The Western Conference Finalists will come out of the Thunder-Grizzlies series.
The Grizzlies will most certainly be a tough out for the Thunder. Yes Oklahoma City does have Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, but Memphis won the regular season series 3-1. The biggest weakness of the Thunder is their over reliance on Durant to score; and Memphis plays great defense. The Thunder do have a significantly better inside game than the Spurs with Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka. So Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol should not run as wild on the Thunder as they did on the Spurs. Plus the Thunder are more of a half court team than San Antonio, so they might not mind the slow pace the Grizzlies like to play at. The Key to this series is the point guard matchup. Mike Conley Jr had a very good series against Spurs, but Westbrook has been the better player over the course of his career. I'll take the Thunder in 7, but I will not be surprised if Memphis wins.
Sorry Lakers fans, but the Los Angeles Lakers will not get their shot at another 3 peat. Although I think they will beat the Dallas Mavericks in 5, too many questions remain regarding their mentality. LA has been heavily criticized for not playing hard against the New Orleans Hornets; who were short their second best player in David West. It took them 6 games to win a series they should have swept. LA will lose not because they reached down for the switch and couldn't find it, but rather because a better team in either Oklahoma City or Memphis Beat them in 6 games.
Out East, the winner of the Celtics-Heat series will represent the Eastern Conference.
This matchup is what the fans, and media have been craving since these two teams first played. The big two and a half lost 3 out of 4 against the Celtics in the regular season, but Boston won two of those games with Kendrick Perkins. Perkins was dealt to the Thunder at the trade deadline, and the Heat romped the Celtics 101-78 in their one meeting after the deadline. The media outlets will be talking about how Paul Pierce and Ray Allen vs Lebron James and Dwyane Wade is the key, but that is not the case. The Key to this series is how well the O'Neal step brothers play; and if Shaquille O'Neal plays at all. Jermaine O'Neal played well against the New York Knicks, who have a better scoring power forward in Amare Stoudemire (25.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per game in the regular season) than the Heat do in Chris Bosh (18.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game in the regular season). There is zero doubt that James, Wade, Pierce and Allen will all get their points, but the battle down low will decide the series. Rivers has hinted that Shaq will play in this series, which is good news for the defending eastern Conference Chanps. With that information in mind, I'll cautiously take the Celtics in 7. Sorry Lebron, looks like the Celtics will spoil your lunch.
Although Derrick Rose is surely on his way to the top 5 players in the NBA, the Chicago Bulls have no chance of upending the Celtics or Heat. Carlos Boozer was inept in the first round series against the Indiana Pacers. And even though Rose played great, the Pacers could have won that series. If the Bulls can barely beat the Pacers, they can't beat the overwhelming talent of the Heat; or the championship experience of the Celtics. In fact, I don't expect the Bulls to beat the Atlanta Hawks in the second round. Atlanta already beat a team in the Orlando Magic, who played on the back of one star in Dwight Howard. By that logic, the Hawks can beat the fighting Derrick Roses. And the Hawks match up very badly with both the Celtics and Heat. Joe Johnson is the only scorer on Atlanta that the Celtics and Heat should consider scary. Also, Al Horford is a decent face up jump shooter, but he has hit his ceiling. The following players are better than Horford on the low block: Kevin Garnett, Shaq, Jermaine O'Neal, and Chris Bosh. Atlanta will beat Chicago in 6, but loose to the Celtics-Heat winner in 5.
If the second round of the Playoffs are anything like the first round, we are all in for a great ride.
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