NBA Playoff Predictions- Conference SemiFinals

Let me just start by saying that these past few weeks of basketball have been amazing! The games have been nail biting and exciting, and seeding has not really mattered. 8 seeds are taking 1 seeds to game 7’s. Actually, almost every team in the playoffs right now are in a game 7 (or have won a game 7). I think many will agree that the 2014 playoffs have been the best in many years. There is so much depth on both the eastern and western conference (more so on the western). I would like to recap some key highlights of the first round. The OKC Thunder and Memphis Grizzlies played four games, and went into overtime in all four of those games. The Thunder eventually beat out the Grizzlies in a game 7, where the Grizzlies lost one of their star players to a suspension. The next highlight I would like to “highlight” is the Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers. This was a fun series to watch, and even more fun to see how it all ended. Damian Lilliard hit a game winning buzzer beater with .9 seconds left, to send the Trail Blazers into the semifinals. They won the series 4-2. The Trail Blazers were one of the three teams that advanced into the semifinals without having to play a game 7. The other two teams were the Washington Wizards, and the Miami Heat.

Now that we have that under the belt, lets talk about my predictions for the NBA Semifinals.

 

Above, you will see the match ups for the semi finals. As you can tell, there are still games to be decided. The games are currently being played as I type this post, so I am just going to go with my predictions from the first round. Speaking of predictions from the first round, I guessed 6 out of the 8 match ups correctly. Click here if you want to go check that post out.

 

Los Angeles Clippers vs Oklahoma City Thunder– If you are a Thunder fan like myself, you might have been a little scared. The Thunder nearly lost to the Grizzlies, but seemed to have found themselves in game 6 and 7. Both Kevin Durant and Russel Westbrook played mediocre in games 2,3,4 and 5. A newspaper in Oklahoma even called Kevin Durant Mr.Unreliable. I am so glad that newspaper did that, because Kevin Durant used that as motivation fuel. He played like his MVP self during game 6 and 7. The Los Angeles Clippers are a different story. They faced this issue in the middle of their tough match up with Golden State. Eventually the Clippers came together and defeated the Warriors in a nail biting game 7. For more information on what happened with the Clippers, click here. These two teams played each other four times in the regular season, where the Thunder won 2, and the Clippers won 2. This match up is fairly even, and to me, the star players on both teams are going to have to step up. I think the Thunder have found themselves now, and are looking pretty dangerous with their stars and their bench depth. 4-3 Thunder

 

Miami Heat Vs Brooklyn Nets– This is a very interesting match up to say the least. There is definitely a serious rivalry between these two teams, and there is definitely some past history between these teams. The Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets have played four times in the regular season, and the Nets won all four games. These games were very close, the Nets only won two of those four games by a mere 1 point. Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett definitely hate the Heat. They have played against the Heat when they were on the Celtics. And it is also feels nice when you beat the team that took one of your players (Ray Allen). Anger and revenge can fuel some pretty awesome things in the NBA. This is going to be another fun series to watch, but for the Nets to win in the playoffs, they cannot keep games close like they did in the regular season. 4-2 Miami Heat 

 

Washington Wizards Vs Indiana Pacers– The Pacers nearly lost to the 8 seed Atlanta Hawks. I predicted the Hawks would win, simply because the Pacers have lost their flow and winning ways. The Wizards have proven that they can play well against good defenses, after beating a great defensive team that struggled to find offense, the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls resemble the Pacers. They are a good defensive team (their defensive has struggled late in the season), and their offense has just crumbled. Paul George has not been a very reliable scorer for the Pacers, so in order for them to win this series, they need to figure out how to score the ball if Paul George is off. This a lot for the Pacers to do in a short amount of time. The Wizards on the other hand are looking very good offensively. 4-2 Wizards 

 

Portland Trail Blazers vs San Antonio Spurs– The Trail Blazers stunned many people when they beat the Rockets (in buzzer beating fashion). Damian Lilliard is shaping up to be a superstar, and Lamarcus Aldridge is showing us why he may be the best power forward in the league. The Trail Blazers have great depth on their bench, and they always find ways to score. I am actually very concerned for the Spurs because their star players struggled against Dallas. In order for the Spurs to win, they are going to have to step up offensively, because their defense is always going to be there. I really want the Spurs to win, so I am going with my gut reaction here. Either way this will be a very close series. 4-3 San Antonio Spurs

 

The Trail Blazers may not play the Spurs, but it is highly likely that they will. I predicted the Spurs to be in a close series, but not this close. Dallas is looking really good, and they are reminding me of when they beat the Miami Heat for an NBA championship as a 4th seed coming into the Playoffs. The Dallas Mavericks may win, so here is the alternate prediction.

Portland Trail Blazers Vs Dallas Mavericks– The Dallas Mavericks have a good offense and defense, and I actually think that the Mavericks are the best overall team in the NBA Playoffs right now. If the Mavs do end up beating the Spurs, I think It will be a peace of cake for the Mavs to beat the Trail Blazers. Monta Ellis is going to go off, and Dirk Nowitizki is going to be his usual hall of fame self. 4-2 Dallas Mavericks 

 

 

NBA Playoff Predictions- First Round

After watching the opening debut of the playoffs yesterday, I finally think that I have a more solid understanding of how each team is going to play. The day this post goes up, the teams that didn’t play yesterday, will have played today. So let me get started by showing you how the bracket looks this year.

 

As many have said, there has never been this much depth in playoff history. And when I am talking depth, I am talking about the western conference. Look at the Phoenix Suns for instance. They were eliminated from the playoffs simply because they were in the west. Now lets take the Suns and put them in the Eastern Conference, suddenly they are the number 3 seed with their finishing record. The western conference is really where the main action is going to be, this is also why it is very hard for me to predict western conference match ups. The East may not be as powerful as the West, but it does bring some young and upcoming teams that should make the Eastern Conference a little bit more relevant in a few years. The Raptors and the Wizards are young teams that show great potential. Heck, even the Bobcats looks sensational. Although for me, if any team has a chance to beat the Heat, it would have to be the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets found themselves late in the season and they look amazing. Jason Kidd has done a great head coaching job. The Nets even beat the Heat 4 times during the regular season.

Alright so now let me start doing the predictions.

I would like to point out that the Thunder was the only team that won at home yesterday. The Nets and the Warriors beat their opponents on away territory. Today the Heat and The Spurs beat their opponents at home, the Blazers, Rockets, Bulls, and Wizards have yet to play and I will not be able to say anything before the post goes up.

Predictions

Miami Heat vs Charlotte Bobcats-  There is no doubt the returning champs are going to win this series, but I would like to point out that the Bobcats looked really good today, the Heat underestimated them in my opinion. I think the Heat will put away the Cats in 5 games. Yes, I do believe that the Bobcats can defeat the Heat for at least one game. 4-1 Heat

OKC Thunder vs Memphis Grizzlies- Everyone think that this match up is going to go down to the wire, 7 game series. After watching the Thunder beat the Grizzlies yesterday, I think that this series should be short and sweet. Memphis lacks offense, while the Thunder plays great offense, and there defense was stellar yesterday. The team recorded 10 blocks! So my prediction is 4-0 Thunder

LA Clippers Vs Golden State Warriors- Probably the most entertaining match up of the playoffs. These two teams HATE each other. These games are going to have its fair share of technical fouls. Both teams are amazing and fun to watch. This is more of a offensive battle, and to me, once the Warriors get hot, they can put of 30 points in a quarter. Yesterday we saw Blake Griffin almost do nothing, he was struggling on the floor, and he let his emotions get in his way. Chris Paul tried to make up for the slack but the Warriors were able to pull it off in the end, beating the Clippers on the CLIPPERS home court. Huge game for the Warriors and I think this series will come down to the wire but Golden State will prevail in the end. 4-3 Golden State

Brooklyn Nets Vs Toronto Raptors- The Raptors had a great regular season locking up the third seed. Unfortunately they had to start the playoffs by playing the Nets. If the Nets would have started the regular season better, they would have easily been the second or third seed. The Raptors are a young squad that has a bright future, but right now, the Nets are going to win. 4-1 Nets

San Antonio Spurs Vs Dallas- The two squads from Texas battle it out. The Mavs showed late in the season that they could really ball. I think that if they were the seventh seed, they could have maybe beaten the Thunder, but they are not the 7th seed. They are playing a team called the Spurs. The same Spurs that made it to the championship last year, the same OLD (pun intended) Spurs that locked up the best record in the NBA. Mavs will give it their best, but the Spurs are winning- 4-2 Spurs

Indiana Pacers Vs Atlanta Hawks- The Pacer may be the number one seed in the East, but the way they have been playing towards the end of the regular season had me thinking that they should not be in the Playoffs. The Pacers offense is non-existent, some of their players are having off-court issues, the focus is not their. They even lost their first game of the Playoffs at home against the Hawks. who by the way, has a losing record! I have lost all hope in the Pacers for this year so I am awarding the Hawks the series win. 4-3 Hawks.

Houston Rockets Vs Portland Trail Blazers- Another interesting match up that should be fun filled. The Rockets and their Star James Harden are legitimate title contenders. The Blazers had a great star to the season, and ended on a pretty good note. I like the blazers more than the Rockets, but I just don’t think the Blazer can beat them. I think this series will be 7 games,and that last game will be decided by the Stars. If Lamarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard get hot, then the Blazers can win. If Harden and Dwight Howard get hot, then the Rockets will win. Since Harden is a little bit more consistent-Unfortunetly, I am going with my gut reaction. 4-3 Portland

Washington Wizards Vs Chicago Bulls- The Bulls amaze me every year. Regardless of the players they lose they seem to always win games with their gritty defense and tough passion. The Bulls lost both Derrick Rose (again) and Luol Deng and still locked the 4th spot in the East. Their opponent is not mediocre though. The Wizards have stunned everyone this year. Their back court combo of Bradly Beal and John Wall is full of energy, speed, power. The Chicago Bulls can bully the  Wizards with their defense, but there is no way they can fully shut down Wall and Beal. The Bulls also struggle on the offensive end, they do not really have any single player that can step up their game of quick offense. I love me some Bulls but the Wizards are going to win. 4-2 Wizards.

 

These are my playoff predictions! I will be writing another post on my second round predictions! The Playoffs are here and I am pumped!