First, a quick rundown of what we saw in the first round and how my picks ultimately went. Not good I think.
Bulls vs. Pacers
Prediction...Bulls in five...Actual...Bulls in five...
Weird series. Bulls seemed to be in control but they had to come from behind in three of their four wins. And a couple of them looked improbable. What does that say about the Bulls? Who knows, it's hard to get up for first round games I think, but that shouldn't be the case for a young team like that. Boozer didn't show up, Rose got injured. Bulls won the series, but they can't be feeling as good as they did two weeks ago.
Heat vs. Sixers
Prediction...Heat in four...Actual...Heat in five...
Heat owned this series, they weren't going to lose. Wade and LeBron are ruining the game with their whining and drawing fouls crap. Ya, it gets the job done and they are winning because of it, but it is pathetic. Sixers showed me a little bit though, they have some good young talent. Thaddeus Young is a freak, dude can do everything.
Celtics vs. Knicks
Prediction...Knicks in seven...Actual...Celtics in four...
I don't think anyone saw this coming. Knicks actually could have won games one and two, and should have won game one. But they didn't, they lost interest, and got waxed by a veteran team. They can say all they want about how they didn't have enough time to gel, but bottom line is that you got smashed at home in playoff games, that just screams of no effort. Celtics look pretty dang tough right now. But with Allen shooting the way he is, what do you expect?
Magic vs. Hawks
Prediction...Magic in five...Actual...Hawks in six...
I don't think anyone saw this coming either. With last years beatdown, this result wasn't anywhere near anyone's mind. But watching the games, the Hawks actually have a pretty good team when they want to be. Howard played well but he just doesn't have a great supporting cast around him, which is why he probably won't be there in two years. Oh well.
Spurs vs. Grizzlies
Prediction...Spurs in six...Actual...Grizzlies in six...
I feel like I should have predicted this. Grizzlies just always seemed like they wanted it more than the Spurs. The Spurs are done, their window has closed. What a window it was though, four titles is four titles. Randolph is awesome, I could watch that guy play all day. He is so quick to get the shot off and he protects with his body so well.
Lakers vs. Hornets
Prediction...Lakers in five...Actual...Lakers in six...
Interesting series. Lakers bench and Fisher just aren't good enough to stay with a guard like Paul. Good think for them is that there really aren't any other guards like Paul. So you win and you move on. Kobe took it easy all series so he didn't waste any energy. Lakers might have looked sluggish but that is about what we all expected. First round win is a first round win, nothing more.
Mavericks vs. Blazers
Prediction...Mavs in seven...Actual...Mavs in six...
Should have been a five game series. Mavs blew a 23 point lead with like 13 minutes to go in game four. That doesn't happen, and should never happen. Mavs look good. Chandler brings a whole new dimension to that team, not to mention Dirk, he is really good. Blazers are in trouble for the future I think, they just don't have enough firepower.
Thunder vs. Nuggets
Prediction...Nuggets in six...Actual...Thunder in five...
I guess I was way off on this one. I took a shot and failed. Thunder have too much firepower and the Nuggets just have too many playgrounders. Nuggets put up a fight but in the end, Durant is just too good. My man crush on Gallinari swayed my view on this one, not my fault, he's Italian.
Ok, on to the second round preview. Some great matchups really. They all should be good. We only had four series go six games in the first round, and no game sevens. I predict two game sevens out of this round. Lots of star players, should make for a really good watch. We'll check in every couple of days to see how it is going.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
1 Chicago Bulls vs. 5. Atlanta Hawks
Bulls should be able to take this one because of Rose and their defense. But when I look at their players, player by player, the Hawks just might have more talent. Horford and Crawford are playing great. Johnson and Smith just do what they do. Hinrich is a great compliment to them and they have some decent bench guys. Boozer needs to step it up, and Rose is fine. Deng is showing that he can be a very good three man for the Bulls. Noah might be the key to this round because the Hawks don't have enough guys to bang down low. Zaza Pachulia? Please. If the Hawks can steal a road game, this could get interesting. I see it being sort of quick though. I'll be rooting for the Hawks though, maybe.
Bulls in 5. Boozer has a big series and the Hawks roll over in game 5.
2 Miami Heat vs. 3 Boston Celtics
The series everyone has been waiting for since the first game of the year. Remember how the Celtics just dominated the Heat and everyone said the Heat couldn't beat them all year? Well now we get to see it. The X factor for the Heat will be their three point shooters. If Jones and Chalmers can hit the open shot, they can definitely take this series. You know Allen will get his and Pierce and Garnett will have decent series. Rondo is an X Factor too. He just can't shoot, but he can get to spots that most guys can't. Wade will continue to score and Lebron will play second fiddle to him and probably won't have a great series. That guy just doesn't have the IT factor. He just doesn't. He is obviously a freak and is one of the best in the game, but he has a deer in headlights look on his face a lot. It is easy to get in his head. You can't get into Jordan or Kobe's head, not even close.
Celtics in 7. Allen blows up in a few games and Celtics win game seven on the road.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
4 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. 8 Memphis Grizzlies
Interesting series. I don't think anyone saw this second rounder coming. And I'm not ready to call for the upset but I think this one will be really good. Grizzlies have the edge down low I think. I know Perkins is good and Ibaka is a really good athlete. But as far as just going downlow and one on one moves, the edge goes to Zach and Gasol. Conley is a really solid point guard but Westbrook has a couple inches on him and might be able to get to the paint easily. How will Tony Allen do against Durant? That is the big matchup. If Allen can make Durant work every possession, the Grizz might be able to steal a road game. X Factor will be Harden. If he can hit the open three when Durant is double and Westbrook kicks out, then the Grizz might be in trouble. But if Battier can stay on him and impose his veteran presence, who knows. This one is a whole lot closer than the media will let you believe. This will be a fun series because the Grizz want to slow it down and the Thunder definitely do not.
Thunder in 7. Westbrook has a bigger series then Durant and the Grizz show they just don't have enough depth right now.
2 Los Angeles Lakers vs. 3 Dallas Mavericks
Seen this one before. Normally I would say the Lakers will roll but I don't see Gasol doing anything close to what he use to do. He is just a little bitch and can't get his shots off in the playoffs. He doesn't go hard enough and he just gets outworked. Fisher is a good guard but he is just way too slow anymore. Add in Artests overratedness and the Lakers weak bench and this has Kobe series written all over it. I can see Chandler stopping Bynum. Ugggh, this one scares me a lot. Good thing Kidd is old and slow otherwise the Lakers would be in huge trouble. I'm actually going to go with a wild guess on this one. I see the Lakers showing up in this series and winning games late and killing the Mavs confidence. You can also get in Dirks head, when he's hot, he's awesome, when he's not, he turtles. Odom will also have a good series, they really don't have anyone to matchup with him, especially if Butler tries to play and doesn't have the endurance.
Lakers in five. Kobe averages over 30 a game.
So far the playoffs have been awesome. Yes I know the college march madness tourney is about the best way to do any tournament but the NBA Playoffs is right up there too. Lots of intense games and with the shot clock, you are never out of it if you are within ten, see Bulls games. These matchups will bring some intense final minutes because every team has star, go to players that can produce in the clutch. It'll come down to who is hotter. I don't see many blowouts at all.
Ok, so we'll see how this goes. Games start Sunday afternoon. Big game ones. You can't lose those at home and expect to win the series, it just doesn't happen very often. Let me know what you guys think will happen.
Curt
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