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 Miami (-30000) vs. 8 Milwaukee (+8500)
PG - Mario Chalmers vs. Brandon Jennings
SG - Dwayne Wade vs. Monta Ellis
SF - LeBron James vs. Ersan Ilyasova
PF - Udonis Haslem vs. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute
C - Chris Bosh vs. Larry Sanders
Bench - Miami vs. Milwaukee
Coach - Erik Spoelstra vs. Jim Boylan
The Heat went on one of the most amazing runs in NBA history this season as they won 27 consecutive games at one point. Their regular season accomplishments will mean nothing if they don't follow it up with another championship. Milwaukee just doesn't have the talent to put up a fight in this series. The Bucks could steal a game, but five games is the max I expect to see this series go.
Prediction - Miami over Milwaukee 4-1
4 Brooklyn (-140) vs. 5 Chicago (+120)
PG - Derron Williams vs. Kirk Hinrich
SG - Joe Johnson vs. Marco Belinelli
SF - Keith Bogans vs. Luol Deng
PF - Gerald Wallace vs. Carlos Boozer
C - Brook Lopez vs. Nazr Mohammed
Bench - Brooklyn vs. Chicago
Coach - PJ Carlesimo vs. Tom Thibodeau
This will be a battle of wills and styles. The Nets are a finesse team, while the Bulls are a hard-nosed team. Brooklyn has underachieved a bit this season, despite making their first playoff appearance since 2007. They have a deep and talented roster that is looking to gel in time to make a postseason run. Chicago has overachieved. They managed a 5-seed in the East despite battling the injury bug which includes being without MVP Derrick Rose all season. It doesn't look like Rose will be returning for the playoffs which means that Chicago will be getting bounced in the East Quarters again.
Prediction - Brooklyn over Chicago 4-2
3 Indiana (-350) vs. 6 Atlanta (+425)
PG - George Hill vs. Jeff Teague
SG - Lance Stephenson vs. Devin Harris
SF - Paul George vs. Kyle Korver
PF - David West vs. Josh Smith
C - Roy Hibbert vs. Al Horford
Bench - Indiana vs. Atlanta
Coach - Frank Vogel vs. Larry Drew
This series will probably get the least amount of attention of all the Quarterfinal matchups, but it could be the most evenly matched. For most of the season, Indiana was thought to be a threat to beat Miami, but a recent stretch of poor play has many questioning how far they can go. Atlanta is back in the playoffs even without Joe Johnson. Josh Smith and Al Horford have stepped the pay up this year, and look to get the Hawks to play better than in past postseasons.
Prediction - Indiana over Atlanta 4-2
2 New York (-320) vs. 7 Boston (+400)
PG - Raymond Felton vs. Avery Bradley
SG - Pablo Prigioni vs. Courtney Lee
SF - Iman Shumpert vs. Paul Pierce
PF - Carmelo Anthony vs. Brandon Bass
C - Tyson Chandler vs. Kevin Garnett
Bench - New York vs. Boston
Coach - Mike Woodson vs. Doc Rivers
It's always exciting when these two cities square off in any sport. This should be no different. Both teams had some ups and downs throughout the season. Currently, New York is on an extreme upswing and Boston is on an extreme downswing. The Knicks rattled off 12 straight wins in recent weeks and the Celtics had to fight just to break .500 for the season. The Celtics will scratch and claw through this series, but I think time may have finally run out on this team.
Prediction - New York over Boston 4-2
Western Conference Quarterfinals
1 Oklahoma City (-1800) vs. 8 Houston (+1200)
PG - Russell Westbrook vs. Jeremy Lin
SG - Thabo Sefolosha vs. James Harden
SF - Kevin Durant vs. Chandler Parsons
PF - Serge Ibaka vs. Greg Smith
C - Kendrick Perkins vs. Omer Asik
Bench - Oklahoma City vs. Houston
Coach - Scott Brooks vs. Kevin McHale
Oklahoma City and Houston have been linked at the hip all season. They were partners in a blockbuster trade just a couple nights before the season started, that sent James Harden to the Rockets and Kevin Martin to the Thunder. There were many critics that said that this move could cost Oklahoma City a championship. The Thunder still won 60 games without Harden, while Harden became an All-Star and lead the Rockets to the playoffs. It turns out that this trade could have actually benefited both teams. Unfortunately for Harden, he doesn't quite have the supporting cast to get him past his former team.
Prediction - Oklahoma City over Houston 4-1
4 LA Clippers (-175) vs. 5 Memphis (+155)
PG - Chris Paul vs. Mike Conley Jr.
SG - Willie Green vs. Tony Allen
SF - Caron Butler vs. Tayshaun Prince
PF - Blake Griffin vs. Zach Randolph
C - DeAndre Jordan vs. Marc Gasol
Bench - LA Clippers vs. Memphis
Coach - Vinny Del Negro vs. Lionel Hollins
This is the best series of the entire opening round in my opinion. The Clippers are one of those teams that are capable of beating anyone, but could lose to anyone as well. When you look at the rosters of these teams, there is no doubt that the Clippers have more talent. The Grizzlies will make you work for everything you get though, and will beat the Clippers up throughout the series. I think the Clippers will beat the Grizzlies and advance to the West Semis for the second year in a row, but it will come down to the wire.
Prediction - LA Clippers over Memphis 4-3
3 Denver (-400) vs. 6 Golden State (+320)
PG - Ty Lawson vs. Stephen Curry
SG - Andre Iguodala vs. Klay Thompson
SF - Wilson Chandler vs. Harrison Barnes
PF - Kenneth Faried vs. David Lee
C - Kosta Koufos vs. Andrew Bogut
Bench - Denver vs. Golden State
Coach - George Karl vs. Mark Jackson
This is a very interesting series. Denver has gotten a reputation of a good regular season team, but can't put together a playoff run. On the other hand, Golden State has zero reputation. Steph Curry and company is looking to make a move similar to the 2007 and Warriors and put Golden State on the map. The loss of Dinailo Gallinari for Denver evens the two teams up a little bit, but Denver has the deeper, more talented roster in the end.
Prediction - Denver over Golden State 4-3
2 San Antonio (-750) vs. 7 LA Lakers (+550)
PG - Tony Parker vs. Steve Nash
SG - Danny Green vs. Jodie Meeks
SF - Kawhi Leonard vs. Metta World Peace
PF - Tim Duncan vs. Pau Gasol
C - Tiago Splitter vs. Dwight Howard
Bench - San Antonio vs. LA Lakers
Coach - Gregg Popovich vs. Mike D'Antoni
This wasn't supposed to be a 1st Round series. At the beginning of the season, many speculated that San Antonio and the Lakers would be two of the league's best teams. In fact, I actually picked the Lakers to win the NBA Finals. The team never gelled though, and struggled through much of the regular season. The team started to find their footing and then Kobe went down with a ruptured achilles last week. The Lakers have shown fight by going 2-0 without the Black Mamba, but fight won't be enough against a team as good as the Spurs.
Prediction - San Antonio over LA Lakers 4-2
Here are my picks for the remainder of the NBA Playoffs (bold team the winner):
East Semifinals
1 Miami over 4 Brooklyn 4-2
2 New York over 3 Indiana 4-2
West Semifinals
1 Oklahoma City over 4 LA Clippers 4-3
2 San Antonio over 3 Denver 4-2
East Finals
1 Miami over 2 New York 4-2
West Finals
1 Oklahoma City over 2 San Antonio 4-2
NBA Finals
1 Miami over 1 Oklahoma City 4-2
As if last season wasn't enough, LeBron and the rest of the Heat can really nail down a place in history by winning back to back titles. I will be honest, there is not a single ounce of me that wants to see this happen. But there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Miami is the best team and the NBA, and the best team usually walks away with the Larry O'Brien trophy. I have no choice but to sway from my preseason pick in the Lakers. The Lakers struggled throughout most of the regular season, and the loss of Kobe Bryant was the final nail in the coffin. In the end it will be LeBron and company hoisting the trophy again and cementing a spot in NBA lore.
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