Carmelo Anthony will be looking to add an NBA championship to his list of accolades in this year’s NBA Playoffs.
(Photo Credit: Mark Runyon, Basketball Schedule)
The NBA playoffs are just less than two weeks away, with the first set of games taking place on April 20. But let’s pretend for a second that the NBA season ended today. Would Miami be able to deal with the streaking New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference? Would San Antonio make it out of the first round with injuries to Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili? How would Denver fare without Danilo Gallinari?
The seeding in these hypothetical playoffs are based on the NBA standings as of the morning of Tuesday, April 9, and that means no Los Angeles Lakers. Still, it’ll be interesting to see how the Western Conference unfolds.
Here’s my prediction of the outcome of this year’s NBA postseason.
Western Conference.
First Round
1. San Antonio Spurs vs 8. Utah Jazz
This San Antonio team is built to endure and they showed just how good they are without their Big Three by going toe-to-toe with full-strength Miami right down to the wire. Granted that was back in November but Gregg Popovich knows a thing or two about winning.
Despite their talented frontcourt, I really don’t see Utah beating the Spurs four times to upset the No. 1 seed. Even without Ginobili, I still expect San Antonio to sweep the through the first.
2. Oklahoma City Thunder vs 7. Houston Rockets
This is a pretty mouth-watering first-round matchup as James Harden returns to face his former team after their run to the NBA Finals last year.
Harden will no doubt be fired up for the series and will be ready to ball, but in the end Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka will be simply too much to deal with. Not to mention Kevin Martin, who was the key part of the trade back in October last year.
Best-case scenario for the Rockets is a six-game series, though there’s bound to be some high-scoring games somewhere in there since these are two of the best offenses in the league.
3. Denver Nuggets vs 6. Golden State Warriors
Kenneth Faried and the Denver Nuggets will be looking to go deep into the playoffs without Danilo Gallinari.(Photo by Howard Cheng/Creative Commons)
This is another matchup that’s going to be a high scoring affair, but I give the advantage to the run-and-gun Nuggets.
Even without Ty Lawson for a little while due to plantar fasciitis, it shouldn’t be too much trouble for Denver because Andre Miller has been great all season. And you know Andre Iguodala will make Stephen Curry work for his points.
Lastly, Denver won the season series 3-1 and the non-existent Warriors’ defense will make this almost an impossible task.
4. L.A. Clippers vs 5. Memphis Grizzlies
This for me is the most interesting tie in the Western Conference because it could so easily go to either team.
Memphis has continued to be a threat in the West even without Rudy Gay. The recipe for success for the Tennessee team has been the consistency from Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol, plus the continued development of Mike Conley and recent play from Jerryd Bayless.
Tony Allen will likely guard Chris Paul and he is bound to be a nuisance for him, but I’m giving this one to Lob City in a seven-game thriller.
The tipping point for me is the Clippers’ awesome bench boasting Jamal Crawford and Eric Bledsoe, to name a just a couple.
Conference Semifinals
1. San Antonio vs 4. L.A. Clippers
This is a tricky series to call because L.A. has had its issues lately and I’m not entirely convinced they’re fixed yet. On the other hand, the Spurs have pretty much limped to the finish line.
Even though they claimed home-court advantage out West, Manu Ginobili is out for while with a hamstring injury and it’s unknown whether when he’ll be at 100 percent. That is a big deal.
Plus Mr. Big Shot, Chauncey Billups, will most likely be back for the Clippers by then and I think his playoff experience will send them over the hump.
2. Oklahoma City Thunder vs 3. Denver Nuggets
OKC (and maybe the Clippers) are probably the only teams in the West that can run with Denver. However, they’ll have to significantly improve their care with the ball as they turn it over 15.5 times per game. That’s third in the association and the Nuggets are second in steals with 9.2 per contest.
The good news for them is that Denver is a sub-.500 team on the road so I think the Thunder can hold their home court advantage.
The Colorado team does own the best home record in the NBA at 35-3, but I believe Oklahoma City can steal a victory at the Pepsi Center and seal the series in six.
Conference Finals
2. Oklahoma City Thunder vs 4. L.A. Clippers
After last year’s NBA Finals, Oklahoma City was left with a bad taste in their mouth because they had to watch the Miami Heat celebrate as the seconds trickled down in South Beach.
They would love nothing more than to return to the finals to wash away that bad taste and I doubt the Clippers have what it takes to stop them.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are the Western Conference Champions again.
Eastern Conference
First Round
1. Miami Heat vs 8. Milwaukee Bucks
There’s no doubt in my mind that Miami will make quick work of Milwaukee in this matchup.
Yes, Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis can be explosive but there won’t be any surprises here.
2. New York Knicks vs 7. Boston Celtics
Boston has been struggling with injuries to their two best players lately. Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett have both been suffering from gimpy ankles, with the latter not playing since March 22.
The way the Knicks have been playing recently, they’re a tough matchup for anyone, let alone a Boston Celtics team without their best player in Rajon Rondo and their next best not at 100 percent.
This should be a straight forward series win for New York, but Boston will put up a fight. You know K.G doesn’t lay down easily.
3. Indiana Pacers vs 6. Atlanta Hawks
This is a pretty interesting series because Indiana has been fluttering recently and Atlanta claimed the season series 2-1.
However, in a seven-game series, I can’t see Atlanta getting past the league’s second-best defensive team. Indiana wins.
4. Brooklyn Nets vs 5. Chicago Bulls
Joakim Noah has led Chicago to the fifth-best record in the East in Derrick Rose’s absence. (Photo Credit: Keith Allison, Flickr.com)
The playoffs is when the “real season” starts for the contenders but I don’t see Chicago’s superstar point guard, Derrick Rose, coming back. And even if he did, it’s hard to envision him being his dominant old self. After all, he’s been out for nearly a year so he’s bound to be rusty and he still needs to get over the psychological barrier.
Nonetheless, under coach Tom Thibodeau, Chicago has become on the toughest teams in the NBA and they also boast the third-best defensive record.
Deron Williams has been hot since All-Star break, but the Bulls frontcourt has been phenomenal this season and it’s been a complete team effort. I’m giving this one to Chicago.
Conference Semifinals
1. Miami Heat vs 5. Chicago Bulls
Chicago ended the Miami Heat’s pursuit of history at 27 wins last month in a playoff-like atmosphere at the United Center. It was as physical a game as any this season with Kirk Hinrich LeBron James” href=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFbk01GD8Jg” target=”_blank”>opting to tackle LeBron James.
Miami will be seeking revenge on Luol Deng and Co., so I’m expecting an emphatic statement-making series win. You just know they’ll be ready and angry for the clash come playoff time.
2. New York Knicks vs 3. Indiana Pacers
Paul George has arguably been the Pacers’ best player this year (Photo Credit: IsoSports, Flickr.com)
As I mentioned before, Indiana owns the second-best defensive record in the league. They will make it tough for any opposition they come up against.
Having said that, if the Knicks’ recent streak is anything to go by, they will shoot and make 3s at a pretty scary rate throughout these playoffs and teams will struggle against them.
Also, if Carmelo Anthony’s performance against OKC on Sunday, April 7, is any indication, he will take the ball to the hoop, A LOT. I doubt his likely matchup, Paul George, will be able to do anything about it, or even Roy Hibbert for that matter.
He’ll fight for every point as proven by his nine offensive boards on Sunday and Amare Stoudemire will be back by then too.
New York advances to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Conference Finals
1. Miami Heat vs 2. New York Knicks
After New York’s hot start to the season, many wondered who would be the true kings of the East and the answer, put simply, is the Miami Heat.
The Knicks live and die by the 3-ball and having to play Indiana and then Miami’s stifling defense the following series will take its toll on them.
Yes, the Heat lost the season series 3-1, but these are the NBA playoffs and it’s different when facing a locked in LeBron James and Co. every other night.
NBA Finals
1. Miami Heat vs 2. Oklahoma City Thunder
A 2012 Finals rematch is inevitable in my books.
Since moving to Oklahoma City, the Thunder have progressed year after year, moving further into the playoffs each time.
However, 2013 isn’t going to be Kevin Durant’s year just yet as the Miami Heat will repeat last year’s Finals win.
The way the role players are shooting 3s now, combined with LeBron James’ recent play and team defense. Miami is pretty much unstoppable.