2012 NBA Playoffs

The 2012 NBA Playoffs tip off on Saturday afternoon. There are only 2 new participants in this year's playoffs compared to 2011. The LA Clipperes and Utah Jazz crashed this year's party. Everyone else was here last year. The Dallas Mavericks limped through the regular season, but get a chance to defend their title. The Heat try to avenge their NBA Finals loss and finally get LeBron his long awaited ring. Boston tries to get one last hurrah from their aging veterans. San Antonio wants to show that the regular season was no fluke. Derrick Rose and Kevin Durant both want to prove that their teams are for real and that they should be the faces of the NBA. And don't count out Kobe and the Lakers. There are plenty of teams that can walk away with the Larry O'Brien trophy in 2012. Vegas has once again appointed the Heat as the favorites. Let's take a look at how I see the playoffs playing out.

For the opening round I have listed all of the individual matchups in each series with the player/team I give the advantage to in bold.

Eastern Conference Quarterfinals



1 Chicago (-1400) vs. 8 Philadelphia (+900)

PG - Derrick Rose vs. Jrue Holiday
SG - Richard Hamilton vs. Evan Turner
SF - Luol Deng vs. Andre Iguodala
PF - Carlos Boozer vs. Elton Brand
C - Joakim Noah vs. Spencer Hawes
Bench - Chicago vs. Philadelphia
Coach - Tom Thibodeau vs. Doug Collins

What the Bulls accomplished this year was amazing. They finished with the league's best record despite missing Derrick Rose for almost half the season. Rose may not be at full strength but he doesn't need to be for the Bulls to win. The 76ers faded down the stretch and don't have enough firepower to overcome a suffocating Bulls D. Chicago should have their way with Philly.

Prediction - Chicago over Philadelphia 4-1



4 Boston (-210) vs. 5 Atlanta (+170)

PG - Rajon Rondo vs. Jeff Teague
SG - Avery Bradley vs. Kirk Hinrich
SF - Paul Pierce vs. Joe Johnson
PF - Brandon Bass vs. Josh Smith
C - Kevin Garnett vs. Zaza Pachulia
Bench - Boston vs. Atlanta
Coach - Doc Rivers vs. Larry Drew

This should be the most evenly matched series of the Eastern Conference Quarters. The Hawks will actually have homecourt advantage despite being the lower seed. The Celtics have been a different team since Doc Rivers moved Kevin Garnett to Center and inserted the pesky Avery Bradley to the starting lineup. Atlanta is probably headed towards a typical Atlanta season - have a good regular season and bow out early in the playoffs. Look for the Celtics to make some noise in the playoffs.

Prediction - Boston over Atlanta 4-2



3 Indiana (-800) vs. 6 Orlando (+550)

PG - George Hill vs. Jameer Nelson
SG - Paul George vs. JJ Redick
SF - Danny Granger vs. Jason Richardson
PF - David West vs. Ryan Anderson
C - Roy Hibbert vs. Glen Davis
Bench - Indiana vs. Orlando
Coach - Frank Vogel vs. Stan Van Gundy

The curtains are about to close on Orlando's drama for the season. The soap opera starring Dwight Howard and Stan Van Gundy is now down to just one leading actor as Dwight Howard is out for the season. That leaves Van Gundy to lead a depleted team. Indiana has exceeded all expectations this year and have potentially the most balanced team in the entire NBA. The Pacers balance will overwhelm this Magic team and finally put this forgettable season to rest for them.

Prediction - Indiana over Orlando 4-2



2 Miami (-1000) vs. 7 New York (+650)

PG - Mario Chalmers vs. Baron Davis
SG - Dwayne Wade vs. Iman Shumpert
SF - LeBron James vs. Landry Fields
PF - Chris Bosh vs. Carmelo Anthony
C - Udonis Haslem vs. Tyson Chandler
Bench - Miami vs. New York
Coach - Erik Spoelstra vs. Mike Woodson

The Knicks have had an up and down season. I'm afraid they are about to go down though. The Heat have not played well at times this season, particularly since the All-Star Break, but LeBron James is going to come into this postseason more determined than ever. The Knicks have been playing well since Mike Woodson went to his small lineup. New York certainly has the talent to give the Heat some problems. The chip on Miami's shoulder is going to be way too large for them to go down this early.

Prediction - Miami over New York 4-1

Western Conference Quarterfinals



1 San Antonio (-2000) vs. 8 Utah (+1200)

PG - Tony Parker vs. Devin Harris
SG - Danny Green vs. CJ Miles
SF - Kawhi Leonard vs. Gordon Heyward
PF - Tim Duncan vs. Paul Millsap
C - DeJuan Blair vs. Al Jefferson
Bench - San Antonio vs. Utah
Coach - Greg Popovich vs. Tyrone Corbin

The Spurs have done it again. After last season's 1st Round exit many thought that they were finished. But Greg Popovich proved why he's one of the all-time great coaches. Pop brilliantly mixed youth with his veterans and the combination has produced fantastic results. The Spurs are once again the top seed in the West, and this time they don't seem like they will go down early. The Jazz are back in the playoffs after a 1-year absence, but they will have to wait another year before they will make some postseason noise.

Prediction - San Antonio over Utah 4-2



4 Memphis (-200) vs. 5 LA Clippers (+200)

PG - Mike Conley vs. Chris Paul
SG - Tony Allen vs. Randy Foye
SF - Rudy Gay vs. Caron Butler
PF - Marresse Speights vs. Blake Griffin
C - Marc Gasol vs. DeAndre Jordan
Bench - Memphis vs. LA Clippers
Coach - Lionel Hollins vs. Vinny Del Negro

The Clippers are giving me an opportunity to take one underdog. They have immense talent, but are they ready to win. We know that the Grizzlies have a veteran squad that knows how to win when it counts. Chris Paul will need to rely on his experience more than ever as many of his young teammates have never played postseason basketball. But the Clippers are loaded with talent. The Grizzlies are more polished than the Clips, but I have a feeling that this is the year the Clippers put it together and make a playoff run.

Prediction - LA Clippers over Memphis 4-3



3 LA Lakers (-240) vs. 6 Denver (+190)

PG - Ramon Sessions vs. Ty Lawson
SG - Kobe Bryant vs. Aaron Afflalo
SF - Matt Barnes vs. Danilo Gallinari
PF - Pau Gasol vs. Kenneth Faried
C - Andrew Bynum vs. JaVale McGee
Bench - LA Lakers vs. Denver
Coach - Mike Brown vs. George Karl

This is a very interesting matchup. The Lakers have Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and Andrew Bynum and have won multiple titles together. But they are making their first postseason push without the revered Phil Jackson coaching. Denver is a true team. They have young talent that doesn't know the pressures of playoff basketball, and may be oblivious to it. I expect the Nuggets to scare the daylights out of the Lakers. But the Lakers win in the end because of Kobe, Gasol, and Bynum.

Prediction - LA Lakers over Denver 4-2



2 Oklahoma City (-550) vs. 7 Dallas (+400)

PG - Russell Westbrook vs. Jason Kidd
SG - Thabo Sefolosha vs. Delonte West
SF - Kevin Durant vs. Shawn Marion
PF - Serge Ibaka vs. Dirk Nowitzki
C - Kendrick Perkins vs. Brendan Heywood
Bench - Oklahoma City vs. Dallas
Coach - Scott Brooks vs. Rick Carlisle

The Dallas Mavericks begin their quest for a repeat as a 7-seed against the team they beat in last year's Western Conference Finals. The Mavs have struggled throughout the year and now get perhaps the favorite to win the West this season. Oklahoma City has had some struggles of their own down the stretch. Despite those struggles, the Thunder feels this is their time to make a run at the NBA title. Look for the Mavs to go down swinging in their quest for a repeat, but the Thunder survive and advance.

Prediction - Oklahoma City over Dallas 4-2

Here are my picks for the remainder of the NBA Playoffs (bold team the winner):

Eastern Conference Semifinals

1 Chicago over 4 Boston 4-1
2 Miami over 3 Indiana 4-1

Western Conference Semifinals

1 San Antonio over 5 LA Clippers 4-3
2 Oklahoma City over 3 LA Lakers 4-2

Eastern Conference Finals

1 Chicago over 2 Miami 4-3

Western Conference Finals

2 Oklahoma City over 1 San Antonio 4-1

NBA Finals
1 Chicago over 2 Oklahoma City 4-2

I am ticking with my preseason pick of Chicago over Oklahoma City. The Bulls have surpassed all expectations with their play without Derrick Rose. Despite losing Rose for about 1/3 of the year, Chicago finished with the NBA's best record. Now they hope to slowly get Rose back to full strength. If this happens, the Bulls have what it takes to eventually get past the Heat and win the team's first title since the Jordan days. D-Rose wants to be the next one to have status outside of the United Center.

2012 NHL Playoffs - Conference Semifinals

The Conference Semis of the NHL Playoffs get underway tonight when Nashville and Phoenix square off. There was plenty of chaos in the Quarterfinals. I correctly picked the Rangers and Devils to advance in the East, while every series in the West turned out the opposite of what I picked. I'm sure there will be more to come in the Semis. It may be wise to bet against me. Nonetheless, here is a look at who I think will advance to the Conference Finals.

Eastern Conference Semifinals



1 NY Rangers (-180) vs. 7 Washington (+150)

The Washington Capitals dethroned the Stanley Cup Champions with a thrilling OT victory in Game 7. The Caps have a history of choking in the playoffs when they have stellar regular season. This year they floundered throughout the year, and they find themselves pulling off a 1st Round upset. The Rangers had to fight for everything they got against the Senators. Luckily for them, they aren't the only team that went through a grueling series. The Rangers are the better team, but expect them to have to fight tooth and nail again

Prediction - NY Rangers over Washington 4-3



5 Philadelphia (-180) vs. 6 New Jersey (+150)

The Flyers and Devils each advanced to the Semis as lower seeds. Philly devastated the cross-state rivals and Cup favorite, Penguins as the Flyers disposed of their arch nemesis in 6 games. The Flyers offense was top-notch throughout the series. New Jersey won an exhilarating Game 7 in double OT down in Florida. Philadelphia showed that they are playing with a purpose. They have the potential to win the East. They will take the necessary step towards that by beating New Jersey.

Prediction - Philadelphia over New Jersey 4-2

Western Conference Semifinals



2 St. Louis (-170) vs. 8 Los Angeles (+145)

The playoffs are all about goaltending, and these two teams have a couple of the best around. Johnathan Quick of LA and Jaroslav Halak of Saint Louis can each shut down the opposing team. Both of these teams have been stellar defensively and will make it difficult for either team to score. I picked the Kings to win the Stanley Cup when the season began, but the way their season shook out was not optimal for a Cup run. They will push the Blues to the brink of elimination, but Saint Louis will advance in their search for the first Cup.

Prediction - St. Louis over Los Angeles 4-3



3 Phoenix (+145) vs. 4 Nashville (-170)

This is an interesting matchup, simply because of the cities these two teams hail from. Phoenix and Nashville are not exactly hockey hot beds. The Coyotes won their first playoff series in franchise history by defeating Chicago. Nashville all of the sudden finds themselves as the possible favorite to represent the West in the Stanley Cup. Nashville got some needed rest and should be able to get past the Coyotes on their way to the Western Conference Finals.

Prediction - Nashville over Phoenix 4-2

2012 NFL Mock Draft 5.0

Round 1

1. Indianapolis - Andrew Luck  QB/Stanford
2. Washington - Robert Griffin III  QB/Baylor
3. Minnesota - Matt Kalil  OT/USC
4. Cleveland - Trent Richardson  RB/Alabama
5. Tampa Bay - Morris Claiborne  CB/LSU
6. St. Louis - Justin Blackmon  WR/Oklahoma St.
7. Jacksonville - Melvin Ingram  DE/South Carolina
8. Miami - Ryan Tannehill  QB/Texas A&M
9. Carolina - Fletcher Cox  DT/Mississippi St.
10. Buffalo - Riley Reiff  OT/Iowa
11. Kansas City - Luke Kuechly  LB/Boston College
12. Seattle - Quinton Coples  DE/North Carolina
13. Arizona - David DeCastro  G/Stanford
14. Dallas - Mark Barron  S/Alabama
15. Philadelphia - Michael Brockers  DT/LSU
16. NY Jets - Courtney Upshaw  LB/Alabama
17. Cincinnati - Dre Kirkpatrick  CB/Alabama
18. San Diego - Whitney Mercilus  DE-LB/Illinois
19. Chicago - Michael Floyd  WR/Notre Dame
20. Tennessee - Stephon Gilmore  CB/South Carolina
21. Cincinnati - Stephen Hill  WR/Georgia Tech
22. Cleveland - Kendall Wright  WR/Baylor
23. Detroit - Mike Adams  OT/Ohio St.
24. Pittsburgh - Cordy Glenn  OT/Georgia
25. Denver - Jerel Worthy  DT/Michigan St.
26. Houston - Johnathan Martin  OT/Stanford
27. New England - Chandler Jones  DE-LB/Syracuse
28. Green Bay - Shea McClellin  DE-LB/Boise St.
29. Baltimore - Peter Konz  C/Wisconsin
30. San Francisco - Janoris Jenkins  CB/North Alabama
31. New England - Harrison Smith  S/Notre Dame
32. NY Giants - Dont'a Hightower  LB/Alabama

Round 2

33. St. Louis - Dontari Poe  DT/Memphis
34. Indianapolis - Coby Fleener  TE/Stanford
35. Minnesota - Nick Perry  DE/USC
36. Tampa Bay - Lamar Miller  RB/Miami
37. Cleveland - Amini Silatolu  OT/Midwestern St.
38. Jacksonville - Reuben Randle  WR/LSU
39. St. Louis - Alfonzo Dennard  CB/Nebraska
40. Carolina - Josh Robinson  CB/Central Florida
41. Buffalo - Vinny Curry  DE-LB/Marshall
42. Miami - Ronnell Lewis  DE-LB/Oklahoma
43. Seattle - Devon Still  DT/Penn St.
44. Kansas City - Brandon Weeden  QB/Oklahoma St.
45. Dallas - Jayron Hosley  CB/Virginia Tech
46. Philadelphia - Alshon Jeffery  WR/South Carolina
47. NY Jets - Doug Martin  RB/Boise St.
48. New England - Brandon Boykin  CB/Georgia
49. San Diego - Kevin Zeitler  G/Wisconsin
50. Chicago - Kelechi Osemele  G/Iowa St.
51. Philadelphia - Lavonte David  LB/Nebraska
52. Tennessee - Brandon Thompson  DT/Clemson
53. Cincinnati - David Wilson  RB/Virginia Tech
54. Detroit - Andre Branch  DE/Clemson
55. Atlanta - Kendall Reyes  DT/UConn
56. Pittsburgh - Mychal Kendricks  LB/Cal
57. Denver - Mohamed Sanu  WR/Rutgers
58. Houston - Brian Quick  WR/Appalachian St.
59. Green Bay - Ben Jones  C/Georgia
60. Baltimore - Bobby Wagner  LB/Utah St.
61. San Francisco - Marvin McNutt  WR/Iowa
62. New England - Alameda Ta'amu  DT/Washington
63. NY Giants - Zach Brown  LB/North Carolina