With the seeds set, here are my official first round predictions. Once again, nothing personal in this thread against anyone in the NBA, its teams, anyone on SpursTalk, or Kori and timpvp. Also, no trash talking here, just opinions.
First Round
WEST
1. Lakers vs. Jazz - This is (Utah, aside from the Spurs), the last team that the Lakers would want to run into. This won't be a cakewalk series. The Lakers will get physically beat up in this one. The Lakers swept their first round last year, but this one will go 6 games with Utah coming out on top. Utah will win all games at home and steal one of the first 2 at Staples. Utah in 6. Pretty good regular season at 65-17 for LA but the playoffs are a different story than the regular season. The Lakers had a lot of shots, calls, opponent injuries, and bounces to go their way in the regular season but that doesn't mean anything come playoff time. Just ask the 67-15 Mavs from a few years ago. What happens if the Lakers miss their shots? Then what? What happens if someone finally figures out that Pau Gasol is the one that needs to be stopped and not Kobe? The Lakers have been BS'ing all year. The Utah/LA series of last season was a Deron Williams shot from going to Game 7. This series won't be an "upset", Utah will just go out and do what they're supposed to do, they are the favorites in this series. Pau Gasol isn't that good, he just rebounds and does layups. He can't create his own scoring without Kobe drawing all the attention or another Laker bricking a shot.
2. Nuggets vs. Hornets - Both teams are wishy washy so I'm not sure about this one, don't really care...no offense to the Nuggets or Hornets. New Orleans was 56-26 last year, and finished 49-33. A 7 game drop. I expected better out of this team. I still say New Orleans comes out on top. The Nuggets at 54-28 somewhat overachieved. New Orleans in 5. Not much else to say here. David West is a good jumpshooter but as he learned against the Spurs last year: What if the shots don't go in?
3. Spurs vs. Mavericks - Every time these teams meet it's a thriller. The Mavericks got by on Manu's foul, shooting BS shots, and being in the right place at the right time in 2006 and in the 12 meetings between the two teams since that series the Spurs have won 6 and the Mavericks won 6. This series will be different though. The Mavericks have been eliminated in the first round in 2007 and 2008 and are soft in the playoffs. Spurs in 4, in 5 if the Mavericks get lucky.
4. Rockets vs. Blazers - I wish there were some way where after a playoff series, both teams could be eliminated, because these two teams are the ones I like the least out of all West playoff teams. The Rockets and Blazers both have no business being in the playoffs. These are probably the 2 worst teams in all of the playoffs, East and West. Because Portland has homecourt, they'll win and let's see if they give Utah a good series in the 2nd round. I don't necessarily expect to see anything impressive in this series from either team. Both just shoot shots and if they go in, they go in. But what if they don't? Again, two teams that I don't care for and are completely irrelevent in the playoff picture.
EAST
1. Cavaliers vs. Pistons - I originally said Cleveland would go home in the ECF's but after seeing who their first round opponent is, I pick Detroit in this series in 6 and here's why. This team is the Eastern Conference equivalent of the Spurs as far as consistency goes. Detroit has been in every Conference Finals since the 2002-2003 season. Six straight conference finals appearances...that's about as good as you can get. Cleveland, like the Lakers and like the 2006-2007, has just been getting their shots to fall and all the calls, bounces, and opponent injuries to happen at the right time. Being in the right place at the right time will get you far in the regular season, but once the playoffs start, it's time to start playing some real basketball. Cleveland has just been kind of BS'ing through and I'm just not buying into them. 27 game difference between Cleveland and Detroit but Detroit has nothing to prove here, they're a perennial contender and will just go out and do what they're supposed to do. Detroit is the favorite in the series.
2. Celtics vs. Bulls - Celtics in 5. Nothing more to say. KG being out will hurt this team though later on.
3. Magic vs. 76ers - The 76ers have shown the league that they are to be taken seriously. They beat Cleveland to prevent them from going 40-1 at home. Orlando doesn't have any solid leaders on the floor and lacks a quality big man in the middle, so they'll struggle in the paint. This is a mostly jump shooting team and I'm not buying into their offense. Again, another team that gets shots to fall at the right times in the regular season, but what happens in the playoffs when things tighten up? Rashard Lewis won't be able to lead his team to a series victory here. 76ers in 6.
4. Hawks vs. Heat - The Hawks emerged last year in the playoffs but have been pretty anticlimactic since. Since Miami has the league MVP in Dwayne Wade, they'll dispatch of the Hawks in 6 games at the most. Not much else to say here.
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