Another NBA regular season has come to a close, and with the late-season surges that a handful of teams made, this year’s playoffs looks to be as exciting as ever.
The New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, and Boston Celtics are all in the lottery. The Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards, and Charlotte Bobcats are playoff teams.
The Phoenix Suns, despite having a better record than four of the East’s playoff teams, finished the season one game behind the Dallas Mavericks for the West’s final playoff seed.
It’s the thrill of victory and the agony of conference alignment.
Is Miami destined to complete the three-peat? Is this the year that Kevin Durant unseats LeBron James as the league’s dominant force?
Read on, and find out as I offer my first-round predictions for the 2014 NBA Playoffs.
Eastern Conference – FIRST ROUND
(1) Indiana Pacers vs. (8) Atlanta Hawks
The Pacers have been receiving a great deal of criticism as of late (and justifiably so). Since they rolled the dice and threatened to disrupt the chemistry that the team was built upon last year, by trading for Evan Turner and Andrew Bynum, their performance has dropped significantly. The team that once was hell bent on dethroning the Heat now looks as though they might be lucky to even get the opportunity.
The Hawks would be considered lucky to be a playoff team, except that the race between them and the Knicks for this final spot was uninspired at best. The Hawks management was not shy about expressing their desire (more accurately, the lack thereof) to even qualify for the postseason. With that said, the Hawks do have some talent on the roster that might be able to provide an inside presence and make this series challenging for the Pacers.
PACERS in 6 games – Indiana’s defense proves too stingy for Atlanta, but inconsistent offense allows the series to go six games.
(2) Miami Heat vs. (7) Charlotte Bobcats
The Heat have been operating on cruise control to wind the season down, as each of their “Big 3” have taken games off in the last few weeks to allow their bodies to rest. The grind of winning back-to-back titles has clearly worn Miami down as they enter the playoffs, but the team still possesses a mystique that few other teams can ignore. With LeBron James becoming a free agent after this season, it will be interesting to see how these playoffs affect his decision in the offseason. If Miami can three-peat, it might be difficult for LeBron to leave.
The Bobcats, on the other hand, are happy to be here. Al Jefferson has been a model of consistency, and the team looks to be slowly improving, but it takes some serious effort to imagine Charlotte giving Miami much of a challenge.
HEAT in 4 games – Miami needs to get their bodies through each round with as little wear and tear as possible, which means they will try to dispatch Charlotte in the quickest fashion they can.
(3) Toronto Raptors vs. (6) Brooklyn Nets
The Raptors have seen some excellent play from their point guard, Kyle Lowry, and have a young squad that should be competitive going forward. However, with this being their first trip back to the playoffs since the 2007-2008 season, I fear that the team already considers this year a success.
The Nets, who are stocked heavy with veteran talent, will not have that problem. Brooklyn underperformed to end the season, but there was speculation that there was strategy behind the losses. By dropping to the 6-seed, the Nets avoided the Bulls (who beat them in last year’s postseason). With Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce in the mix, along with Deron Williams and Joe Johnson, this may be the last real chance for this talented but aged group.
NETS in 7 games – Brooklyn plays confident and aggressive, while Toronto is overwhelmed by the difference in intensity between regular season and playoff basketball.
(4) Chicago Bulls vs. (5) Washington Wizards
Who isn’t impressed with the Bulls this year? After Derrick Rose went down (again), Joakim Noah morphed into a do-everything point center. The combination of Noah and coach Thibodeau have given the Bulls the reputation as “the team nobody wants to play” due to their physical defensive style. This team reminds me of a college basketball team, where every man believes in the system and is willing to defend until their hearts burst.
The Wizards are still trying to wash off the stink of the Gilbert Arenas days, and have taken some nice steps towards respectability. With John Wall appearing to have matured this season, the matchup between Wall and D.J. Augustin seems to lean heavily in Washington’s favor, but that may be the only area in which that is the case.
BULLS in 5 – I don’t know where Chicago will get their points, but their defense is imposing enough that they won’t need that many to win.
Western Conference – FIRST ROUND
(1) San Antonio Spurs vs. (8) Dallas Mavericks
The Spurs have maintained success for so long that anyone who once hated them now has no choice but to respect the hell out of them. The trio of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili seem as though they will never retire, and despite the constant rumblings of their age becoming a factor the team still notched the league’s best record. One more thing: they were never fully healthy all season.
The Mavericks have Dirk Nowitzki, as well as a reinvented Monta Ellis, but they don’t boast much more than that. While I like the fact that we get a classic “Big Texas” matchup here in the first round, I think that Dirk may be playing on pride more than anything right now.
SPURS in 5 – I am giving Dallas one game out of respect to Dirk, but San Antonio in the playoffs is a machine that does not let up.
(2) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (7) Memphis Grizzlies
Kevin Durant has put together one of the greatest individual seasons of all time. He averaged 32ppg, 5.5apg, and 7.4rpg with some of the best shooting percentages in the entire league. Durant will probably unseat LeBron as reigning MVP of the league this year, but will he get the chance at a NBA Championship as well? Let’s hope that Russell Westbrook’s knees as well as coach Scotty Brooks’ puzzling rotations don’t get in the way.
The Grizzlies are a team that I want badly to root for, but they always get stuck in matchups that I don’t like. Marc Gasol is one of the best players to watch, simply because he does incredible things with the basketball in the form of creative passes and innovative ball fakes, but I worry about Memphis’ guards being able to slow down Durant enough to keep the Grizzlies in the game.
THUNDER in 6 – Oklahoma City has the bodies to throw at a more physical Memphis squad, while the Grizzlies don’t have an answer for Durant once he gets hot.
(3) Los Angeles Clippers vs. (6) Golden State Warriors
This Clippers team is interesting. A midseason stretch of games in which Chris Paul went down with an injury allowed Blake Griffin to make a leap that had him being mentioned in MVP voting races. Beyond their two stars, though, the Clippers have one of the best-rounded rosters of any playoff team; something that coach Doc Rivers will surely utilize to his benefit against an undermanned Golden State squad.
One has to feel badly for the Warriors. They can be so much fun to watch, but the recent injury to Andrew Bogut has the team searching for an answer to how they will maintain an inside presence. Stephen Curry is one of the most entertaining players in the league, but he is leading a team into the playoffs that has little else to offer beyond his ability to shoot from anywhere on the court.
CLIPPERS in 5 games – I wanted to see this series go longer, partly due to how much fun it is to watch Curry play and partly due to the emotion between these two teams (they don’t get along), but without Bogut the Warriors are undermanned.
(4) Houston Rockets vs. (5) Portland Trail Blazers
This should be a fun series. These two teams have been jostling for home court advantage for the last few weeks, eventually ending up with the same overall record and Houston earning home court based upon a tie breaker. The big names are in Houston’s favor, as Dwight Howard has somehow flown under the radar as of late and James Harden is bound to frustrate the opposition with his ability to get to the free throw line. If Patrick Beverly doesn’t miss too many games with a knee injury, this Houston team could be a dark horse in the West.
Portland, on the other hand, is still trying to find steady ground after a hot start to the year was derailed during a midseason collapse. The team seemed to right the ship, but still stand on shaky legs entering the postseason. On paper, the Blazers have plenty of talent. Getting a consistent effort from the squad on a nightly basis is another matter entirely.
ROCKETS in 7 – The ability for Houston to go inside to a revitalized Dwight Howard and Harden’s knack for drawing fouls will drive Portland fans insane, as the Rockets put the Blazers into nightly foul trouble on their way to a first round victory.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
