NBA 1st Round Playoffs Preview

This has to be one of the most unpredictable NBA Playoffs in recent history. I have never been so unsure and excited about an NBA playoff before. 

The Western Conference is going to be epic and the Eastern Conference has some story lines as well. So needless to say I;m going to be making these predictions with very little confidence. But here you go.

The Obvious Picks:

East:

(1) Indiana Pacers vs (8) Atlanta Hawks:

The Pacers have been playing terrible. They lost to the Atlanta Hawks by 20 points a couple of games ago and the Hawks play well against them. But the Pacers are by far the better team. There is no way they could lose this series to a team that is way under .500, Right?

I mean I completely understand if you lost all confidence in the Pacers but they have to be able to win this series. I also think winning the series will help them get there confidence back.

Pacers in 5.

(2) Miami Heat vs (7) Charlotte Bobcats:

The Bobcats are way better than everybody thinks. The have a top 10 defense and a quick scoring guard in Kemba Walker. They also have one if the Heats major weaknesses, which is a scoring big man. Al Jefferson is definitely going to give the Heat some trouble. But it doesn't matter the Heat own the Bobcats almost as much as Michael Jordan does.

Heat in 5


West:

(1) San Antonio Spurs vs (8) Dallas Mavericks:

The Spurs have had trouble with some of the better teams in the league. Well as much as you can have and still win 60 plus games. But the Dallas Mavericks isn't one of those teams that the Spurs have trouble with. The Spurs swept them last year and has won 4 of the last 5 meeting in the playoffs. I don't think the Mavericks are an easy team but this is a terrible matchup for them.

Spurs in 5

A Lil' Tougher:

East:

(3) Toronto Raptors vs (6) Brooklyn Nets:


Everybody is just sleeping on how good the Raptors have been since trading Rudy Gay. They went from looking like a team headed for the lottery to the 3rd seed in the East. They have been beating teams. Sure the Nets have looked like a team that can compete since January but that has been more about their record against the Heat. This is going to be a highly contested series that I can see going both ways but......



Nets in 7


(4) Chicago Bulls vs (5) Washington Wizards

The Wizards are a good team but they probably don't have enough offense to win the series against an offense like this. The Bulls has their own problems scoring but they are the better team. The Wizards are a year and a player away from being a legit team.

Bulls in 6

West:

(2) OKC Thunder vs (7) Memphis Grizzlies

The Grizzlies is a team that nobody wanted to face in the playoffs. Unlucky for them they are playing a team that has the people inside to contend with Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. The Thunder lost to the Grizzlies in the playoffs last year but that series had 4 straight close games that could have swung in either direction. Now the Thunder have Russell Westbrook back and played pretty well against the Grizzlies in the regular season. The Thunder finally has there team back to full health and they should be able to win this time around.

Thunder in 6

(4) Houston Rockets vs (5) Portland Trailblazers

This could be a toss up as well. Both these teams play a fast pace style and shoot a ton of 3's . The Blazers have an edge in the post because LeMarcus Aldridge is better offensively than Dwight Howard. This should be a fun series to watch. It should come down to wether one of the teams start to play defense and the Rockets are more likely to do that than the Blazers.

Rockets in 7

I Have No Idea:

(3) LA Clippers vs (6) Golden State Warriors

Yeah I have zero confidence in any pick I could make for this series. These teams play a fast pace and match up well against each other. They also don't like each other which means that the series is going to be heated. With Bogut out for the Warriors, the Clippers might have an edge inside but they need to hope that the splash brother (Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson) don't get hot for a game in LA because they are tough to beat in the Oracle Arena. I could see this series going Clippers in 7 or Warriors in 6 or vice versa. I'm not going to pretend to be any kind of confident but....

Clippers in 7

Second round teams:

East:

Indiana Pacers vs Chicago Bulls

Miami Heat vs Brooklyn Nets

West:

San Antonio Spurs vs Houston Rockets

OKC Thunder vs LA Clippers

I will continue this preview into the second round.