It’s easy this time of the year to kind of forget about the NBA. With all the great college basketball tournament action going on, there isn’t much time to watch the pros. Even Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith along with all the others from TNT’s NBA coverage have gone over to cover the NCAA Tournament. But in case you forgot, the NBA Playoff races are really getting down to crunch time. So let’s look at the standings and possible first round series matches.
Eastern Conference
Miami Heat vs Milwaukee Bucks- #1 vs #8 match-up. For a while it looked like the Chicago Bulls might fall to this spot. But the Bulls are still 2.5 games up on the Bucks in the standings. They might be able to hang. Whoever ends up here is getting swept. Miami 4 Milwaukee 0.
New York Knicks vs Chicago Bulls- #2 vs #7 match-up. The Knicks are getting their stars back and they will likely pull out the two spot as they get healthier. The Bulls are still not playing great and they will likely fall to the seventh spot currently held by Boston. If the Bulls get Derrick Rose back soon, then all bets are off. New York 4 Chicago 2.
Indiana Pacers vs Boston Celtics- #3 vs #6 match-up. Look for some rock’em sock’em playoff basketball in this series. There won’t be a lot of layups in this one. Paul Pierce will be the key to a possible Celtics upset. If he can get hot, the C’s have a chance. But we like the Pacers to advance in this one. Indiana 4 Boston 2.
Brooklyn Nets vs Atlanta Hawks- #4 vs #5 match-up. This one will be a seven-game series. In the end we like Atlanta. The Hawks have been to the playoffs before while many of the Nets players have not. Al Horford is becoming a star in this league. Atlanta 4 Brooklyn 3.
Western Conference
San Antonio Spurs vs Los Angeles Lakers- #1 vs #8 match-up. This will be the “all-hype” series, but in reality, this could not have worked out any better for the Spurs. The Spurs are and old team and they will be playing an old Lakers team. San Antonio is much better. The Lakers might steal one game, two at the most. San Antonio 4 L.A. Lakers 1.
Oklahoma City Thunder vs Golden State Warriors- #2 vs #7. The Thunder is the pick of most to win the western Conference. If they are not on top of their game, they may not make it past this round. The Warriors can play. With David Lee and Steph Curry, they a a top-notch one-two punch. We still like the Thunder with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook though. Thunder 4 Warriors 2.
Denver Nuggets vs Houston Rockets- #3 vs #6. This is going to be a highly entertaining series. This one will destroy the myth about the playoffs being a slow, half-court game. This will bring the playoffs back to the 1970s and 1980s with the losers still easily breaking 100 points per night. We cannot wait. Denver 4 Houston 2.
Los Angeles Clippers vs Memphis Grizzlies- #4 vs #5 match. The Clipper and Grizzlies went a full seven games a year ago with the Clippers coming out on top. There is no reason to assume this year won’t go seven as well. But this time we like Memphis to pull it out. Memphis 4 L.A.Clippers 3.
Eastern Conference Semifinals
Miami Heat vs Atlanta Hawks- The Heat is still way too much for the Hawks. Lebron James and Dwayne Wade will make quick work of the Hawks. Miami 4 Atlanta 0.
New York Knicks vs Indiana Pacers- Spike Lee is licking his chops for this one. This will bring back memories of Patrick Ewing and Reggie Miller. Carmelo brings the star power to the series on the Knicks side. The Pacers will be the better team though. Indiana 4 New York 3.
Western Conference Semifinals
San Antonio Spurs vs Memphis Grizzlies- This will be a great series. In the end we like the Grizzlies young legs to wear down the Spurs. Memphis 4 San Antonio 3.
Oklahoma Thunder vs Denver Nuggets- This will be must watch NBA basketball right here. Do not be surprised to see the upset happen here. Denver is a very tough team to beat, especially in the thin air of Denver. We like the Nuggets to shock the world. Denver 4 Oklahoma City 2.
Eastern Conference Finals
Miami Heat vs Indiana Pacers- The Pacers might get one win here. Miami 4 Indiana 1.
Western Conference Finals
Denver Nuggets vs Memphis Grizzlies- This will be another great series. In the end we Denver’s up and down tempo to wear down Memphis. Denver 4 Memphis 3.
NBA Finals
Miami Heat vs Denver Nuggets- Denver will give Miami a tough series. In the end we like the Heat to win it though. The NBA is Lebron James world for the foreseeable future. Everybody else is just living in it. Miami 4 Denver 2.
