1)Chicago Bulls vs. 8)Indiana Pacers
You have to love the Pacers. They came out strong at the beginning of the season, looking all underdoggy and stuff. Then faltered. Then fired their coach. Then looked all sexy again. Such a cute little team. Except for Tyler "Psycho-T" Hansbrough. He scares the children.
Seriously, though. You may have heard of a little guy by the name of Derrick Rose. He was known as the guy who probably wasn’t as good as Rajon Rondo at the beginning of the year. Then we saw that he added a legitimate jumper to his arsenal. And that it worked from downtown okay too. You might have thought that he wasn’t a good defender. Turns out he is now. Oh, and he still has the sickest circus lay-up this side of……anyone. Darren Collison does not have the ability to stop him. Few do. He may need therapy after this game.
In addition to that, The Bulls have the greatest defense in the league in just about every Important category. You can thank rookie head coach Tom Thibodeau for that. Also known as the architect of the championship-caliber defense of the Boston Celtics’ defense, Thibs got his first head coach gig this year, and looking back, you kind of wonder why.
Rose was a saloon door before this season. He bought in quickly, and with other excellent defenders such as Luol Deng, Joakim Noah, and import Keith Bogans on the team, the Bulls are tough on D this year. And as any cliché-spouter will tell you, defense wins championships.
I wouldn’t be shocked if Indiana stole one game at home, but that’s all anyone with any sense should give the Pacers, who are the worst team, record-wise, in the playoffs this year.
Prediction: Bulls in four.
2)Miami Heat vs. 7)Philadelphia 76ers
A lot has been made of the Heat’s season. They were too inconsistent. People said the egos were too big for one team. People said coach Erik Spoelstra’s job was in jeopardy. That Wade and James couldn’t co-exist. To be fair, at some point in the season, most of these things, if not all, were true. But if you think a team that features two of the top three players in basketball won’t get out of the first round, you are doing this wrong. The Heat are playing very well this season, in case you haven’t heard, and they would love it if everyone would underestimate and write them off. But then, so would the Sixers.
Believe it or not, there are a lot of things that work in Philly’s favor at work here. Andre Iguodala is one the top Lebron-stoppers in the league, and it’s a short list. Elton Brand is averaging 15 points and 8.3 rebounds this season, and has scored 20 in five of his last 6 games, according to ESPN.com. If the Boshstritch shows the least bit of the “studio-gangsta” softness hes become known for, Brand will make him pay. Jrue Holiday should definitely be able to give the corpse of Mike Bibby fits. The bench of the Sixers’ is deep and consistent. The Heat’s is not. See Miller, Zombie Mike and Grampier, Eric for proof of this. You shouldn’t need it.
So Philly is young and scrappy, and would love to be known next year as “The Heatle Killers.” But the Heatles have Lebron James and Dwayne Wade. ‘Nuff Said.
Prediction: Heat in five.
3)Boston Celtics vs. 6)New York Knicks
Take a moment to remember some of the classic Celts-Knicks rivalries of years past. Seriously, do it. Because I’m too young to. What I can do is tell you about this year’s version.
We all know about the Boston Celtics. The original “Big Three.” The team last team to win a playoff series with the Lakers. The possessors of a legendary defense, a super efficient offense, and unlimited swagger. They have never lost a playoff series with their starting 5 int……oh, wait. They moved that Perkins dude, didn’t they? The anchor of their top-tier defense? In a move that, one way or another, fair or unfair, will define GM Danny Ainge’s career?
Let’s get one thing straight; I’m not saying that the Knicks will upset the reigning Eastern Conference champs. But with the Celtics slumping going into the playoffs slumping noticeably, with them taking the Perk trade so hard, with the offense’s engine, Rajon Rondo (by many sources Ken’s best friend on the team), playing the worst he has all year, is it totally out of the realm of possibility? Probably.
So the Knicks are on the rise, due to the acquisition of Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire. At the end of the day, the Celtics can handle that, even if their emotional state is fragile. The Celts are about as veteran as it gets. ‘Melo loves him some iso, and sure, he’s good at it. But Paul Pierce is a pretty good defender. Just ask Lebron James. Amare may also be an offensive prodigy, but Kevin Garnett will bark him into submission. Also, the Truth and KG can play offense. ‘Melo can play defense, when he wants. STAT? Not so much.
While this is as close to a real upset I think there could be ( if Atlanta beats the Magic, it will be as remembered as the other two members of *NSync), at the end of the day, I just really don’t see it happen. The Knicks may have brought a gun just as good as the Celts have, but Boston is wearing kevlar.
Prediction: Celtics in six.
4)Orlando Magic vs. 5)Atlanta Hawks
Oh boy. The best bad team in the NBA versus the worst good team. Can’t tell which is which? Neither can I. It’s a battle of front office incompetency. What’s the worst decision? Giving Joe Johnson a max contract? Or going out of your way to acquire Gilbert Arenas and a contract that could feed Eddy Curry and Shaq for the rest of their lives?
Everyone has "hyped" the Jason Collins-Dwight Howard matchup into oblivion, but hey, I’ll beat the dead horse. It is really the best plan that Atlanta has for winning the series. And I just don’t know that Jason Collins is up to the task of stopping the best center in the league for several years running now.
Orlando is a veteran team that did reach the Finals a couple years ago, you might remember. No? Okay. Can’t blame you. This will be a battle of jumpers, with Jamal Crawford and Joe Johnson on one side, and the Orlando Magic on the other. Defense and rebounding will prevail. Atlanta is 9th in points allowed per game with 95.8, and Orlando 4th with 93.7. I’ll give that to Orlando, just because of Superman. Rebounding? Magic are 6th with 43.2, Hawks are 28th with 39.3. Dwight again? Yep.
Prediction: Magic in seven.
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