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Okay, now that we have the real bracket set, I'll list mine.
East
1. Boston Celtics over 8. Chicago Bulls in five. I don't expect this to be as competitive as some here. Yes Wade and Butler make for a nice combo but this team was a trainwreck even before Wade went down because there is no sense of cohesion in Chicago.
2. Cleveland Cavaliers over 7. Indiana Pacers in six. Cavs will start out slow but eventually get their collective heads out of their posteriors before it gets dangerous.
3. Toronto Raptors over 6. Milwaukee Bucks in five. I like the Bucks and their energy but they don't have the horses to keep up with the now-experienced Raptor team.
5. Atlanta Hawks over Washington Wizards in seven. I'll make this my upset for the East since defense matters in the playoffs.
West
1. Golden State Warriors over 8. Portland Trailblazers in five. Blazers tend to give the Warriors trouble by matching their fast pace, but there will be no David over Goliath upset here.
2. San Antonio Spurs over 7. Memphis Grizzlies in four. Grizzlies 29th in points scored and dead last in the league in FG%. Nuff said.
6. Oklahoma City Thunder over 3. Houston Rockets in seven. Oh yes, the first round series we all want to see. D'Antoni has the Rockets finally playing like a team, but OKC has defense and the triple-double machine. It would feel great to get this one right.
5. Utah Jazz over 4. Los Angeles Clippers in six. Because they're the Clippers, that's why.
East Semis
Celtics over Hawks in five.
Cavs over Raptors in six.
ECF
Cavs over Celtics in five.
West Semis
Warriors over Jazz in five.
Spurs over OKC in six.
WCF
Warriors over Spurs in six.
Finals
Warriors over Cavs in six. Vindication, baby!!
Barring injury (and maybe including it) the real Finals this year is the WCF. There is a big gap between the top 3 teams (GS, SA, and HOU) and the rest. I expect the Warriors and Spurs to play in the West. I think the Rockets don't have an answer for Leonard & Aldridge, and I think that Leonard will give Harden fits with his defense. I expect the Warriors to beat the Spurs, but for it to be a truly epic series (I think it will go 6). I think Cleveland is more likely than anyone else to come out of the East, and I think they lose in 5 (regardless of the West's winner). I think Toronto, if hitting on all cylinders, could force a game 6, but I don't think the Finals will ever really be in doubt.
Okay, now that we have the real bracket set, I'll list mine.
East
1. Boston Celtics over 8. Chicago Bulls in five. I don't expect this to be as competitive as some here. Yes Wade and Butler make for a nice combo but this team was a trainwreck even before Wade went down because there is no sense of cohesion in Chicago.
2. Cleveland Cavaliers over 7. Indiana Pacers in six. Cavs will start out slow but eventually get their collective heads out of their posteriors before it gets dangerous.
3. Toronto Raptors over 6. Milwaukee Bucks in five. I like the Bucks and their energy but they don't have the horses to keep up with the now-experienced Raptor team.
5. Atlanta Hawks over Washington Wizards in seven. I'll make this my upset for the East since defense matters in the playoffs.
West
1. Golden State Warriors over 8. Portland Trailblazers in five. Blazers tend to give the Warriors trouble by matching their fast pace, but there will be no David over Goliath upset here.
2. San Antonio Spurs over 7. Memphis Grizzlies in four. Grizzlies 29th in points scored and dead last in the league in FG%. Nuff said.
6. Oklahoma City Thunder over 3. Houston Rockets in seven. Oh yes, the first round series we all want to see. D'Antoni has the Rockets finally playing like a team, but OKC has defense and the triple-double machine. It would feel great to get this one right.
5. Utah Jazz over 4. Los Angeles Clippers in six. Because they're the Clippers, that's why.
East Semis
Celtics over Hawks in five.
Cavs over Raptors in six.
ECF
Cavs over Celtics in five.
West Semis
Warriors over Jazz in five.
Spurs over OKC in six.
WCF
Warriors over Spurs in six.
Finals
Warriors over Cavs in six. Vindication, baby!!
Well, we're a few steps in. I think the remaining 1st round series all have the better team leading 3-2. I don't predict any of them going to 7. As for Round 2: Warriors over Jazz in 4, Cavs over Raptors in 7, Spurs over Rockets in 6, Celtics over Wizards in 6. WCF: Warriors over Spurs in 6, Cavs over Celtics in 6. Finals: Warriors over Cavs in 5.
Well, we're a few steps in. I think the remaining 1st round series all have the better team leading 3-2. I don't predict any of them going to 7. As for Round 2: Warriors over Jazz in 4, Cavs over Raptors in 7, Spurs over Rockets in 6, Celtics over Wizards in 6. WCF: Warriors over Spurs in 6, Cavs over Celtics in 6. Finals: Warriors over Cavs in 5.
Yeah those predictions sound good, though lately the Spurs have been finding a way to not make it back to the WCF. So the Rockets may upset them but otherwise things should shake out predictably, until the Finals (barring injury).
I went 7-1 in the first round only losing the Rockets/Thunder. For my updated second round predictions:
Celtics over Wizards 4-3. Had this in the preview
Cavs over Raptors 4-2. Had this in the preview too.
Jazz over Warriors 4-2. Had this in the preview too and I'll stick to it
Spurs over Rockets 4-3. Even with the Spurs losing game 1, I think this is going 7 games.
In the East: I'm going to guess Boston beats the Bucks, Pacers beat the Hawks, and Bulls beat the Nets to set the playoff field. In the West I'm going to guess the Clippers beat the Kings to lock up home court vs. the Jazz in the West first round. So, with that said, here's what I'd take:
East:
#1 Boston over #8 Chicago 4-1. I'll give Chicago a game
#2 Cleveland over #7 Indiana 4-0. Yah, Indiana beat them once in April and went to double OT a couple days later, and the Cavs have been struggling, but I see them flipping a switch when the playoffs start.
#3 Toronto over #6 Milwaukee 4-2. Both teams have closed the season well, and will be a series.
#4 Washington over #5 Atlanta 4-1. I don't see the Wiz having much of a problem with these Hawks.
#1 Boston over #4 Washington 4-3. Will be a great series
#2 Cleveland over #3 Toronto 4-2. Rematch of last year's ECF, Raps will compete but fall short
#1 Boston over #2 Cleveland 4-3. This is where coasting will hurt Cleveland as Boston has game 7 at home which is the difference.
Yah, really going out on a limb there in the East, huh?? . Don't worry, I'll pick some surprises in the West.
West:
#1 Golden State over #8 Portland 4-2. Lillard & McCollum can keep Portland in a couple of games, this will definitely not be a rout.
#2 San Antonio over #7 Memphis 4-0. Can't see the Grizz keeping up.
#6 OKC over #3 Houston 4-3. Matchup of the 2 MVP favorites. Even though Harden has the better team surrounding him, I'll take the player that is playing on another level in Westbrook, to lead the Thunder to the 2nd round.
#5 Utah over #4 Clippers 4-2. C'mon its the Clippers! We should all know how this ends by now! Alls I know is Utah/Golden State will be a hell of a lot more interesting than Clippers/Golden State will be as the Clips will fold like a cheap suit and lose by 20+ all 4 games.
#5 Utah over #1 Golden State 4-2. I know it didn't mean much to the Warriors but I really didn't like their game vs. the Jazz last night. Warriors played most of their starters, even though it had a chance to be a semifinal preview, the Jazz went into Oracle, punched the Dubs in the mouth to start and didn't falter after the Dubs came back from the earlier deficit. Now the Jazz know they can beat the Warriors because they would have done it less than a month earlier, and they only played once during the season @ Utah with the Warriors only winning by 7. Jazz for my upset of the playoffs.
#6 OKC over #2 San Antonio 4-2. I'll take Russ again, because really SOMEONE has to pick something different! If I'm wrong with these 2? Oh well, I took a gamble and something different while 99% of the others are picking the safe route (San Antonio/Golden State) and if I'm right with 1 or both I look like a complete genius.
#5 Utah over #6 OKC 4-3. Wouldn't it be funny to see Thunder playing more games than the Warriors?? I'll give the edge to the Jazz with home court in this matchup.
Finals:
East #1 Boston over West #5 Utah 4-1. Fairy tale season for the Jazz run out after they used too much steam and effort dispatching the Clips, Warriors & Thunder in the West, they have nothing left for the finals so Boston cruises.
Well...........................at least these would've produced (probably) better games in the first 3 rounds but worse games in the finals. Take your pick. Personally, I'd rather see some other teams win, and have an actual competitive playoff game before freaking June!
I guess I gave the opponents of GS & Cle too much credit. Really wanted to see the Rockets lose in the first round too...oh well.
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. Don't worry, I'll pick some surprises in the West.