NBA Preview Part 3: The Postseason

NBA Playoff Preview

Eastern Conference Round 1:

Miami Heat (1) over Philadelphia 76ers (8) in 5 games

The Heat win this series easily and only lose one because of a dominating effort by Bynum.

Boston Celtics (2) over Chicago Bulls (7) in 6 games

Well the Celtics are improved off of last year’s team and I think the Bulls got worse.  The Bulls will be tougher than a normal 7 seed but in 6 extremely low scoring and defensive minded games the Celtics will prevail.

Indiana Pacers (3) over New York Knicks (6) in 7 games

This should be a tough hardnosed series that can go either way but if Carmelo isn’t the starting power forward then I don’t see the Knicks prevailing.  They don’t have the depth Indiana does and they just in many ways are too old and too predictable

Atlanta Hawks (4) over Brooklyn Nets (5) in 5 games

The Hawks biggest strength as a team is having a frontcourt of Al Horford and Josh Smith while the Nets biggest weakness is the fact that Brook Lopez and fan favorite Kris Humphries don’t have any idea on how to play defense.  The Hawks should dominate this series as they get their revenge on Joe Johnson and move to the 2^nd round of the post season.

Eastern Conference Semifinals:

Miami Heat (1) over Atlanta Hawks (4) in 5 games

I think the Hawks are going to be better than most people realize this season but that does not put them at the same level of the Miami Heat.  They aren’t going to be able to stop Lebron James and I’m not going to waste anyone’s time attempting to explain this.

Boston Celtics (2) over Indiana Pacers (3) in 5 games

This series is a little more interesting but I still see the Celtics winning it pretty easily.  Their defense is suffocating and when facing a team without a premier talent like Lebron James it can be almost impossible to score at times.  Their offense should be improved enough from last year that an Indian team that really didn’t get any better shouldn’t be difficult for them to handle.

Eastern Conference Finals

Miami Heat (1) over Boston Celtics (2) in 7 games

There are a lot of reasons why the Heat should beat the Celtics more easily than this, with most of them centering on Lebron James however I think Boston forces them into the 7^th game.  Boston almost always plays well against Miami and this year’s team is designed with its sole purpose to defeat them.  They have played more games against Miami then any team in recent memory and know the team’s, especially Lebron’s, strengths and weaknesses.  This veteran Boston team is not going down without a fight, but Lebron is so good that while Boston might throw everything they have at Miami, it just won’t be enough.

Western Conference 1^st Round

San Antonio Spurs (1) over Minnesota Timberwolves (8) in 5 games

This pick is out of respect for Kevin Love because he is the only way that the Timberwolves beat the Spurs in any game.  I’m sure Kevin Love will have one dominate game and besides that the Spurs will dominate.

Denver Nuggets (2) over Utah Jazz (7) in 6 games

The Jazz are an underrated team that has a great frontcourt that can give any team trouble and really should be quite a mix of talent for years to come.  However in a 7 game series the Nuggets will just be too athletic for them and should end up winning the series in 6 games.

Oklahoma City Thunder (3) over Los Angeles Clippers in 5 games

Well the Thunder are just significantly better than the Clippers and really just matches up well against them.  The Clippers defense isn’t strong enough to slow down Durant and OKC while the Thunder’s D should be able to slow down the effectiveness of Paul and the Clippers.

Los Angeles Lakers (4) over Memphis Grizzlies (5) in 6 games

This is actually one of the more interesting playoff matchups that match strength against strength.  The Lakers biggest strengths are Gasol and Howard down low with Kobe and Nash on the perimeter, the Grizzlies will combat that with the perimeter defense of Tony Allen and Mike Conley and the interior pounding of Zach Randolph and their own Gasol.  It’s going to be an interesting matchup that is going to make the Lakers look awful at times but overall I don’t see them losing that series.

Western Conference Semifinals

I need to say this at the start there’s probably a 70% chance that my heart is guiding these next two picks and not my head, but screw it I’m sticking with it.

San Antonio Spurs (1) over Los Angeles Lakers (4) in 7 games

This is a bet on the Lakers over the course of the season not to totally figure out how to play together and to be more injured then the Spurs.  The Spurs have more depth and while not always totally useful in the postseason in the regular season it unquestionably keeps them healthier.  The Spurs offense was still all time good last season and there is no reason to suspect that it will regress at all. The coaching edge also makes a significant difference as does home court advantadge.  

Denver Nuggets (2) over Oklahoma City Thunder (3) in 7 games

I can’t believe I’m doing this but the Nuggets are going to be in the Western Conference Finals.  They are such an athletic trade, and the loss of Harden by OKC makes the decision more understandable.  Iggy should be able to match up well enough with Durant and the improved defense of JaVale McGee and others should help them slow down the Thunder’s offense.  Offensively I don’t think OKC has a prayer of stopping the Nuggets in their free flowing fast break style.  Every minute Kendrick Perkins plays will be a total waste that will cost the team dearly as the Nuggets all just run around him.  Gallinari will improve of his underrated and evolving game while Lawson and Miller are throwing lobs and Faried is getting boards. 

Yes that’s right the Lakers and Thunder aren’t making it to the Conference Finals

Western Conference Finals

San Antonio Spurs (1) over Denver Nuggets (2)

Alright I’m still having trouble with this pick and what I think are going to be the two best offenses in the league by far and two of the most exciting teams.  You have the best passing team in the league that is always willing to make the extra pass and has more open shots than anybody.  The Nuggets offense is different but in many ways just as aesthetically pleasing with their blazing speed an awesome fast break attack.  These 7 games are going to be super exciting to watch as two of the best offenses in recent basketball history matchup.    I’m going with the Spurs if only because I think their defense will be able to hold a little bit better.  Duncan will be patrolling the paint, and while not as effective as at his peak is still quite the player. 

Spurs in 7.

NBA Finals

Miami Heat (1) over San Antonio Spurs (1) in 7

Every morsel in my body wants to take the Spurs in this series considering my love for the team and my dislike for the Heat.  However I just can’t convince myself that the Spurs will be able to do enough to contain Lebron James and the rest of the big 3.  While the Spurs will be able to score on the Heat, they won’t be able to do that as a high rate as normal with the stellar defense of the Heat.  The Heat should be able to attack the Heat and get Duncan in foul trouble enough to really punish them inside.  The addition of Ray Allen makes them that much more dangerous with their spacing and while the Spurs will give the Heat everything they can handle, the Heat will in fact prevail.

Now as a caveat I could be dead wrong about these predictions and you have my full blessing to make fun of me for them

Stay Hungry My Friends