Western Conference:
1) Golden State Warriors
8) New Orleans Pelicans
Prediction: Warriors in 4
Why?: NO does have Anthony Davis, who could lead New Orleans to a win in this series, but Golden State has a loaded team, headlined by likely MVP Steph Curry, who has been red hot since the All-Star break (over 50% from 3). Not to mention Klay Thompson seemed to find his grove again in the last week, all this plus a healthy Draymond Green and Andrew Bogut means the Brow's playoff debut will be short-lived and the Golden State Warriors step up and pull out the brooms in round 1.
2) Houston Rockets
7) Dallas Mavericks
Prediction: Rockets in 7
Why?: Houston has had a great year, and now they have Dwight Back, but Dallas is also very talented and may get Chandler Parsons back. Though things don't run very smoothly in the Rondo-Ellis backcourt, this is still a more talented edition of the team that took the Spurs to 7 games last year, the only team to do so, and they won't let Texas rival Houston advance without a fight.
3) Los Angeles Clippers
6) San Antonio Spurs
Prediction: Spurs in 7
Why?: LA has been tearing it up to end the year, but the defending champs have seemed to find their form as well. The Clips starting 5 can matchup toe-to-toe with San Antonio's but where SA has a goldmine of depth to fall back on, LA has next to none after Jamal Crawford, and that is where the Spurs will gain an edge in the series and wear down the Clippers starting 5+Jamal, and once again move on to the Western semis.
4) Portland Trail Blazers
5) Memphis Grizzlies
Prediction: Grizzlies in 6
Why?: Memphis is getting some of its injured players back, key players in Mike Conley and Tony Allen, and Portland is trotting out Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge with a beat up supporting cast to try and win a playoff series in back to back seasons in a stacked through the roof West. With key players in Afflalo, Batum, and Aldridge playing through nagging injuries, and with Wes Matthews out until next year, the Grizz advance, giving Portland more time to try and cure their long lasting injury plague.
Eastern Conference:
1) Atlanta Hawks
8) Brooklyn Nets
Prediction: Hawks in 4
Why?: A 60-win Atlanta team vs and underachieving joke of a Brooklyn squad lucky enough to be in an extremely weak East. No way Atlanta struggles in this series, I don't even need to mention that during the regular season ATL swept the series winning by an average of 17.3 points. Hawks roll.
2) Cleveland Cavaliers
7) Boston Celtics
Prediction: Cavs in 5
Why?: Cleveland is the superior team no question, and they will dominate the series. But Boston came from out of nowhere to end up as the 7 seed in the East. They looked dead in the water and all of a sudden they are in a "playoff race" and end up with a surprising 40-win season when most, myself included, thought them to be a lottery lock when the season started. They earned those 40 wins by competing and playing hard, though LeBron and co. dispatched them twice, Boston won twice easily, at the end of the year (LeBron sat those games though), not to mention King James usually dominates in the first round, Boston's tenacity will help them steal a game before ultimately wishing they did have a lottery pick instead.
3) Chicago Bulls
6) Milwaukee Bucks
Prediction: Bulls in 4
Why?: The East is so top-heavy that it's boring. Milwaukee was a nice surprise going .500 this year, J-Kidd has them playing great defense, but Chicago defends as well, and they have the vastly superior offense in this series. Milwaukee doesn't have the fire power especially with Jabari Parker sidelined until year 2 with a torn ACL, and because they made the unbelievably stupid decision to trade borderline All-Star PG Brandon Knight to get the incredibly poor shooting, turn-over prone, mega-project known as Michael Carter-Williams. (Just another reason the Bucks are the only major team from my home state that I refuse to root for, not that I want them to do poor) Also Milwaukee is the home away from home for the Bulls, say what you will about home-court advantage and if it helps or not but all games in arenas dominated by Chicago fans playing a fairly inferior team? Sounds like a sweep to me.
4) Toronto Raptors
5) Washington Wizards
Prediction: Raptors in 7
Why?: I take the Raptors in what figures to be the only competitive series in the East's first round. Both teams started off very strong, but have crawled their way to disappointing finishes. I do think Toronto has the slight overall talent edge, due to their bench vs Washington's, as well as 4 games at the Air Canada center, where the Hockey-loving folks from the Great White North also love their Raptors hoops, and Toronto will win a game 7 there. Despite getting a fight from the Wiz, it's all chalk in a (another) disappointing East.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment