NBA Playoffs first round

My first post as a blogger comes on a fortunate day for a sports fan:  the NBA Playoffs started today, which gives me plenty to talk about.  For several years I stopped being a fan of the NBA mainly because of the strike and half-season.  However, recently I have become a fan again, and the NBA playoffs have always maintained their magic in my eyes.  I am going to attempt to make predictions for the first round of the NBA playoffs.  Hopefully I will be able to improve on my pretty abysmal college basketball bracket, and get my predictions back on track.  I'll begin with the Eastern Conference, because I think most of those series are easier.

First in the East is the Cavs-Pistons series.  The first game in this series has technically already concluded, but it goes along with what I and the rest of the world would have picked anyway.  The Cavs won, and they are going to win the series.  The only question is how many games it will take.  I think the Cavs will pull out a sweep, and my reasons are simple.  They have the best player on the court, the best point guard on the court, they are hungry for this playoff run and they have the Pistons number, having beaten them the past couple times they have met in the playoffs when the Pistons were the better team.  This time around, the Cavs are the better team, so they will win.

Next is the Celtics-Bulls 2-7 series.  The Celtics are going to be hurting all playoffs without Kevin Garnett, but they are obviously still a very good team.  They have played a significant amount of the season without KG, and done pretty well.  The first game has completed in this series as well, and it was a surprising Bulls win.  Statistics say that 79% of teams that win game 1 go on the win the series.  Paul Pierce will make the Celtics a part of that select 21%.  He is one of the most clutch players in the league, and steps up in big games time and again.  A young Bulls team will not get it done in a seven game series.  Celtics in 6 is my pick.

The 3-6 Game is between the Orlando Magic and the Philadelphia 76ers.  Once again, the better seed will prevail.  The Magic are a 59 win team and the 76ers are a 500 one.  There is good reason for that.  The matchups in this game favor the Magic.  I don't know who on the 76ers can completely shut down Hedo Turkoglu, and I know that none of them can contain Dwight Howard.  Magic in 5.

The 4-5 series in the East is maybe the best in the entire playoffs.  The Hawks vs. the Heat will go to seven games, and I think if it goes that far, it will not be easy to deny Dwyane Wade.  The Hawks played incredibly well in the playoffs last year, and took the Celtics to seven games in the first round.  I just think that you want to have the best player in a series, especially in the seventh game.  Dwyane Wade is the best and most clutch player of these teams, and he will get them through when it matters. Heat in 7

The Western conference playoffs are a bit more complicated, because there is such a log jam from seeds 2 to 7.  The first series to talk about is Lakers-Jazz.  Despite the fact that the Jazz match up pretty well against the Lakers, Carlos Boozer is not playing nearly his best basketball and the Lakers are my pick to win the championship.  Therefore, I think that the Lakers will win in five games.

Next is the 2-7 matchup between the Denver Nuggets and the New Orleans Hornets.  This is a series that I am very split on.  On the one hand, Chris Paul is the best player in the series, and I think that is the most important thing for a team in the NBA playoffs.  On the other hand, the Nuggets have a pretty good point guard of their own in Chauncey Billups.  The game breaker for me though, is Carmelo Anthony.  Of these two teams, he is the player that I would want to give the ball to at the end of the game.  According to 82games.com, Melo has scored the third most points in the clutch (last five min of fourth qtr or overtime in a five-point game or less) and boasts a higher shooting percentage than Kobe or Lebron.  That is big in a series that I think will go the distance.  Nuggets in 7.

The 3-6 matchup become much more intriguing near the end of the season.  It is the Spurs vs. Mavericks, and the Spurs are going to be hurting due to the loss of Manu Ginobli throughout the playoffs.  The Mavericks got extremely hot at the end of the season, and Dirk has had one of his best seasons in his career.  I am convinced that the Spurs are old enough that they will not win two series in these playoffs without Manu.  The question though, is will they win one, and I think the answer is yes.  I don't see anyone who can guard Tony Parker, and I think he will be too much for the Mavs to handle.  Spurs in 7.

Final matchup of the first round:  Trailblazers vs. Rockets.  I do not see a go-to scorer for the Rockets, and there is no doubt that there is one for the Blazers in Brandon Roy, who happens to be the best player in the series.  The Blazers also have athletic big men that Yao could have trouble defending.  I think that the Blazers takes this series down in 6.