GSW vs HOU Western Conference Finals - NBA Playoffs 2015

Congratulations to both the Warriors and Rockets on making it to the Western Conference Finals. Both franchises haven't been to this round of playoffs for a number of years. I'm still surprised the Rockets made it this far after the meltdown by the LA Clippers. I wish the Spurs would have made it to the WCFs instead of the Rockets because I believe they are the only team that could have beat the Warriors.

Houston stands no chance against the Warriors. In the 4 game regular season series, the Warriors swept the Rockets 4-0. That included 2 games at Houston. The first game of the regular season series was the closest game of the series, which the Warriors won by 11. Followed by a 12 point victory at Golden State. When the MVP contest was as close as could be, the Warriors thumped the Rockets in Houston by 25. In the season finale of the series the Warriors won once again by 13 at Golden State. A regular season sweep doesn't define what the playoff series will result in, but to me I think there is a clear indication that the Rockets don't match up well with the Warriors.

It will be fun to watch the MVP and MVP runner up play against each other, but Curry will show why he ultimately is this season's MVP over James Harden. Dwight Howard will get very frustrated this series with the swarming defense the Warriors play and the tough-nosed defense of Andrew Bogut. The Warriors have so many weapons and play too good of defense to lose this series.

I will give the Rockets the benefit of the doubt of not getting swept because they did beat the Clippers in a 7 game series after being down 3-1 and down 19pts in the 4th quarter on the road in Game 6. Unless they play miraculous, I don't see any surprises in this series.

Golden State will win the series 4-1. The Warriors will lose a game in Houston due to Houston's desperation not to get swept.

Warriors win 4-1

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NBA PLAYOFFS 2015 2nd Round

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

Christmas Day

Christmas is the season of giving so what better way for the NBA to do that by giving us 5 games tomorrow! I am stoked! Though 2 of the games are pretty anti-climatic, who knows maybe a Christmas miracle could happen in the Bulls-Lakers game (doubt it). 2/5 of these games are horrendous match-ups and the CLE-MIA really isn't that good of game with how bad the HEAT are and with out Chris Bosh. The OKC-SA game will be worth a watch though Kevin Durant is not suppose to play, so that game drops a few ratings in my book. The best game to watch will be the late game between GS and the LA Clippers. This game will be the best of the day.

Washington Wizards at New York Knicks:

I don't even want to talk about this game, that is how bad it will be. The Knicks are bad and Washington is good. I expect a big scoring performance out of Melo, but a Knicks loss is for certain. The Wiz are just to good and play great defense to lose to a horrendous Knicks team. John Wall is going to have a hay day.

OKC Thunder at San Antonio Spurs:

Spurs win this one. No Durant for the Thunder and Tony Parker back for the Spurs, I'll expect a good game, but it will take an MVP like performance from Russell Westbrook for the Thunder to win this one in San Antonio. A win for the Spurs will get them back on track for a top 3 seed in the West after their recent 4 game losing streak.

Cleveland at Miami:

The most OVERRATED game of the NBA season. There is little to no hate for LeBron from the fans of Miami. They even are supposedly giving him a video tribute. This return is no-where close to when LeBron returned to Cleveland in his first season on the HEAT. He didn't leave the fans devastated and he did bring the city 2 more championships. There is really nothing for them to be mad at and that's why they aren't. The game itself isn't that good of a match-up to begin with. The HEAT have definitely struggled since the departure of LeBron, including a loss at home to Philly earlier in the week when they were up 23 at one point. That burns (pun intended). I expect the game to be very competitive with big runs to keep the game close, but in the end the Cavs are a much better overall team and will pull away in the 4th. As for LeBron, I don't expect anything above average because he doesn't have anything to prove. 

LA Lakers at Chicago Bulls

Do I dare say that if Kobe doesn't play the Lakers have a chance? It worked against Golden State, the NBA's best team. I don't think it will make a difference because the Bulls are playing well with a healthy Derrick Rose and a top defense, I expect we will have a 20 point blowout in Chicago. If Kobe plays, he'll get his 20, but tat wont be an easy 20. He'll take more than 20 shots and convert less than half. The Bulls can already chalk this one up as a win. 

Golden State Warriors at LA Clippers:

Same court, different team for the Warriors. The best game of the night! This game will be a playoff like game between two of the more entertaining teams to watch in the league. Golden State looking to bounce back after an ugly loss to the Kobe-less Lakers. The Steph Curry-Chris Paul battle will be enticing. I am going to go with the home team because the front court advantage for the Clippers will be the difference with the backcourt cancelling each other out.

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Merry Christmas!