Eastern Conference
As the NBA regular season comes to an end on Wednesday, nobody is surprised that the Miami Heat hold the best record in the league. Although they have been sitting their starters as of late in order to give them rest before the playoffs, the Heat have managed to win their last seven games. While many analysts consider them as a lock to reach at least the finals for the second straight year, there are a few teams that could give them trouble. Teams like the Knicks, Pacers, and Bulls could be a serious threat to their quest for a repeat.
As for their first-round matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks, Miami should have no problem putting them away in no more than five games. Although the Bucks have scoring capability in Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis, their defense will not be strong enough to stop Lebron James and the Heat.
The number 2 seed, the New York Knicks, have been on fire as of late. With Carmelo Anthony scoring at will, big men Tyson Chandler and Kenyon Martin getting their needed rest, and the healthy duo of Raymond Felton and Jason Kidd running the point, the Knicks should be in good shape for the playoffs. They start the playoffs looking for revenge against a Boston Celtics team that eliminated them just two years ago. Although this 7th seed Celtics team is not the same one that beat them in 2011, they are still capable of pulling off an upset with Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce healthy. It should shape up to be an exciting series, but the Knicks will pull away with this one in the end.
The next matchup in the East features the Indiana Pacers, and the Atlanta Hawks. Most fans expected the Hawks to struggle this year because of the loss of Joe Johnson to the Nets in the offseason. However, the duo of Al Horford and Josh Smith has led the Hawks to a 44-38 record, and the number six seed in this year’s playoffs. The Pacers, with big men Paul George and Roy Hibbert leading the way, have turned out another successful season, and secured the number 3 seed in the East. This matchup favors the Pacers in more than one way. Aside from their dominant big men and solid defense, the Pacers have scoring capability in David West. They should have no problem putting the Hawks away early in this series.
The four and five seeds, Brooklyn and Chicago, should make for an exciting series. The Bulls, always a strong defensive team under Coach Tom Thibodeau, match up well against the Nets, who have two of the better scorers in the league in Deron Williams and Joe Johnson. Although the return of point guard Derrick Rose is unlikely, the Bulls are still not ruling out that possibility. If Rose does return, the Bulls will immediately become a favorite not only to win this series, but to contend for the Eastern Conference title. As for now, I believe this series will go down to the wire, and even without Rose, the Bulls will pull out with the win, and move onto the conference semi’s.
The top half of the bracket for the Semi Finals is shaping up to look like Miami vs Chicago, the matchup that everyone wants to see. The Heat, still bitter about the Bulls’ ending their twenty-seven-game win streak, are chomping at the bit to get some revenge. With Derrick Rose, we’re talking about possibly the most exciting series of this playoffs. However, without him, it’s a long shot for the Bulls to take out the Heat in a seven-game series. I have the Heat winning this one in six, with Rose sitting the series out.
The Knicks definitely made a statement to the Pacers at the end of the regular season, beating the Pacers by double digits. This series should be another exciting one, with Indiana’s big men matching up well with the Knicks Tyson Chandler and Kenyon Martin. With Carmelo Anthony and JR Smith however, the Knicks just have too much firepower on the offensive end for Indiana, and I believe they will win the series in 6 games.
In the Conference Finals, the New York Knicks would take on the Miami Heat. The Heat who finished the regular season with the best record in the league, have had serious trouble against the Knicks throughout the season, going just 1-3 against the Knickerbockers. Despite that fact, with the bench playing well, and Lebron James looking to be a lock for his second straight MVP, the Heat have to be considered the favorite. However, the Knicks have the stars, and bench play to beat the Heat. My bold prediction for this one is for the New York Knicks to upset the Miami Heat in game 7, and move on the NBA Finals for the first time since the 1998-1999 season. – MO
Western Conference
The Western Conference, as usual, is far deeper than the Eastern Conference, making the race for the Conference’s Finals berth extremely competitive. The top seed goes to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Conference’s reigning champion. This year’s Thunder team is missing one of their Big Three (James Harden, now with the Rockets), but still features two of the league’s finest players in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. They take on a Houston team that, as previously mentioned, stars former Thunder standout James Harden, who will be looking for a statement series after being traded by Oklahoma City before this year’s campaign. OKC’s high powered offense and solid defense should easily carry them into the second round.
Just behind the Thunder are the omnipresent San Antonio Spurs, still built upon the same nucleus that brought titles to the Alamo City in 2005 and 2007. Coach Gregg Popovich has done a supremely good job in reshaping his once-defensive oriented team into an offensive juggernaut, making the Spurs a remarkably tough out in the first round. They will face the Kobe-less Lakers, who, despite two solid wins after Bryant’s season-ending injury, probably don’t have the horses to do much damage in the postseason. Duncan, Parker, and the rest of their crew should coast through round one.
The West’s 3-6 matchup should be a highly entertaining one and features the Denver Nuggets squaring off against the underdog Golden State Warriors. Denver has been outstanding all year, but has had the misfortune of being bitten by the injury bug at precisely the wrong time, losing Danilo Gallinari for the year to an ACL tear and seeing rebounding ace Kenneth Faried hobbled by a sprained ankle. However, Denver has been outstanding at home this year (38-3) and puts up a ton of points. They’re the more experienced team, and should take down the upstart Warriors.
Perhaps the most intriguing first-round matchup features the fourth-seeded Clippers and fifth-seeded Grizzlies, a rematch of last year’s epic seven game series. The matchup is a clash of styles. While Memphis is very much a grind-it-out, tough-minded team, Los Angeles plays in a flashy manner reminiscent of the Showtime teams once fielded by their fellow tenants at the Staples Center. The Grizzlies will certainly slow down things and draw out the series to at least six or seven games, but Los Angeles’s combination of size and speed, along with the fact that they feature the game’s best point guard in Chris Paul, should win them the series.
The Clippers would then face the Thunder in the second round. Both of these teams possess outstanding efficiency numbers, but what puts OKC above the Clippers is the presence of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, two of the league’s finest crunch-time scorers. This is another matchup that lends itself to offense, and I like the Thunder to outgun the Clippers.
In the other semifinal matchup featuring the Spurs and Nuggets, the favored team should
again come out on top. The two squads split their regular season series 2-2, with each team taking care of business at home. San Antonio has the luxury of having key players Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili healed, while Denver is short handed. The Spurs have been the picture of consistency all year long, and their combination of grizzled vets and athletic wings Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard should carry them past an athletic, but outmatched Denver team.
In the Conference Finals, the Spurs would face the Thunder. It is a clash of the old guard versus the present and future of the league. Oklahoma City has the experience of last year’s finals run under their belt, and features the sort of collection of talent that is only seen once in a great while. San Antonio is as good as ever, and no team is as tested and battle-hardened as they are. Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili will put up quite the fight, but in the end, Oklahoma City is too good. Durant and Westbrook have grown and improved immensely, even in the absence of James Harden, and are fully capable of carrying the Thunder to the Finals. They’ll do so and look to pick up the franchise’s first title since moving to the Sooner State. – DB
Finals
The Academy Road’s projected NBA Finals would feature an offensive display not often seen. The Knicks are ordinarily dangerous on offense due to the presence of the league’s scoring champion, Carmelo Anthony, but the emergence of J.R. Smith as an efficient offensive powerhouse and viable scoring option in the past month should have any opponent fearing New York. Tyson Chandler anchors the Knick defense, and will likely outplay the Thunder front line on both the offensive and defensive glass. But, while New York does have most of the pieces to win a title, they haven’t exhibited the consistent excellence that Oklahoma City has all year. It really is truly difficult to find a glaring weakness in the Thunder’s lineup. Durant, Westbrook and company possess invaluable experience from their tangle in last year’s Finals with Miami, and New York simply hasn’t been in those kinds of high pressure, late postseason games with their current lineup. To win the series, the Thunder must prevent the Knicks from producing a three-point barrage as they are capable of doing, but if they can, Oklahoma City’s superior talent and skill should carry them to a championship.
Prediction: Thunder in 6