Round 2 is going to be awesome! Game 7 of the Spurs-Clippers series was one of the best games of recent NBA Playoffs. I was very shocked the Clippers pulled it off, but hats off to them. I think the Spurs losing surprised the majority. I had them beating Houston in the second round and eventually going to seven with the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals. Now with the Spurs out, I think the Rockets have a lot better chance of advancing against the Clippers. With that being said here are my predictions of the 2nd round:
GS vs MEM
Earlier in the season I had the Grizzlies as the #2 seed. This is the series of better teams, because whoever wins this series will be the Western Conference champion. The Grizzlies are going to struggle with the pace when they play at Golden State, but they are one of the top defensive teams in the league. If they grind it out by dumping it down low, I believe Memphis can keep it close and steal one on the road. GS wins 4-3
HOU vs LA
This series is really up for grabs. Houston played very well against Dallas and the Clippers were sensational in their seven game series against the Spurs. Chris Paul being a tad beat up could hinder the outcome of the series. I also believe that because LA played a brutal seven game series will make them start down 0-1. Game 2 could be a chance to even the series, but I think the Clippers with go back to LA down 0-2. Even down two games, LA will even the series after Game 4. The deciding factor will be Houston owning home court advantage and winning Game 7 to advance to the Western Conference Finals. HOU wins 4-3
ATL vs WASH
After watching Atlanta struggle against Brooklyn, I am very hesitant to pick them to beat the scorching hot Wizards. How Atlanta plays is why I think they will win the series. They are a good defensive team and an excellent offensive team that shares the ball. The scary thing is that the Wizards are playing unbelievably. Sweeping the higher seed Raptors and averaging nearly 10 point more per game is a recipe for success. I wouldn't be surprised if Washington won, but I think Atlanta is the better team. ATL wins 4-3
CLE vs CHI
This will be the most popular series of the 2nd round. The Cavs are on role after sweeping the Celtics and the Bulls won convincingly against the Bucks after 2 games of missed opportunities.There are a few concerns for both teams. The biggest: Kevin Love out for the rest of the playoffs. Though he has has under performing season, his importance and role on the court hasn't changed. His ability to stretch the floor enabling Lebron and Kyrie to get to the hoop, will be seriously jeopardized now that he is out. I think James Jones and Mike Miller will play big roles in this series filling in for Love, but they don't bring the rebounding ability as Love does. Lebron and Kyrie will have to up their games and production in order to move on.
The Bulls have concerns as well. Blowing game 4 and 5 didn't help them at all. Yes game 6 was a convincing win, but that put more wear on the whole team and especially Derrick Rose. Rose will be the deciding factor in this series. If he can play near his former MVP self that we saw glimpses of in the Milwaukee series, I think they have a good shot of winning. I still don't think they will beat Cleveland, but expect this series to be a physical one. CLE wins 4-2
Showing posts with label atlanta hawks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label atlanta hawks. Show all posts
Sunday, May 3, 2015
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
NBA Eastern Conference Top 5 teams
After about 6 weeks of the NBA season, I have came to some thoughts. The Eastern Conference is totally up for grabs between Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Toronto, and the Wizards. Those 5 are the only good teams in the East. I left the Miami Heat off because without LeBron they are now just an average Eastern Conference team. Now let me breakdown the 5 teams I mentioned.
Atlanta Hawks: I don't know how they are on a 9 game winning streak, but whatever they are doing keep doing it. They are .5 a game behind Toronto for the #1 seed. I don't see them as being a real contender for the Eastern Conference Championship, but they will be tough to go through if they keep playing as they are for the rest of the season.
Chicago Bulls: On paper they look really good and they are really good. They have maybe the most complete team in the East. They are the favorite to a lot of journalist to win the East and they certainly can, but their playoff success depends on the health of Derrick Rose. Last night, he looked really good against a very good Western Conference team, the Portland Trailblazers. Dropping 31 was a great sign for him and the team. As a fan of the game I hope he gets back to his MVP form, but that's highly unlikely. Rose has struggled this season. He is shooting a very low FG% and 3P%. Those number's need to increase closer to 48% and 35%. I would say the biggest concern that I can see are the amount of free throws attempted. He has only one game this season with 10 FTA. His average FTA is only slightly lower than his career FTA, but I personally think that the scoring PG that he is should be getting to the FT at least 6 times per game. It's early in the season, so there is a lot of time to improve and get back to his peak, but that will take proper rest from coach Thibodeau in terms of minutes played and games played. The addition of Pau Gasol has been a great compliment to both Jokim Noah and Taj Gibson. The emergence of Jimmy Butler as premier defender and legit offensive threat has been impressive. The Bulls are a serious contender that could possibly knock King James off his throne.
Cleveland Cavaliers: Sitting at the #5 seed in the East, you would think this team will make it to the playoffs and then bow out in the first or maybe second round. That is not the case. The Cavs just ended a remarkable 8 game winning streak that truly showed us (the fans and league) what this team is capable of doing. After their sluggish start, they finally showed that they can be a sound defensive team and high powered offensive team that we all could predict when the new Big 3 (James, Irving, Love) teamed up. Blatt has finally figured out a game plan that will play to his team's strengths. With a defense first mindset, the Cavs can easily rise to a #1 o#2 seed in the East. Last night was an MVP like performance from Mr. James. 17/24 from the floor is quite spectacular. LeBron is playing great, it's his teammates that need to step up as it's always his teammates that need to step up where ever he goes. DeJaVu? When the Big 3 are all clicking, this team is pretty tough to stop, but it's the guys like Tristan Thompson and Varejo that are the X factors of the Cavs winning these regular season games. Thompson is a very important key to the Cavs success. If Thompson, Love, and Varejo can control the boards, the Cavs will be very successful. Getting Delladova back is a huge addition for the Cavs. He will be able to take some pressure off Kyrie Irving when Irving is on the bench or at the SG position.
follow me at @basketballguy61
Atlanta Hawks: I don't know how they are on a 9 game winning streak, but whatever they are doing keep doing it. They are .5 a game behind Toronto for the #1 seed. I don't see them as being a real contender for the Eastern Conference Championship, but they will be tough to go through if they keep playing as they are for the rest of the season.
Chicago Bulls: On paper they look really good and they are really good. They have maybe the most complete team in the East. They are the favorite to a lot of journalist to win the East and they certainly can, but their playoff success depends on the health of Derrick Rose. Last night, he looked really good against a very good Western Conference team, the Portland Trailblazers. Dropping 31 was a great sign for him and the team. As a fan of the game I hope he gets back to his MVP form, but that's highly unlikely. Rose has struggled this season. He is shooting a very low FG% and 3P%. Those number's need to increase closer to 48% and 35%. I would say the biggest concern that I can see are the amount of free throws attempted. He has only one game this season with 10 FTA. His average FTA is only slightly lower than his career FTA, but I personally think that the scoring PG that he is should be getting to the FT at least 6 times per game. It's early in the season, so there is a lot of time to improve and get back to his peak, but that will take proper rest from coach Thibodeau in terms of minutes played and games played. The addition of Pau Gasol has been a great compliment to both Jokim Noah and Taj Gibson. The emergence of Jimmy Butler as premier defender and legit offensive threat has been impressive. The Bulls are a serious contender that could possibly knock King James off his throne.
Cleveland Cavaliers: Sitting at the #5 seed in the East, you would think this team will make it to the playoffs and then bow out in the first or maybe second round. That is not the case. The Cavs just ended a remarkable 8 game winning streak that truly showed us (the fans and league) what this team is capable of doing. After their sluggish start, they finally showed that they can be a sound defensive team and high powered offensive team that we all could predict when the new Big 3 (James, Irving, Love) teamed up. Blatt has finally figured out a game plan that will play to his team's strengths. With a defense first mindset, the Cavs can easily rise to a #1 o#2 seed in the East. Last night was an MVP like performance from Mr. James. 17/24 from the floor is quite spectacular. LeBron is playing great, it's his teammates that need to step up as it's always his teammates that need to step up where ever he goes. DeJaVu? When the Big 3 are all clicking, this team is pretty tough to stop, but it's the guys like Tristan Thompson and Varejo that are the X factors of the Cavs winning these regular season games. Thompson is a very important key to the Cavs success. If Thompson, Love, and Varejo can control the boards, the Cavs will be very successful. Getting Delladova back is a huge addition for the Cavs. He will be able to take some pressure off Kyrie Irving when Irving is on the bench or at the SG position.
follow me at @basketballguy61
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