This will also mean teams are able to get sufficient rest between games and there will be no back-to back-to back schedules which saps energy and entertainment for the fans.
The Eastern Conference looks a little top heavy to me with the likes of Miami, Chicago and Boston rightly the favourites to represent the East in the NBA Finals. Indiana have a good solid team, but lack the real big time player that could turn a close loss into a win.
Atlanta have routinely failed at this spot, although a healthy Al Horford would make them much more dangerous. However, it seems almost clear that the big man is not going to be ready at this stage.
Then we have the likes of Orlando, New York and Philadelphia- of those three teams, the most dangerous is easily the New York Knicks. However, they have been seeded to face the Miami Heat who I believe they match up the worst against and that looks tough for them.
I rule out Philadelphia as they have struggled when playing the better teams all season, while an Orlando Magic team without Dwight Howard is one that would struggle to get into the Play Offs, let alone cause an upset now they are here.
The Western Conference looks a little more loaded with talent and some real dark horses that could cause a surprise.
Like the East, you have to look at three teams when deciding who will be representing the West in the NBA Finals- the Oklahoma City Thunder, the LA Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs.
All three teams have the squads to go all the way, the latter two with a number of years of experience and the Thunder with the experience of reaching the Western Conference Finals last year and having a very good rotation.
San Antonio are the biggest surprise as many thought the shortened season would be hard on their ageing legs, but they have shown a deep rotation and Gregg Popovich has worked wonders to keep all his players fresh.
When you look a bit deeper, the winner of the Memphis/LA Clippers First Round clash look like they could perhaps cause a surprise and reach the Finals of the Western Conference, but a lack of experience and real big time players could account for both. The LA Clippers just don't have the same depth as the best three teams, while Memphis are a solid team yet don't have someone who can really grab the bull by the horns when needed.
It would be unwise to count out the defending Champions, the Dallas Mavericks, but they have had a transitional season and I think they will be much more of a threat once they sign Deron Williams in the off-season (I am 90% sure they will get this done).
Denver and Utah are both good solid teams, the Jazz being particularly young which bodes well for their future, but I can't see either of them performing well enough to win a best of seven series against the best teams in the First Round, let alone going all the way.
Below I will write a few words about the individual First Round match ups and who I think will progress in the series.
Eastern Conference First Round
Atlanta Hawks (5) v Boston Celtics (4)
The Boston Celtics have been on an absolute tear since the All-Star break as they shot up the Atlantic Division to take that title and ensure they finished with one of the top four seeds in the Eastern Conference.
Rajon Rondo has really found his mojo, while the injury to Ray Allen as unearthed a real talent for the Celtics in Avery Bradley. With the likes of Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett playing great basketball, Boston are an absolute threat in the Eastern Conference.
However, the Atlanta Hawks have players like Josh Smith and Joe Johnson who match up well with this Celtics team.
The key to this entire series in how many games Rajon Rondo can take over- not just in terms of dimes he dishes out, but if he has his shooting up to par. Every time he does that, I will expect the Celtics to win the game and I think they will eventually get this series, but it will be the closest one in the East.
Prediction: Boston Celtics in 6 games
Denver don't rely on one start any more since trading Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks last season, and they will cause the Lakers problems with the speed they can play at- I just don't think they will be able to dictate the tempo in more than a couple of games and I think the Lakers will be happy to see this go to 6 games before getting the job done.
However, the Atlanta Hawks have players like Josh Smith and Joe Johnson who match up well with this Celtics team.
The key to this entire series in how many games Rajon Rondo can take over- not just in terms of dimes he dishes out, but if he has his shooting up to par. Every time he does that, I will expect the Celtics to win the game and I think they will eventually get this series, but it will be the closest one in the East.
Prediction: Boston Celtics in 6 games
Chicago Bulls (1) v Philadelphia 76ers (8)
The Chicago Bulls wrapped up the Number 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and I think they will be very pleased with their First Round match up against the Philadelphia 76ers.
The injury to Derrick Rose has given their second unit players the chance to shine and that experience could really help them in the Play Offs beyond this series, but don't overlook the fact that the Bulls are only going places if Rose is healthy.
Philadelphia don't have the star player in their line up, but they have a solid enough team- however, they have really struggled when playing teams with winning records this season and would absolutely need to play at their maximum, with Chicago a little off their own game, for them to extend this series too far.
Just in case the Bulls were not focused, Chicago native Evan Turner was quoted as saying Philadelphia had drawn the 'easier' team in the East compared with having to face Miami, something that seemed to amuse some of the Bulls players ahead of this one.
Prediction: Can't look beyond the Bulls in 5 or less games
Miami Heat (2) v New York Knicks (7)
The New York Knicks were one of the danger teams in the Eastern Conference, but I have always maintained that they needed to avoid the Miami Heat in the First Round as this team is capable of hurting the Knicks on both sides of the court.
The only real hope for the Knicks is that their three point game heats up (pardon the pun) and can get on a roll for more than one or two games. Defending the three point shot has been one of the Achilles heel for the Heat defence all season and the likes of Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire can provide the penetration to leave them open for JR Smith and Steve Novak to knock down threes and keep the Heat off balance.
Miami won't be too concerned with the match up having swept the Knicks in the regular season, and they have the likes of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade who will cause New York all kinds of problems.
As a Knicks fan, I didn't want this First Round match up, although the players, like Tyson Chandler, have been vocal in bigging up their own chances- just can't see beyond a relatively easy Heat progression.
Prediction: Miami in 5 games
Indiana Pacers (3) v Orlando Magic (6)
This could have been a really interesting series if not for one major problem for the Orlando Magic- no Dwight Howard... Superman has caused Indiana so many problems in the past, particularly for Roy Hibbert, but his absence is going to be huge for Orlando and I really don't think this is a Play Off team without Howard playing most of the season.
Other issues are surrounding Stan Van Gundy who is likely to be fired even if they get out of this First Round series and all is not well in this part of Florida.
Indiana have a strong team ethic and will be very pleased with this First Round meeting and a chance to feel their way into the Play Offs after pushing Chicago at the same stage last season. There is a strong rotation here and I think they are going to dominate this series with Hibbert and David West dominating inside.
The Pacers actually lost the season series 3-1, but that was an Orlando team that had Howard in the line up- the Magic have always lived and died by the three pointer too, so there is every chance they take a game and maybe two if they get hot from beyond the arc, but the Pacers are likely to be far too strong.
Prediction: Indiana Pacers in 5/6 games
Western Conference First Round
San Antonio Spurs (1) v Utah Jazz (8)
The San Antonio Spurs have to erase some painful memories from a year ago when they were beaten as the Number 1 seed in the Western Conference by the Memphis Grizzlies, but I don't think the Utah Jazz have the same kind of dangerous talent as the Grizzlies and I expect the Spurs to progress.
They had been ruled out as a genuine contender in this shortened season due to some of the ageing legs of their better players, but Gregg Popovich has found the right balance in giving the likes of Manu Ginobili, Tim Duncan and Tony Parker enough rest, while they have also shown off some of the depth they have in their rotation, making their second unit pretty dangerous too.
All the experience the Spurs have could make a real difference in this series as they are facing a Utah Jazz team that is very young and most of the players are in their first Play Off series. This all bodes well for the future of the Jazz who are just one year removed from trading away Deron Williams.
The likes of Paul Millsap, Al Jefferson and Derrick Favors gives them size, but they struggled against the Spurs in the regular season, particularly in San Antonio, and I think they will do well to extend this beyond 5 games.
Prediction: San Antonio Spurs in 5 games
Oklahoma City Thunder (2) v Dallas Mavericks (7)
This is an interesting series as it is between the young, up and coming power in the West and the old, jaded Champions who are perhaps looking forward to a new season already.
Dallas were always under pressure when they allowed Tyson Chandler and JJ Barea to leave in the off-season having won the Championship last year and it could a lot worse for them when Lamar Odom did not play anything like the 'sixth man of the year' he was last season.
The Mavericks were clearing space in anticipation of a big off-season this year so this was considered a transitional season for them- they are sure to get Deron Williams, in my mind at least, in the Free Agency market and I expect Dallas to be a real threat again next year.
Oklahoma City can gain revenge for losing in the Western Conference Finals last year and they have two bright stars in Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant that can take games away from opponents when they are on form. With Serge Ibaka, Kendrick Perkins, and James Harden (as long as there is no long-term effect from the elbow he took from Metta World Peace), but they can blow a little hot and cold.
That shouldn't effect them in this series, but it is something to consider down the line, especially with the potential Semi Final against the LA Lakers on deck.
Prediction: Oklahoma City Thunder in 6 games
LA Lakers (3) v Denver Nuggets (6)
Metta World Peace is going to be suspended for the next six games and the cynic in me thinks the LA Lakers will deliberately extend this series to at least that amount of game with full confidence that they can beat the Denver Nuggets in either a Game 6 or a Game 7 in this series.
At lot of what the LA Lakers are about starts and finishes with Kobe Bryant, but it is Andrew Bynum who has dominated the Nuggets this season, while the Lakers size is a huge advantage for them in this match up.
The signing of Ramon Sessions has also given them a new look at the Point Guard position and all around I think this is a tough series for the Denver Nuggets.
Denver don't rely on one start any more since trading Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks last season, and they will cause the Lakers problems with the speed they can play at- I just don't think they will be able to dictate the tempo in more than a couple of games and I think the Lakers will be happy to see this go to 6 games before getting the job done.
Prediction: LA Lakers in 6 games
Memphis Grizzlies (4) v LA Clippers (5)
This is perhaps the best series of the First Round in either Conference as both teams are ridiculously closely matched.
The Memphis Grizzlies are a tough, hard nosed team that has the Play Off experience after last season when they surprised the San Antonio Spurs in this Round before pushing the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Semi Finals- the issue for Memphis is that they will always hang around in games, but conversely will allow teams to stay close which can be tough to deal with mentally in a long series, something this has the potential of being.
Chris Paul will try and help out his supporting cast at the Clippers as this franchise has not been in this spot for some time, while Blake Griffin, Randy Foye and DeAndre Jordan have not been in this position in their careers.
However, they do match up well with the Grizzlies and I am not sure how much home court advantage will mean in this series considering all three regular season games was won by the road team.
The whole key to the series could be how the Clippers handle their free throws- they are in the lower regions of the NBA, particularly Blake Griffin who is under 60% from the line. Griffin is likely to be fouled every time he tries to posterize an opponent, and even when he doesn't, and that could cost the Clippers the entire series if they don't fix those issues.
Prediction: Toughest series by far, but Memphis in 7 perhaps
That's my thoughts for the First Round of the Play Offs for both Conferences... I will also be making picks for the Play Off series so check those out too.
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