Well, that was the most interesting “boring year” I’ve ever watched of the NBA. In a year that was supposed to be dull and monotonous, it was anything but. We had the Cavs not only limp down the stretch but give up the one seed to the Boston Celtics. The Warriors “struggle” and find their way through the Kevin Durant injury.
You had two of the craziest seasons ever in Harden and Westbrook, with Russ securing a triple-double for the year and surpassing Oscar’s record with 42. A young budding star in Devin Booker drop 70 so effortlessly and still lose. Klay Thompson dropping 60 in just three quarters to only be benched by Kerr in a blowout win, a constant theme for the Warriors. Surprise teams like the Heat nearly defy all odds but come up just short amid fantastic coaching by Eric Spolestra. And of course Pop being Pop time and time again with his right-hand man ‘The Klaw” transforming into a superstar before our very eyes. This season was anything but boring and I don’t see that trend stopping anytime soon. Here is your 2017 first round NBA Playoffs preview.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
1) Boston Celtics vs. 8) Chicago Bulls
Two of the premiere franchises from the Eastern Conference in a 1-8 matchup, couldn’t ask for much more. At first glance it may seem that the Celtics will have no problems, but not so fast. Although the Bulls have underperformed, they still have Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade. A rising superstar and a 3x champion/NBA Finals MVP on an 8 seeded team. Sign me the fuck up. They also have Rondo and I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, he’s a hot mess. Rondo could be a force though, and I think he will be. Thomas is 5″9 and statistically the worst defender in the NBA while Rondo is 6″1 plays much bigger and has massive hands. He will have his way with Thomas engaging the mid range and orchestrating the offense over him.
For the Celtics, there’s no question Thomas is an elite player offensively. If the Celtics want to win this series he’s going to have to score 30 more times than not. They don’t scare you offensively, however, have stout defenders such as Marcus Smart, Avery Bradley, and Jae Crowder. Well coached as well with Brad Steven the Celtics should win the series but it will be close. I think Celtics in 6 but if players like Mirotic and Zipser come to play it could go 7. To go with the greatness of Jimmy Butler and a “flash” back games from D-wade this might be a great series. Prediction: Celtics in 6
2) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. 7) Indiana Pacers
I hope everyone’s as amped for this as I am! Really has nothing to do with series, because we have Lance “ear blowing” Stephenson verse the King! If you don’t think he’s gonna do some crazy or embarrassing shit then you must not know Lance. Lance does not give one fuck and I love him for it. I just can’t wait for whatever he pulls out of his magic hat.
As for the series, there’s no question the Cavs will win it cuz ya know LeBron’s teams has been to 6 straight finals. But the Pacers like the Bulls are another team that has underperformed based on people’s expectations. But man they got talent. PG13, Lance, Myles Turner. Monta Ellis, Jeff Teague they have the talent to make this series interesting. But to me, it’s not even about the Pacers it’s the Cavs. People say do they have a switch? Of course, they do, it’s the main course of LeBron James with a side of Kyrie Irving, especially down the stretch. They will be magnificent and as long as they get some help from the likes of Kevin Love, Deron Williams and Kyle Korver they will be fine. I see Cleveland winning this in 5, maybe 6, however, close overall games which will help them in the long run. Prediction: Cavs in 5
3) Toronto Raptors vs. 6) Milwaukee Bucks
This might be the best matchup of the Eastern Conference opening games. In fact, it will be. Toronto leads the regular season matchup 3-1 but don’t sleep on Milwaukee. They have Giannis Auntenkumppo aka the “Greek freak”. I love saying his name. But seriously this guy is a freak and one of the most complete players in the NBA. He can pass, score, rebound, and DEFEND at a high level. The only thing he’s missing is a consistent outside shot. This to me will be the battle of the two stars and on the other side, that’s Demar Derozan who is underrated. Derozan is a premiere scorer putting up a career high 27.3 points a game, fourth in the league. Lowry is no slouch either he can ball, although very inconsistent.
Lowry is no slouch either he can ball, although very inconsistent. They also traded for Serge Ibaka as well as PJ Tucker to better their defense. I really want to pick the Bucks in this one and I love me some Malcolm Brogdon, who should be rookie of the year. But then we can go to the likes of Demarre Carrol and Jonas Valancunious who are higher caliber depth then the Bucks have. Greg Monroes is solid but not what he once was and Jabari Parker tore his ACL this year so he is to no help. The Greek Freak is going to have to play out of his mind to win, and he can. But something tells me Raptors clinch this at home in Game 7. Prediction: Raptors in 7
4) Washington Wizards vs. Atlanta Hawks
This is another good matchup of two veteran squads. People were very high on Washington but they havd stumbled down the stretch to the 4 seed, while Atlanta has looked impressive. A 26-point comeback win to the Cavs was huge for their confidence, even though the refs handed it to them. The Korver trade has been a blessing in a disguise with Tim Hadaway Jr. having a career year in his place averaging 14.5ppg. Dennis Schroder has been good and Paul Millsap is still somehow underrated. Even getting key contributions from no-names like Mike Muscala off the bench, they could win this series.
Could is the key word in that sentence. I think Washington just has too much firepower, especially their starting squad. The backcourt of Wall and Beal is one of the best in the league. Otto Porter Junior has been a great 3 for them giving the aforementioned duo space shooting 43.3 percent from deep. Down low they have Markeiff Morris and the “polish hammer” Marcin Gortat. Their games go really well together with Morris expanding the floor and the hammer cleaning up down low.
If Atlanta wants to win the series they’re gonna need role players like Kent Bazemore to step up offensively. Although he can it’s not likely consistently. The Bojan Bogdanovic addition finally gave them a scoring threat off the bench. Do you really see Dennis Schroder giving John Wall problems? Exactly Prediction: Wizards in 6
Western Conference
1) Golden State Warriors vs. 8) Portland TrailBlazers
If you ask Dam Lillard he’ll tell you Blazers in 6. Oh, dame. You sly dog you. Not only giving them the dub but won’t even take them 7? The Warriors are about to kick into a new gear now that they have KD back and it’s going to be scary. They have a big 4 and all healthy. Meanwhile, the Blazers have two elite guards of their own, plus a dynamic big man in Josuf Nurkic. That’s what this series really comes down to, at least length wise, Nurkic’s health. His status is up in the air. With Portland, he is putting 15 points 10 rebounds 3 assists a game to go with 2 blocks, simply a perfect fit. Nurkic is a thick body, can shoot rebound and facilitate. He is a great passer and could give dumb and dumber big problems (Pachulia and McGee).
Nonetheless, let’s not play ourselves, the Warriors have so many people that can beat you. They put up nearly 120 points a game on average. I’m sure Nurkic will play in a couple games if he didn’t at all they would be swept. But being he probably will and Dame will give them a chance to win a game or two. Prediction: Warriors in 5
2) San Antonio Spurs vs. 7) Memphis Grizzlies
Why do I feel like this is the 10th time the two have faced off in the playoffs? Two veteran squads who are sound defensively and well coached. You won’t see many games in the 100’s with this series but tough hard-nosed fundamental basketball. The two teams split their season series 2-2 this year and are very similar. Slow the game down, grind it out and play smart basketball. The Spurs are clearly the better team but the Grizzlies still have their core of Conley, Gasol, and Randolph. Parker versus Conley is a matchup the Grizzlies should be able to take advantage if they want to make this serious. Then Randolph vs Aldridge a
The Spurs are clearly the better team but the Grizzlies still have their core of Conley, Gasol, and Randolph. Parker versus Conley is a matchup the Grizzlies should be able to take advantage if they want to make this serious. Then Randolph vs Aldridge is a classic matchup of two of the best power forwards in the game for nearly the last decade. Lastly, we have GASOL vs. GASOL! Fuck yes! The brothers will be going at it down low and you’d have to give the advantage to the younger being Marc. The X-factor for the Spurs though is the father-son duo of Pop/Leonard. They’re just too smart and too polished. The only chance the Grizz have if they win every matchup listed above and make this game UGLY. Get them in foul trouble play some hard d, but still, we like the Spurs. Prediction: Spurs in 6
4) Los Angeles Clippers Vs. 5) Utah Jazz
The Jazz have been a team on the rise this year and one of the young pleasant surprises out fo the western conference. Of course, some don’t know this because they play in Utah. The Clippers seem to be playing in this 4-5 first round matchup for like the 6th year in a row. The same squad with the same coach and will probably end up getting eliminated in the second round in 7 games. That’s just what Chris Paul and The Clippers do.
This series though, they will be able to handle the Jazz. The Clippers match up well with Utah. Crawford and Mbah-Moute have enough defensively to at least manage Gordon Hayward. Jordan and Gobert cancel each other out. Two things I think will be key to LA’s success are, first I think the Clippers will focus on the transition game to avoid facing the Jazz’ solid half court defense anchored by Gobert. Second, they will focus on the Chris Paul – Blake Griffen connection. They hold significant advantages at each position.
When indeed the Clippers do get stuck in the half court game, the pick and pop game will either give CP3 the half a step he needs to get by his man and get the penetration to free up an open layup after Gobert is forced to commit to Paul. The other option there is to dish to Blake who’s jump shot, passing ability and back to the basket game have all developed into strengths. Even though Favors is having a great year, he’s not holding down Blake. Blakes versatility will also draw Gobert out thus leaving much more room to move around down low for Jordan on offense. With Gobert being drawn out towards the perimeter on D it will drive up the Clippers ability to get second chance points off offensive rebounds.
Utah will not lay down and die though, this will be a series. A good one. Utah needs to focus on trying to control the pace, especially in order to be able to set up properly in their lockdown half court set. If the perimeter defenders can keep CP3 and the rest of the guards in front of them they will be able to have Gobert in place as a last chance rim protector as they like.
I think Utah makes it interesting, especially playing in one of the toughest arenas for visitors in the whole league. Always gotta tip your cap to a good crowd. But in the end, the Clippers pull this one out with game 7 at home.
Prediction: Clippers in 7
3) Houston Rockets Vs. 6) Oklahoma City Thunder
This has to be by far the most anticipated first round series in the league. Harden vs Westbrook. The Beard vs The Ninja Turtle. Do people call Russell a Ninja Turtle yet or is that still just me? The fucking dude looks exactly like a Ninja Turtle, feel like I’m taking crazy pills on this one when I say it to people. These two have battled it out for MVP all year, although I don’t think either deserve it, one will win it.
In terms of the teams, The Rockets top to bottom are a better squad. The Mike D’Antoni offense will, as usual, be out and running, but so will Billy Donovan and the Thunder. Expect all of these games to be very high scoring. The depth of the Rockets is a strength. Eric Gordon coming off the bench is a scoring pop that the Thunder simply don’t have a counterpart to. Both of these teams are going to focus on Harden and Westbrook. They’re both going to have “great” games where they put up a whole lot of shots and a whole lot of turnovers and eventually a whole lot of points, rebounds, and assists. That we can guarantee. We can pretty much cross those two off as they cancel each other out.
The supporting casts will make the difference here. The Rockets went 3-1 against the Thunder this year, with the one loss coming in OKC by just 2 points. The last win in Houston was convincing by the Rockets. Just to give you an idea of the depth I was talking about on Hoston. They have six players averaging double figures and that total shoots up to nine players if we say averaging 9 points or more. That’s unheard of. Lou Williams and Eric Gordon paired with James Harden makes the Rockets backcourt lethal at all times. OKC simply can’t match that.
Even in the front court, Ryan Anderson will stretch the floor and force Adams and Kanter out of the paint. Nene’s veteran low post back to the basket presence will cause problems when given some space through a thinned out defense. The Rockets propensity to shoot threes naturally causes defenses to play them a little thin. Clint Capela will be able to take advantage of this with his athleticism and rebounding ability. If he’s able to control the boards and hit Harden with the quick outlet passes, OKC stands no chance. Westbrook will be sent back to training with Master Splinter for the offseason.
In the end, Houston’s depth and firepower will overmatch Westbrook and OKC. There’s only so much one man can do.
Prediction: Houston in 5
