Eastern Conference Round 1:
#1 Indiana Pacers vs. #8 Atlanta Hawks
The first game we will discuss is the first seed, Indiana Pacers, taking on the 8th seeded Atlanta Hawks.
The Pacers started off their season on an incredible hot streak. In the first month of the season the Pacers put the whole NBA on notice with their NBA best record of 15-1 at the end of November. The Pacers excel on the defensive side of the ball where they are the best defensive team in the NBA. They hold teams to an NBA low 42% shooting percentage per game. On the other side, we have the Atlanta Hawks who pretty much made the playoffs due to a weak Eastern Conference. Their leading scorers are Jeff Teague and Al Horford and will try to push the ball inside and also try to shoot the 3. With Millsap and Horford, Atlanta relies on getting to the paint, but that will be what dooms them in the end due to lockdown D by the Pacers.
Prediction: IND 4-1
#2 Miami Heat vs. #7 Charlotte Bobcats
The next game we will look into is the Miami Heat versus the Charlotte Bobcats. The Bobcats, changed the losing culture that they had had for most of their short existence, by making the playoffs this year. Say what you want about the weak Eastern Conference, but Charlotte is a surprisingly tough matchup for the Miami Heat. The two positions that Miami is weakest at are Point Guard and Center, and those happen to be the Bobcats best positions. With Kemba Walker playing point and Al Jefferson roaming the paint, the Bobcats could give the Heat fits, especially if LeBron isn't on his game. The only thing unfortunate for the Cats is that don't have anyone to guard LeBron and do not have the bench to keep up with the Heat. We know the Heat will spread the court and expect LeBron to have a big series here. Charlotte just does not have enough to pull off the upset.
Prediction: MIA 4-2
#3 Toronto Raptors vs. #6 Washington Wizards
This series could be one of the most evenly matched and most exciting playoff series in this years playoffs. We have the 3rd seed Raptors taking on the 6th seed Wizards in a series that will be all about Offense. The Raptors, behind Kyle Lowry and Demar Derozan will attack the glass and shoot from outside and the Washington Wizards will try to attack with Wall and feed big men, Gorat and Nene in the paint. The series will very likely go to 7 games, but the Raptors will have the edge with DeRozan. Demar is a star in the making and will prove why he is during this series.
Prediction: TOR 4-3
#4 Chicago Bulls vs. #5 Brooklyn Nets
The picture above says it all. This series could go either way and home court advantage will play a huge part in the outcome of this series. Both teams are about average on the road, but excel at home. Chicago will be without star Derrick Rose, but have gotten an MVP caliber season from Joakim Noah. Noah is a triple-double machine and could give the Lopez-less Nets fits. But, the Nets have the back court advantage and are coming into the playoffs with a head of steam and may be one of the most confident teams heading into the playoffs. With recent wins on Eastern Conference power houses, Miami and Indian, Brooklyn will continue their hot streak and roll by the Bulls.
Prediction: BRK 4-2
Western Conference! Round 1
#1 San Antonio Spurs vs. #8 Dallas Mavericks
The San Antonio Spurs are playing some of the best basketball they have all year and seem to play even better every single year in the playoffs. Maybe its the veteran culture and leadership on the team or maybe its Coach Popovich, or maybe it is a little of both. No matter what it is it seems to work very well for the Spurs. Last year, the Spurs were a Ray Allen 3 away from securing the 2013 Championship and there is no reason that they can't achieve the Championship this season. In my opinion, the Mavericks are catching the Spurs at the worst time and they don't have enough talent on their team to even win a game in this series.
Prediction: SAS 4-0
#2 Oklahoma City Thunder vs #7 Memphis Grizzlies
The Thunder will be led by MVP Kevin Durant and the Grizzlies will be led by Marc Gasol. That should honestly be the deciding factor. Durant has been on a tear the whole season and it looks like there will be nothing to do to stop him on his quest to get his first NBA Championship of his very bright career. Memphis is a strong team, but like many other teams in the playoffs they just do not have the talent and athleticism to hang with the Thunder and this series will be very short, but exciting to say the least.
Prediction: OKC 4-0
#3 Los Angeles Clippers vs #6 Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors may be one of the most underrated teams heading into this years playoffs. In 4 meetings this year, the series was split 2-2 with both teams winning their respective games at home and the series could very well turn out like that. In my opinion, the x-factor of this series is Warriors Point Guard and Superstar Stephen Curry. Curry has destroyed the Clips in the 4 games they have played this season and the Dubs matchup with the Clippers well. Yes, the Warriors will be without their best rim protecter and rebounder Andrew Bogut, but the warriors played 2 games without Andre Iguodala and lost both of the games. With "Iggy" in the lineup the Warriors will run the court and this will be a very competitive and hard fought series.
Predictions: GSW 4-3
#4 Houston Rockets vs. Portland Trail Blazers
This is a very hard series to predict. On both sides we have teams with great backcourts and they can shoot the lights out of the ball. These teams along with many teams in the Western Conference are contenders to take home the Championship. I think this series comes down to an important game 7 in Houston and Dwight Howard dominates the series and the final game of the series and the Rockets advance.
Prediction: HOU 4-3
Hope you guys enjoyed. Feel free to comment and be ready to read my round 2 predictions in a couple weeks.
No comments:
Post a Comment