Well, after a crazy night last night, the seedings for the first round of the NBA playoffs have finally been established. The games start on Saturday afternoon, and I look forward to several weeks of spending too much time in sports bars and/or in front of my TV. Without further ado, here are my picks:
Eastern Conference
1. Cleveland Cavaliers vs. 8. Chicago Bulls — Chicago wins one game at home behind huge nights from Rose and Noah, but otherwise gives Cleveland little trouble. Cleveland in five.
2. Orlando Magic vs. 7. Charlotte Bobcats – While their defense keeps the games fairly tight, the Bobcats are completely unable to handle Howard while dealing with Orlando’s depth. Orlando in four.
3. Atlanta Hawks vs. 6. Milwaukee Bucks — Milwaukee puts up a better fight than people might expect, but without Bogut their defense is compromised and they fall to the Hawks. Atlanta in six.
4. Boston Celtics vs. 5. Miami Heat – Boston has no answer for Dwyane Wade, who gets to the rim constantly and either scores or gets bailed out by the refs. Miami’s relative youth provides the slight edge in a hard-fought series. Miami in seven.
Western Conference
1. Los Angeles Lakers vs. 8. Oklahoma City Thunder — LA struggles against the youth, speed, and athleticism of the Thunder, and Kobe takes way too many shots trying to outshine Durant, but the defending champs win out with talent, experience, and Phil Jackson being a huge dick in the media. LA in six.
2. Dallas Mavericks vs. 7. San Antonia Spurs – These two teams have battled each other a ton in the past few years with varying results. Tim Duncan has saved himself all year in the hope of throwing together one last set of superstar playoff performances, and that combined with a healthy team for the first time all year is enough. Spurs in seven.
3. Phoenix vs. 6. Portland Trailblazers – Brandon Roy tries to play on his busted knee, but to little avail. Portland, tortured by the injury bug all year, finally succumbs to their wounds against a Phoenix Suns team that may have been playing the best basketball of any team since the all-star break. Phoenix in five.
4. Denver Nuggets vs. 5. Utah Jazz — Kenyon Martin, hobbling around on one leg, is unable to deal with Milsap and Boozer (even hurt) down low, or Okur outside. AK-47 returns for Utah and goes wild. Chauncey Billups takes too many inadvisable shots trying to be the man. Utah in seven.
