The Los Angeles Lakers will barely defeat the Boston Celtics in a seven game series in the 2025 finals over the summer.
The western conference is a lot more competitive than the eastern conference in 2025. The second seeded Houston Rockets won four more games than the eighth seeded Memphis Grizzlies. Along with this, the second seeded Celtics won 21 more games than the eighth seeded Atlanta Hawks.
On April 13, 2025, seeds four through eight had a matchup, which decides which teams face off in the playoffs.
One of the most competitive games was the fifth and sixth seed. The Los Angeles Clippers and the Golden State Warriors was fighting for a spot in the playoffs.
The Warriors lost the game, which sent them to face off the Grizzlies in the play-ins, both teams having a record of 48-34.
The Lakers had bad luck facing off the Denver Nuggets in the playoffs previously, which isn’t happening again this year.
I believe the teams that will make it far in the west are the Oklahoma City Thunder, Lakers, Clippers and Warriors.
If those teams lose, most of the games in the series will be close from the start to end.
The fifth seeded Clippers are underrated and will have a tough battle against the Nuggets with the same regular season record of 50-32. The Nuggets also lost their head coach with a few games left in the season, and it would be hard to quickly replace a coach that has experience winning a recent championship.
The Clippers and Nuggets will definitely reach game seven, and every game with the Lakers and Timberwolves will be close from tip-off until the fourth quarter. Even if one of the teams win, I think both of them have what it takes to defeat each other.
The Thunders have the best record from both the eastern and western conference, with a record of 68-14.
On the other hand, I think the teams that will make it furthest in the eastern conference are the Cleveland Cavaliers and Celtics.
The Cavaliers have a great bench, which can almost be compared to their starting lineup.
Both teams are competitive, but with the Celtics having more experience and having a solid team, they can fight their way to a finals spot.
The Lakers will fight their way through, the team has proven they study teams by going around their plays and outsmarting them. The Lakers got a new coach this season, JJ Reddick, who used to play in the NBA and has shown his worth as a head coach for the Lakers. Reddick set a goal to finish the regular season off as the third seed, which he completed.
This season is the first season the Lakers made the playoffs since their championship in 2020.
When freshman Matteo Richards was asked who he thinks will win the NBA finals and why, he said, “I’d probably say the Thunders because of SGA. I think he’ll contribute by having 80 points.”
The Thunder have a lot of young talent, pushed by their young star, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Multiple students at Beverly believe that a team in the western conference will take home a ring.
Senior Jermiah Alexander believes the Warriors will win because, “they have the best player right now. Jimmy Butler. [He is] a great player on the team because of his defensive mentality and he’s always trying to be better.”
It’s hard to know who will make it far, the series will be intense. Most teams have really similar records which makes the competition tough, showing how all teams are just as competitive for a championship this year.
The Lakers have the team, staffing, chemistry and experience to end the 2025 season with a championship
