It’s going to be another busy weekend in the sports world. Now that the Masters is over, the sports world can now concentrate on basketball and baseball. With the start of the NBA playoff this weekend, we’re going to see a couple months of high-level basketball. The NBA playoffs always bring the game to another level, and this year will be no different.
The Major League Baseball season is now in full swing, and we’re going to have a couple of series that involve potential playoff teams. With so much parity in the league, and more teams making the playoffs, the regular season will be very exciting.
Let’s take a look at what’s happening this weekend in the sports world.
Top Sports Events for This Weekend – April 16 – April 17
NBA Playoffs
We’ve finally made it to the best part of the NBA season! Now that the playoffs have started, we’ll see the best of what the NBA has to offer over the next few weeks. On Saturday, we’ll see the start of four series, three out west, and one one . In the East, the Toronto Raptors will take on the Philadelphia 76ers, while out west we’ll see Utah head to Dallas, the Minnesota Timberwolves take on the Memphis Grizzlies, and the Denver Nuggets will square off against the Golden State Warriors. The Memphis-Minnesota series should be fun to watch, as we should see a lot of offense in that showdown.
On Sunday, the Chicago Bulls will take on the Milwaukee Bucks, and the Brooklyn Nets will face off against the Boston Celtics. We will also see the Miami Heat and Phoenix Suns in action as well, as they’ll be awaiting the winners from the play-in tournament that will conclude on Friday night.
This may be the most parity that we’ve seen in the NBA playoffs in a long time, so we could have some hard-fought series that end up going to seven games. You gotta love NBA playoff hoops!
Major League Baseball
Now that the season is in full swing, we can start taking a look at some of the big matchups for the weekend. In the American League, two potential playoff teams will square off, as the Tampa Bay Rays head to the south side of Chicago to take on the White Sox.
Both of these teams were in the playoffs last season, and many feel that these two will be pennant contenders again. Tampa Bay has built themselves into a perennial playoff contender, while the White Sox boast one of the best young lineups in the game.
In the National League, the Atlanta Braves will head out to southern California to take on the San Diego Padres. The Braves will be looking to defend their World Series title, and they have a team that’s capable of returning to the Fall Classic.
Even though things didn’t end well in San Diego last season, the Padres hope that the hiring of Bob Melvin to run the show will help them get into the playoffs this season. Even though Fernando Tatis Jr. will be out for a few months, San Diego still has a team built for a playoff run. This one should be a good early-season series to watch.
NHL Home Stretch
Every NHL team has fewer than 10 games remaining on their regular season schedule. With the playoffs just around the corner, there are two big games this weekend we’ll consider as “must-watch.”
On Saturday, the Colorado Avalanche host the Carolina Hurricanes in a potential Stanley Cup Final preview. Colorado has the best record of any team in the league while Carolina leads the Metro Division and is second in the conference.
Then on Sunday, the St. Louis Blues and Nashville Predators will seek to improve their playoff standings. The Blues are tied with Minnesota in the Central Division but could move into second with a win, improving their chances of hosting the first round playoff series. For Nashville, they’re trying to avoid finishing in the second Wild Card spot and facing Cup favorite Colorado in the first round.
It’s the best time of year for sports. Enjoy the show and good luck on your bets!