 The time has come. After about a month of NBA Playoff basketball, the teams have narrowed down to four: The Miami Heat, the Indiana Pacers, the San Antonio Spurs, and the Oklahoma City Thunder. It’s not much of a surprise for most of us. These four teams made it but not so easily. Their competitors shocked them into better play. Miami is the only team that actually got a break, but the rest of these teams had to duke it out. The Pacers had to go to game 7 to get rid of the 8-seeded Hawks, and they had to play the Wizards in 6. The Spurs were awaken in the first round against the 8th-seeded Mavericks with the series going to 7 games, but they blew by the Trail Blazers in the next round. Finally, the Thunder with season MVP Kevin Durant, were annoyed by the tenacity of the Grizzlies taking the series to 7 games, followed by some favorable calls to send the Clippers fishing in 6 games. Now, the finals are hear. Two exciting matchups with the number 1-seeded Pacers vs the number 2-seeded Heat, and the number 1-seeded Spurs vs the number 2-seeded Thunder. My prediction is that we will see the Heat vs. Thunder face off for the championship. Let me tell you why.  If this was the beginning of the season, I probably would have picked Indiana, but the way Indiana has struggled against teams like the Hawks and Wizards, I have no choice but to go with the Heat in 6. I feel like the series will be tied 2-2 and Miami will steal a game on the road, and go back to the finals. For the Pacers to truly have a chance, their offense will have to dominate with stellar performances from George, Stephenson, West, and Hibbert. I feel that if one of them is not making shots, the Heat will burn them. Although, I’d prefer the Pacers, my opinion on this match up favors the Heat over Pacers in 6.  Now, the Thunder versus the Spurs is a more competitive match up. The Thunder swept the Spurs in the season series, and to me I am going stick with the way the regular season went. I am going with the Thunder in 5 games. I think San Antonio will get game 1 but then lose the rest. In my opinion, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are way too much for the San Antonio Spurs. Consider the one-on-one match ups. Tim Duncan is guarded by Serge Ibaka, Tony Parker is guarded by Russell Westbrook, Manu Ginobili is guarded by Thabo Sefelosha, and Kawhi Leonard is guarded by Kevin Durant. The Thunder have the edge in each case so I really can’t see the Thunder losing this series to the Spurs. I predict that the Thunder will take it in 5 games.
I hope I am wrong because I’d prefer to avoid another matchup between the Heat and the Thunder for the title. Although the rematch between KD and LeBron will be fun to watch, it would have been nice to shine the spotlight on some other great players in the league. What do you think? Do you think there will be any upsets during the finals? Please comment and let me know your predictions. Thanks for reading. Please comment!
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 It's time for the 2014 NBA Playoffs! With the NBA playoffs starting yesterday, I was thinking about all the underdogs and the definite winners of each series. Like I did last year, I will be making predictions on the NBA playoffs in the 1st round, 2nd round, conference finals, and the finals, but today we start with the NBA’s 1st round predictions. We will start with the East and then move to the West. First up, Pacers-Hawks.  Eastern Conference Logo The 1 seeded Pacers are preparing to take on the 8 seeded Hawks in a best-of-7 series. My prediction for this series is Pacers in 6. The way the Hawks have been playing this year makes me feel like they can win 2 games against a very stacked Pacers team, but I feel like the Pacers are just way too dominant. Next, the Heat play the Bobcats. My prediction for this series is Heat in a sweep. I like the Bobcats making their second appearance to the playoffs this year, but I still don’t think they can pull off their first playoff win in franchise history. I know I am not the biggest Heat fan in the world but I still think they will move on to the next round. The 3 and 6 seeds in the East are the Raptors and Nets. My prediction for this is Nets in 6. The Raptors did a great job getting into the playoffs and gaining home court advantage but they are playing a way more experienced team. However, I still think the Raptors can pull out 2 games. The Nets can probably take this one easily because of the way they have been playing since the all-star break (The top record out of all teams since the all-star break). Lastly for the East, the Bulls-Wizards matchup at the 4 and 5 seeds. Many people may not think that this series will last too long but I think the Bulls will win in a 7 game series. These two teams will matchup very well against each other but I feel like Joakim Noah and the Bulls are too good for the Wizards. It will be tight, in my opinion, but the Bulls have got this. These are my predictions for the Western Conference. Now, to the West side of the conference.  Western Conference Logo 1 vs. 8 in the West is the Spurs and the Mavericks. The Spurs, to me, have got this in 5 games. The Spurs should win the first three but Ellis and Nowitski won’t let a sweep happen on their home floor but they will get beat in the 5th game. Trust me, it will happen. The Spurs are just a complete machine walking up and down the floor getting buckets and playing slow and boring defense. No offense to the Spurs but it is true, and they were still able to pull out 62 wins out of 82 games this season. The 2nd and 7th seed series are the Thunder and the Grizzlies. My prediction for this series is the Thunder in 5. The Thunder do have Westbrook for this series unlike last year so now they have more than just 1 scoring option in Kevin Durant, but now they have Russell Westbrook as well. The Grizzlies may be a grind out team but the Thunder are too much for them. 3-6 seeds for the Western Conference are the Warriors and the Clippers. I think the Warriors in 6 will win. Yeah I know, crazy right? I think the Warriors will steal a game on the road and clinch the games at home. That is what I think of this series, yeah I know. Lastly, the 4 and 5 seeds for the Western Conference are the Rockets and the Trail Blazers. I pick the Trail Blazers in 6. The Blazers dynamic duo of LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard happen to come in two of the weak spots for the Houston Rockets. As for James Harden, Wesley Matthews or Nick Batum can stop him or at least contain him during this series. Howard will have a clinic inside but the Blazers may start using the Hack-a-Shaq strategy to stop him. These are my predictions for the Western Conference.
I am so psyched for all of these playoff series and how players can shine throughout the world. But what I am also excited about is to hear what you guys think about the playoffs. What is the most exciting series of the playoffs? Do you disagree with some of my predictions? Who do you think will be key factors for certain teams? I want to hear what you believe about these NBA Playoffs. So, thanks for reading! Please comment. One last note: The radio show blog coming out soon. The full interview can be heard in my next blog.
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Mike V.
My name is Mike V. I am an enormous basketball fan. I also am a die-hard Knicks fan. After graduating 5th grade, I started writing this blog at the age of 10 in the summer of 2012. Archives
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