The battle for the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy begins this weekend as the NBA Playoffs get underway. Saturday will see four first-round games take place across both conferences.

The NBA playoffs are set to begin, with the quest for the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy igniting competition across both conferences. The initial round features the Milwaukee Bucks confronting the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference, while the Denver Nuggets compete against the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference. Two other notable matchups include the New York Knicks facing the Detroit Pistons and the Lakers clashing with the Minnesota Timberwolves, promising a thrilling opening to the series.

John Gonzalez, an NBA analyst for CBS Sports HQ and host of the Beyond the Arc podcast, identified some intriguing first-round series. In the Eastern Conference, the Knicks vs. Pistons matchup stands out, but all eyes are on the 2-7 battle between the Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors. Despite being the higher seed, the Rockets are considered underdogs against the experienced Warriors, who boast Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and newly added Jimmy Butler. The dynamic between Curry and Amman Thompson, a renowned young defender, adds to the anticipation along with the strategic duel between head coaches Ema Udoha and Steve Kerr.

Among potentially surprising playoff runs, Gonzalez noted the Golden State Warriors as a standout, despite their seventh seed. Their strong defense, improved significantly after acquiring Butler, positions them as a formidable contender. If they surpass the Rockets, subsequent potential matchups against the Lakers could pave their way to the conference finals and beyond.

As predictions go, Gonzalez favors a showdown between the Boston Celtics and the Oklahoma City Thunder in the finals. He predicts the Thunder, who have been exceptional in the West, to clinch their first championship, defeating the Celtics who are defending champions. Oklahoma City's impressive season features the league's best record, stellar defense, and a potential MVP in Shea Gilgis-Alexander.



What to know about the 2025 NBA playoff first-round games

The battle for the Larry O'Brien trophy begins this weekend as the NBA playoffs get underway. Saturday will see four first round games take place across both conferences. The Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers will kick things off in the east. The Western Conference will see a showdown between the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers. The late window will see the New York Knicks taking on the Detroit Pistons at Madison Square Garden and then it'll be LeBron James and the Lakers capping off Saturday's games in a matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves. John Gonzalez joins us now to preview all this. He's a CBS Sports HQ NBA analyst and one of the hosts of the Beyond the Arc podcast. So John, what are some of the best first round series we should be looking at? Yeah, there's a whole bunch of them. In the Eastern Conference, the 3-6 matchup between the Knicks and the Pistons is a really tasty one. But for me, it's the Rockets and the Warriors. It's a 2-7 matchup and normally you'd have the two seed heavily favored, but the Rockets are betting underdogs in this one despite being the higher seed and having home court advantage. And that's because they're facing the Warriors. They've got Steph Curry and Draymond Green who have multiple titles and a ton of playoff experience. And they just added in Jimmy Butler, who also has a lot of playoff experience and outside of Fred Van Fleet, who's a former NBA champion himself, the Rockets don't really have that same postseason experience. And then there's some really great individual matchups. Steph Curry, the greatest shooter of all time versus Amman Thompson, this young dynamic player, one of the best defenders in the league, Dylan Brooks and Jimmy Butler, two guys who are known to get it under each other's skin, Draymond Green, always a wild card. And then you have the two head coaches, Ema Doka and Steve Kerr, who at the top of their game. So it should be a fantastic series. Are there any teams you think could go on a surprising run in the playoffs? Yeah. The aforementioned golden state Warriors, not your traditional seven seed. They started out really hot early in the season and they fell off there around 500 at the, at the trade deadline. And they tried to reunite with Kevin Durant. That didn't work out. They landed on Jimmy Butler. That's a good place to land since they got Jimmy Butler, number one defense in the NBA. They create a ton of turnovers. They score off those turnovers and in a Western conference, that's absolutely loaded. They slipped into the plan on the final day, but they're not your traditional seven seed. So if they can get past the rockets, a potential second round matchup with the Lakers, Luca and LeBron versus Steph and Jimmy and dream on, that would be fantastic. And then from there, they could be a seven seed that makes it to the conference finals and then anything could happen. Any early picks on who makes it to the finals and ultimately who wins the trophy? Yeah. So in the Eastern conference, it's really comes down to the Cavaliers and the Celtics. The Cavaliers have the best record in the Eastern conference, but the Celtics are the defending champion. So I'll take them out of the East. And then, as I just mentioned, I'm super bullish on the warriors. I'm higher on Oklahoma city. What they've done in the West has been remarkable. Best record in the NBA, best defense in the NBA by a lot. Shea Gilgis, Alexander, the presumptive MVP, their point differential, which is how much you beat your opponents by each night is not just the best this season. It's the best in NBA history. So I'll take Oklahoma city out of the West. And then between those two, look, Boston is very good. It's really difficult to be back-to-back champions. Haven't had one since 2017, 2018 when the warriors that it, so I'll take the thunder to get their first championship. All right. John Gonzalez.

Russia pummeled Kyiv with the largest drone attack of the war, injuring at least 23 people and damaging buildings across the capital only hours after U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with Russia's Vladimir Putin, officials said.

Kyiv

Ukraine Invasion

Russia hits Kyiv with largest drone attack after Trump-Putin call

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Jerusalem

More than 80 people killed in Gaza in one day

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Global Tariffs

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Indonesian rescuers on Thursday (July 3) temporarily halted a search for 30 people still missing after a ferry carrying 65 people sank near the island of Bali with the loss of six lives, the national search and rescue agency said.

Gilimanuk

Indonesia suspends search for 30 missing after ferry sinks near Bali

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Trump speaks with Putin, plans call with Zelenskyy

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Tecoluca

Kilmar Abrego Garcia claims he was tortured in El Salvadoran prison

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Manhattan

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Madrid

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Tehran

Iran Strikes

Iran nuclear program degraded by up to two years: Pentagon

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Lhasa

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New York

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Boise

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Madison

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Paris

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Everglades

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Moscow

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Bangkok

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