Just saw when I signed in, I have written 100 posts, for those of you who read the column, thank you so much and thanks for giving me any feedback you may have, I truly appreciate it.
Those of you who know me, know that I don't necessarily care for basketball all that much, but since that is ESPN's foray and I watch ESPN incessantly, I have a bit of a clue of what I'm writing about. But, I don't have that much of one, so I will give incredibly short previews and then a pick. Hope you enjoy!
Eastern Conference
No. 1 Chicago Bulls vs. No. 8 Indiana Pacers
The Pacers are the perfect reason why the NBA should not have eight teams in the playoffs, they finished with a record of 37-45, four games UNDER .500. Plus, Chicago finished with a record of 21 games OVER .500, that is a disparity of 25 games. Chicago also has the probable league MVP leading the way in Derrick Rose.
Pick: Chicago sweep.
No. 2 Miami Heat vs. No. 7 Philadelphia 76ers
This is another huge mismatch, as the Heat have the big three, with Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade and LeBron James. Those three by themselves could probably beat the Sixers over a seven game series. My thinking is that Miami will run all over the Sixers. But, since Sixers are the hometown team, I'll give them a game.
Pick: Heat 4-1
No. 3 Boston Celtics vs. No. 6 New York Knicks
This is a shock that this series is not beginning on ABC with two of the biggest television markets and two of the biggest names in all of the NBA squaring off. But, I digress. Boston has been taking it slow the past few weeks as they knew they would be a top three seed in the playoffs. But, they can turn it on in the playoffs and certainly will. New York is back in the playoffs for the first time since 2004. New York brought in big names Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire and they have lit the city with energy. This series will be tougher for the Celtics than most think, but they will get by fairly easily.
Pick: Boston 4-2.
No. 4 Orlando Magic vs. No. 5 Atlanta Hawks
Atlanta can get by playing an everybody for themselves mentality during the regular season, but it fails big time in the playoffs. Orlando plays a team first style and it will get them through to the second round easy.
Pick: Orlando 4-1
Western Conference
No. 1 San Antonio Spurs vs. No. 8 Memphis Grizzlies
Memphis is probably just happy to be in the playoffs. San Antonio is unquestionably the best overall team in the playoffs.
Pick: San Antonio 4-0.
No. 2 Los Angeles Lakers vs. No. 7 New Orleans Hornets
This matchup is a good first round test for the Lakers, as New Orleans has one of the top five point guards in the league with Chris Paul. The only thing is that Paul doesn't have a whole lot around him, so Lakers win easy.
Pick: Lakers 4-1.
No. 3 Dallas Mavericks vs. No. 6 Portland Trailblazers
I don't know anything about Portland except that they made the playoffs, and higher seeds in the NBA nearly always win, so go with Dallas.
Pick: Dallas 4-2.
No. 4 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. No. 5 Denver Nuggets
Denver has played very well together cohesively since they traded Carmelo to the Knicks. Oklahoma City has played very well since they got inside presence Kendrick Perkins from the Celtics. This is probably the only matchup that will go seven games, since the rest are all such big mismatches. i'll go with Kevin Durant and the Thunder.
Pick: Oklahoma City 4-3.
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