So the playoff matchups are finally confirmed.
West:
1. San Antonio Spurs vs 8. Memphis Grizzlies
2. Dallas Mavericks vs 7. Portland Trailblazers
3. Los Angeles Lakers vs 6. New Orleans Hornets
4. Oklahoma City vs 5. Denver Nuggets
East:
1. Chicago Bulls vs 2. Indiana Pacers
2. Miami Heat vs 7. Philadelphia 76er's
3. Boston Celtics vs 6. New York Knicks
4. Orlando Magic vs 5. Atlanta Hawks
Thoughts and predictions?
I really think Dallas fell in a bad first round matchup yet again. I could see Portland taking that series. That's a tough road trip for the Mavs if it's a six or seven games series.
I like Miami's first round matchup. They should sweep the overachieving 76ers.
A dark horse: Grizz over Spurs. I think Memphis actually did themselves a favor falling to the eight spot.
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They did do it deliberately. If Ginobli even misses 2 games Spurs lose. Everyone else is geriatric and robotic he's the only one that consistently plays with a bunch of energy.Originally Posted by Ben Mayfield
1. San Antonio Spurs vs 8. Memphis Grizzlies-Assuming Ginobli is out 2 games, Grizz in 6.
2. Dallas Mavericks vs 7. Portland Trailblazers-Portland in 7
3. Los Angeles Lakers vs 6. New Orleans Hornets-Lakers in 5, CP3 is still by his lonesome while Kobe has a supporting cast.
4. Oklahoma City vs 5. Denver Nuggets-OKC in 5.
East:
1. Chicago Bulls vs 2. Indiana Pacers-Bulls in 5
2. Miami Heat vs 7. Philadelphia 76er's-Miami sweeps.
3. Boston Celtics vs 6. New York Knicks-Boston in 7. And Game 7 is going to be a dogfight.
4. Orlando Magic vs 5. Atlanta Hawks-Magic in 7.
Based on my predictions: Second Round
OKC over Memphis in 6-What got them past SA will be their downfall here...Durant BEASTS them.
Lakers over Portland in 7-Game 7 is another dogfight
Bulls over Magic in 5-Dwight Howard just isn't enough to stop the Bulls.
Celtics over Heat in 6-LeBron isn't clutch enough for me...and even with Perkins gone the Celtics still have any one of 4 guys who can go clutch.
Conference Finals:
Lakers over OKC in 6
Bulls over Celtics in 7-Boston runs out of gas.
NBA Finals:
Lakers over Bulls in 6 (Begrudgingly)...
The only other outcome I could see (and like) is a Chicago-OKC finals.
Pretty much. I love the Mavs but man, I just don't know if they can pull it out. I don't know if the negative local media has gotten to me but there seems to be weaknesses at every position. Even Dirk. The general concesus is that the Blazers have enough Power Forwards to just keep attacking and fouling dirk. Which will get Dallas a lot of free throw points, but also prevent the team from getting in any kind of offense rythem. It is out of shear blind hope that I'm picking them to win.
Spurs in 5. 4 if Ginobli recovers. Memphis is a good young team. But they have never been to the playoffs. Never had to play against a spurs defense playing at playoff level. There is nothing the Grizz can do that the Spurs haven't seen before. And the spurs have been together so long they know how to survive and win with anybody injured.
Mavs in 7. The only way the mavs win this series is if they can win at home, which means they go to a game 7 because I don't know if they can win a single game in portland based on their terrible showing there the last 2 times they met. And the Mavs are even a pretty good road team and have won some big games on the road in the past. Hopefully Tyson Chandler can shut down the Blazers inside.
Lakers in 6. The only reason this isn't 4 is because the Lakers are a veteran team who gets lazy and often don't play their best basketball against inferior teams. And the hornets are very inferior.
Oklahoma City in 6. Denver has been decent since the Melo trade. Maybe even really good some nights. But they traded everybody with any playoff experience. Wheras the Thunder have gotten their experience and had to lick their wounds of being first round fodder before. This year they are ready.
Chicago Bulls in 4. One team has the MVP of the league and another has a losing record. .
Miami Heat in 4. Man, I wish the Mavs were in the west if the 76er's are the level of talent a No. 2 team has to face.
Boston in 6. Boston has it's problems. But like the spurs they are a veteran team that by now has seen and done it all. The Knicks are a nice team, but historically D'antoni's teams have gotten beat up by strong defensive teams in the playoffs.
Magic in 7. This one is a coin flip, but I trust Howard more to be a monster in this series more than I trust any Hawks player.
Based on my predictions
Spurs vs Thunder - Thunder in 7. It wouldn't suprise me at all to see the Spurs win this series with shutdown defense, but hopefully Durant and Co. can finally make the big leap and get to the western conference finals.
Mavs vs Lakers - Lakers in 6.
Bulls vs Magic - Bulls in 6.
Heat vs Boston - Heat in 7. The series we have all been waiting for. Boston has had LeBron's number in the past. But with Wade and Bosh the team heat can hopefully get past them.
Then...
Lakers vs Thunder - Ugh, I hate it but Lakers in 7. Theres a reason they are the champs.
Bulls vs Heat - Bulls in 7. This could be a series for the ages. I'll go with the Bulls.
NBA Finals
Lakers vs Bulls - Lakers in 6. It is just wayyy to much of a leap for a team to go from losing in the first round to NBA champions. It doesn't happen very often.
I dare say you're onto something my friend. We have the same finals prediction.
Its hard to say. This is one of the most interesting years of NBA playoffs that I can remember. So many interesting factors.
West:
1. San Antonio Spurs vs 8. Memphis Grizzlies (Even without Ginobli, I think the Spurs take this in 5/6)
2. Dallas Mavericks vs 7. Portland Trailblazers (I could see either team winning this, but its going 7 games)
3. Los Angeles Lakers vs 6. New Orleans Hornets (Lakers, even without Bynum, should sweep this. Possibly 5 though.)
4. Oklahoma City vs 5. Denver Nuggets (Interesting story with Denver, but OKC is too powerful, and the Perkins trade helped them a lot)
East:
1. Chicago Bulls vs 2. Indiana Pacers (Bulls in 4)
2. Miami Heat vs 7. Philadelphia 76er's (Miami in 4, but maybe 5. I know D-Wade and Lebron will show, but the rest its too hard to say in a PO environment)
3. Boston Celtics vs 6. New York Knicks (Even with the Knicks playing well right now, the Celts are too deep. If they get Shaq back and he can move, its Celtics in 6)
4. Orlando Magic vs 5. Atlanta Hawks (Orlando in 5. The Hawks just cant put it all together)
I could see the Lakers, OKC, Bulls, Heat and Celtics all walking away with the title. I think the playoffs general playstyle of slowing the ball down could hurt the Heat. In one and dones, they can beat anyone in the league, but in a series of 7, I'm not so sure. Phil Jackson, Doc Rivers and Tom Thibodeau will coach circles around Spoelstra. I think Phil and the Lakers vets will kick it up a notch, seeing as how he's saying he's leaving after this year. Bynum's health is a huge factor.
I couldn't agree with anyone more than I do right now!
Wow. Like I said, interesting. I know its only game 1's, but the 76'rs give the Heat all they can handle, the Pacers push Chicago to the brink, Memphis downs the Spurs in game one, as did the Hawks to the Magic. And as of right now, the Hornets are going toe to toe with the Lakers. Dallas and Portland lived up to the hype, and I fully expect Thunder/Nuggets and Celtics/Knicks to be high scoring games.
This might be the start of what could be my favorite playoffs ever.
I fully expect Thunder/Nuggets to go 7...giving the Spurs/Grizz winner a coasting to the Western Conference Finals.
Either the Thunder or the Nuggets are harder competition than the Spurs or Grizzlies. Even if the Thunder vs Nuggets go 7 games. Both teams are relatively young with lots of energy. I don't expect the winner of the Spurs/Grizz series to get out of the second round.
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