04:49Minnesota team defensively that has been playing much better as of late um since March again this

04:54courtesy of covers since March uh that Minnesota has ranked seventh in defensive rating um while

05:01the Lakers are 18th and um March 1st was when Luka went to the Los Angeles Lakers so LA has struggled

05:08defensively specifically inside Minnesota quite good defensively and has a guy who is good enough

05:15inside that he can get the job done also you worry about ring rim protection if um Anthony Edwards can

05:21just drive to the net and start just throwing things down and getting Minnesota a little bit fired up and

05:27getting the Laker crowds a little bit frustrated and everything like that I do again like again you can

05:34kind of point to Minnesota like hey they have this they have this they have this um Lakers have Luka

05:39and LeBron so advantage them I just like Minnesota has done a decent-ish job of kind of limiting Luka

05:47this season he hasn't played them um since he moved to the Lakers and I mean like the Dallas stuff was

05:53all over the place with his health and everything this year but I I do you do have a bit of a concern

05:59like they we've kind of seen Anthony Edwards on him and and at times they'll just throw like everything

06:04at those guys but then you still have to worry about LeBron as well and so I do think at the end of

06:08the day the high level talent that the Lakers have is going to win out in this one and so I think they

06:14do come away with a a series win here Minnesota needs to just shoot the lights out I I think they

06:21might be able to do that and I think there will be one game where it looks like Edwards has just

06:25figured it out like he's gonna get to the rim it's gonna be some big throwdowns Minnesota's gonna

06:29be up 25 the Minnesota crowd's gonna be going insane and okay that hey how concerned should the

06:35Lakers be that is going to be a um get up first date whatever segment um is how how concerned

06:44should the Lakers be by Anthony Edwards going for 14 15 and 7 or sorry for 40 15 and 7 and Minnesota

06:51wins this game by 25 points there's going to be that moment in the series but I just I mean LeBron

06:55has seen everything before Luka has seen a lot of it as well and I just I think eventually those two

07:01guys are going to figure out everything for the Lakers and so I have them winning this series in

07:05six which by the way is plus 525 right now uh last series that we know of right now in the west is

07:12Houston taking on the Golden State Warriors uh though the Rockets finished the season fourth in

07:18defensive uh defensive efficiency sorry from Yahoo uh they also led the NBA in offensive rebounding rate

07:24um Shen Goon is just an absolute beast and now you go up against a uh Golden State Warriors team

07:31that I mean look Draymond Green is a Hall of Famer and that they have a couple of good guys but the

07:36they're they're not the biggest group out there and so you could see a world where Houston is just

07:42eating them alive down low and that that is the where am I going to be wrong aspect of this is that um

07:50or where are people going to be wrong it's it's going to be that one um meanwhile the Warriors they

07:55were great in the post Jimmy Butler world right and playoff Jimmy arrived and in that play-in game

08:01and Steph Curry looked excellent in that play-in game against Memphis as well like this is just

08:06this is a very good basketball team and when they have Butler, Curry, and Green on the floor

08:12they're 23-5 that's insane like that that is a very very good basketball team so I and again now

08:23looking at the where am I going to be wrong part of this it's that because I'm picking Houston I do

08:27think that this is a team that is just young and hungry and athletic and so well coached by Ime Odoka

08:34and they just have a bunch of guys that they can throw out there Thompson on Steph is going to be

08:39such a fun matchup to watch I I just feel like the size and the defense of Houston is going to be a

08:45touch too much for Golden State in this series so I am going to go with the Rockets in six uh Rockets

08:52just to win the series is plus 145 Rockets in six is plus 900 if you want to take a look at that

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