2015 NBA Playoffs Predictions Thread.

[tripolie atche]

2015 NBA First Round Predictions.


East:
#1 Atlanta vs. #8 Brooklyn - The Nets haven’t been consistent all season, so how can anyone expect them to suddenly “turn it on” against the East’s #1 seed? However, I do expect BKN to win a game or two in this series since ATL has basically been sleepwalking for the past few months while Millsap is battling a shoulder injury. In the end, though, the Hawks have more depth & move the ball as well as anybody in the NBA. Hawks in 6.

#2 Cleveland vs. #7 Boston - Projected by many to not even get a sniff of the postseason, Brad Stevens has done a remarkable job guiding the young Celtics bunch into the postseason. Unfortunately for him & the Celts, they will get LeBron James & the Cavs in the first round. The Cavs have championship aspirations & after getting swept in the home-and-home by BOS last weekend, I’m sure CLE won’t take them lightly. Brad Stevens’ coaching & perhaps Isaiah Thomas getting hot should help avoid CLE sweeping them, but in the end the Cavs will be too strong & are the more hungry team. Cavaliers in 5.

#3 Chicago vs. #6 Milwaukee - While the Bulls are banged up (shocker huh?), that’s pretty much the only advantage MIL has is that they’re the healthier team. However, that still won’t matter as the Bulls have the experience & depth to put away this Bucks team as quickly as possible. D-Rose may still show that he’s rusty, but they have a capable backup PG in Aaron Brooks who can get hot at any moment for CHI. While Jason Kidd has done a fantastic job coaching the Bucks, I would be surprised if this series reaches goes even six games since they basically backed into the playoffs after trading away Brandon Knight & acquiring Michael Carter-Williams. I expect CHI to sweep them since MIL basically won’t have any home games with Bulls fans expected to take over Bradley Center for Games 3 & 4 lol. Bulls in 4.

#4 Toronto vs. #5 Washington - Both teams started the season off strong, but then began to fade a bit around midseason before finishing the season as “meh” at best. I expect this series to go the distance, but in the end, TOR will prevail due to having home-court advantage, a better bench (Lou Williams, Patrick Patterson, Greivis Vasquez, etc.), a healthy Kyle Lowry who didn’t rush back from his injury, & because they are the hungrier team. The Raptors should be more motivated since they have never won a seven-game series in franchise history & after what happened last year in the playoffs when they lost a tough series to BKN on their home floor. (Paul Pierce had the game-winning block on Lowry to help BKN win Game 7). John Wall will give TOR’s defense fits & the Wizards a chance to win this series, but with a weaker bench, more injury risks (Beal & Nene), & Paul Pierce likely to battle fatigue, I’m going with TOR. In the shitty Eastern Conference, it’s disappointing that neither team finished with at least 50 wins, so I also predict that the loser of this series will make a coaching change in the offseason. Raptors in 7.









West:
#1 Golden State vs. #8 New Orleans - While this series will be fun to watch & the boxscores interesting to look at, there’s no reason for the Warriors to lose more than one game in the series. The Warriors have been firing on all cylinders all season long & have plenty of momentum heading into this series as Steve Kerr elected to not to rest his star players in games during the second-half of the season even though they had the #1 seed wrapped up around New Year’s. GS should have no problems, especially at Oracle in front of that crowd, since they are much deeper, talented, & healthier. While Anthony Davis & Tyreke Evans will probably lead NO to a win in one of their two home games, the fact that the Pelicans won’t shut up about how GS treated their last game as a “scrimmage” won’t do NO any favors. Also, the Splash Brothers & Draymond Green aren’t that bad either lol. Warriors in 5.

#2 Houston vs. #7 Dallas - As someone who lives in Dallas, all I can say is that this series will be fun to watch to say the least. I wouldn’t be shocked if DAL won this series, but I’m going with HOU because they have the better defense, they’re a better rebounding team, & because of some guy named James Harden. While the acquisition of Rondo hasn’t been a good one for the Mavs thus far, I think he finally shows up in this series as the Rockets currently don’t have anyone who can matchup with him….unless Beverley makes a miraculous recovery & plays in this series. As for everyone else in a Mavs uniform, they’re going to struggle against the likes of Trevor Ariza, Josh Smith, Dwight Howard, & Corey Brewer. Chandler Parsons won’t be healthy enough to be factor in this series, which should help HOU mainly focus on containing Monta Ellis. The presence of Dwight Howard should help limit Tyson Chandler’s effectiveness on defense & on the glass, & while Dirk could have a couple of good games, it likely won’t be enough to help DAL advance into Round 2. On offense for HOU, I think they’ll have success from beyond the arc against DALs mediocre defense & even if Harden isn’t efficient throughout this series, he’ll make up for it from going to the FT line about 15-20 times/game. Rockets in 6.

#3 LA Clippers vs. #6 San Antonio - This is the series I’m looking forward to the most as two of the hottest teams in the NBA square off (LAC ended the season winning 14 of their last 15 including 7 straight; SA ended the season winning 21 of their last 25 including 11 straight before dropping the regular season finale to NO). As for this series, I’m giving the edge to SA because of their depth & Kawhi Leonard. On any given night, one or two of Manu, Cory Joseph, Boris Diaw, Belinelli, & Patty Mills can make a huge impact to help the Spurs win. For the Clippers, the only guy they have on their bench that can make a lasting impact is Jamal Crawford, who just came back from a calf injury that cost him around 20 games & still hasn’t completely shaken the rust off since coming back. Other names on LACs bench includes Big Baby Davis, Hedo, Spencer Hawes, & Doc’s son Austin….yeah good luck with that LAC. While the Clippers starting five obviously gives them a chance to get past the Spurs, I think Pop will put Kawhi on CP3 helping to contain & neutralize him, & thus giving LAC no shot to advance. Spurs in 6.

#4 Portland vs. #5 Memphis (Grizzlies have the home-court advantage due to a better record) - Not only does POR have very little depth (Shocker!), but they limped their way into the playoffs. Nicolas Batum has had issues with his wrist all season long (which led to him shooting just 40% from the field this season), & is now dealing with a knee injury that could keep him out for at least Game 1. LaMarcus Aldridge has battled through a thumb injury that’ll require surgery once their season ends, & Arron Afflalo is dealing with a shoulder injury. Can’t forget about Wesley Matthews who blew his Achilles’ & likely won’t be ready for the regular season opener. Yes, MEM is banged up a bit too with Mike Conley & Tony Allen both hurt, but I expect them to be fine for Game 1. With that being said, assuming Conley plays at the very least, MEM shouldn’t struggle to put away POR. I’ll give the edge to Gasol & Z-Bo over Aldridge, Robin Lopez, Kaman, & Meyers Leonard, while Conley’s defense will be enough to prevent Lillard from going off in each & every game. On the other side, PORs defense hasn’t played well since the AS break & got even worse when Matthews went down. If anyone from POR not named Aldridge or Lillard plays well, I think it could be C.J. McCollum, but still that won’t be enough to get the job done. Grizzlies in 5.


So, these are my second round matchups: #1 Atlanta vs. #4 Toronto, #2 Cleveland vs. #3 Chicago, #1 Golden State vs. #5 Memphis, & #2 Houston vs. #6 San Antonio

 

[Alastor]

East

#1 Atlanta vs. #8 Brooklyn
I think Lopez and Joe Johnson can steal at least one game from the Hawks. The Hawks are too small to handle Lopez and losing Thabo for the season means they have one less wing defender in the rotation to handle Joe Johnson. Hawks in 5.

#2 Cleveland vs. #7 Boston
Lebron in playoff mode versus a bunch of scrubs + young players in Boston in a gimmick offence based on shooting a shit load of 3s even though their % isn't that great. I think it is going to be a sweep but stranger things have happened so I won't be surprised if the Celtics steal a game or two based on someone getting into a hot streak. Cavs in 4.

#3 Chicago vs. #6 Milwaukee
Milwaukee don't have enough offence to win a game but their defence could win one game for them. In previous seasons, the Bulls would give games away due to a lack of offence but this year's team have Pau and Mirotic that gives them more offensive threat at the expense of solid D. Even so, I expect at least one complacent game by them where Rose shoots them out of the game to give one away. Bulls in 5.

#4 Toronto vs. #5 Washington
This will be a tight and competitive series given that both teams have glaring weaknesses. Raptors lack size while the Wiz have almost no bench. Even though the Raptors lost homecourt in the first game, I believe they have the better bench and can grind the series out to win. Both coaches run horrible offences that clog the paint or turn possessions into iso 3s that can costs teams games. Ironically, the side that loses and make a coaching change might be better off. Raptors in 7.

West

#1 Golden State vs. #8 New Orleans
Anthony Davis is a beast and he match up well with the Warriors front court. But the Golden State Warriors should prove too much. This is a historic regular season team that pummels the opposition when Curry is playing well. I expect a sweep with Davis putting up huge numbers but coming short. Warriors in 4.

#2 Houston vs. #7 Dallas
The series with the most bad blood between the two teams. Is playoff Rondo still a thing? Dallas have nobody they can rely on to slow down Harden. Houston's PG rotation is going to get exposed on defence but they need a second ball handler since Dallas will trap Harden hard. Expect this to be a ugly series of hack-a-poor FT shooter with both teams having poor free throw shooters that are expected to play heavy minutes.Rockets in 6.

#3 LA Clippers vs. #6 San Antonio
Best match up in the first round. Clips have a great first 6 guy rotation as any. Spurs have the deeper bench but need Spliter back to help combat Blake and Deandre. Hack-a-Jordan tactic will be used to drag out games if Spurs are trailing. It is going to be a close series but I think the Spurs will steal one of the first two game and finish the series at home in game 6. Spurs in 6.

#4 Portland vs. #5 Memphis
Two walking wounded teams that stumbled into the postseason with injuries to key guys after an excellent start. The frontcourt battle is interesting and neither team can be comfortable with the match ups. I just think Memphis has a slight edge with a bench that know and play their roles well.Grizzlies in 6.

 

[Alastor]

Spurs got run over by the Clippers in Game 1. Yikes. Hopefully it was because Blake, Paul and Crawford all had a great shooting night at the same time combined with Spurs woeful shooting night. Or this series might be shorter than what we want.

 

[tripolie atche]

I went 6-2 in the Quarterfinal Round only getting TOR over WAS & SA over LAC wrong.

2015 NBA Semifinals Predictions


East:
#1 Atlanta vs. #5 Washington - Thought about WAS possibly pulling off the upset here, but I think the one-week layoff hurts the Wizards while ATL, who seemed to be getting their rhythm back somewhat towards the end of the BKN series, will begin to heat up against WAS. Even though I do fear that the Wizards could exploit one of ATLs weaknesses, defensive rebounding, it shouldn’t hurt the Hawks as much since they’re pretty good at forcing turnovers…which they’ll excel at against a turnover-prone Wizards team. While the Wizards do have perhaps the best player in this series in John Wall, I simply think ATL does more well offensively than the Wizards as they have a plethora of weapons who can space the floor in Korver/Carroll, create off the dribble (Teague/Schroder), & score from the post in Horford & Millsap. Hawks in 6.

#2 Cleveland vs. #3 Chicago - Even if Kevin Love were healthy, I was probably going to give CHI the slight edge in this series but now that he’s done for the rest of the season, I’m even more confident in the Bulls advancing into the ECF. With that being said, the Bulls’ frontcourt depth should dominate CLEs which will be the main reason why they advance. With Noah, Gasol, Taj, & Mirotic, it’s going to be hard for CLE to win the rebounding battle with only Mozgov & Tristan as their regular bigs. Obviously, LeBron will have to play the 4 a lot in this series while the shitty duo of Perkins & Haywood will get some minutes off the bench. Also, CLE wasn’t a good defensive team to begin with so guys like Butler, Rose, Dunleavy, & Mirotic should have more success in the perimeter during this series. While I expect Kyrie & LeBron to give CHI fits, it won’t be enough. It also helps CHI that JR Smith continues to be a dumbass which will allow the Bulls to steal either Game 1 or Game 2, taking homecourt in the process. Bulls in 6.



West:
#1 Golden State vs. #5 Memphis - Even if Conley was healthy, I wasn’t going to hesitate to pick GS. Now that we may not even see him play in this series….good luck Memphis as it’ll now be Steph Curry going up against Nick Calathes/Beno Udrih. Regardless, GS has the better depth & are obviously the healthier of the two teams. Tony Allen won’t be able to keep up with in the perimeter as GS continues to shoot lights out from three, while Bogut & Draymond will neutralize Gasol & Z-Bo. I do have Conley returning in this series once they’re back in Memphis, allowing the Grizzlies to win one game at “The Grindhouse,” but GS will win the other leading the Warriors to clinch this series back in their home floor. Warriors in 5.

#2 Houston vs. #3 LA Clippers - My brain is telling me the Rockets will win this series due to having more depth while CP3’s hammy may hold him out in Game 1, but after beating the defending champion Spurs in a classic seven-game series with the Clippers finally showing that they aren’t weak mentally & can come through in the clutch….I’m going to pick LAC to advance. I expect Chris Paul to be ready to go for Game 1 & to play well in this series. Hopefully, Doc decides to play some of his reserves against HOU (Hawes, Lester Hudson, Ekpe) especially if we’re going to see “Hack-A-Jordan vs. Hack-A-Howard/Hack-A-Smith” lol. But in all seriousness, I hope they do get to play more because I don’t think LAC can get by HOU if it’s LACs starting five plus Crawford & sometimes Austin Rivers doing the heavy lifting. HOU may not be as deep as SA, but they do have depth at SG/SF. Anyways, I think LAC wins because of….well Chris Paul since HOU has no one who can guard him with Beverley done for the season. While I think Dwight Howard & DeAndre Jordan will cancel each other out, Blake Griffin will continue to take his game to the next level. James Harden will have a great series as well, but having to drive to the basket with Jordan in the middle protecting the rim? Yeah, Harden will have second thoughts about that one. Clippers in 7.


So, my Conference Finals matchups would be: #1 Atlanta vs. #3 Chicago & #1 Golden State vs. #3 LA Clippers.

 

[tripolie atche]

I went 2-2 in the Semifinal Round (8-4 overall).

2015 NBA Conference Finals Predictions


East:
#1 Atlanta vs. #2 Cleveland - While the Hawks haven’t been as impressive as I thought they would be in the playoffs, they’ve ultimately reached the ECF for the first time since they moved to ATL from St. Louis. Even though the Hawks essentially got lucky from Wall getting hurt & Pierce’s game-tying three in Game 6 being just a tick too late, I still think ATL will win this series. Yes, the Cavs have some guy named LeBron James but I think Carroll will do enough to try to slow him down, though LBJ will still have a great series lol. What hurts CLE is that Love won’t be back for the remainder of the playoffs & Kyrie’s knee may give him some bad nights in this series. For ATL, the latter could mean good things for Teague/Schroder. Also, I expect Korver to decide and show up for this series, while Millsap & Horford will continue their good postseason play. This will likely go the full seven games, but with ATL having homecourt, they move on to the NBA Finals. Hawks in 7.



West:
#1 Golden State vs. #2 Houston - Well….I’m pretty sure the three-ball will be flying throughout this series haha. While I expect HOU to defend the rim & win the rebounding battle more often than not against GS, I’m still going to take the Warriors to win this series. Yes, JET did a pretty decent job on Chris Paul in HOUs last series, but I think he’ll show his age having to guard the MVP. I’m sure Ariza will have to defend Steph as well at times, but that might mean more open looks for Klay if Harden is on him. For HOUs superstar, I expect Klay & Iggy to do a pretty good job guarding Harden around the perimeter making it more difficult for him & even Ariza & Brewer to have success from three-point land. The only reason I say HOU won’t get swept or lose in five games, is because Bogut & maybe even Draymond will likely be in foul trouble throughout this series making it easier for Dwight Howard & James Harden to get to the basket. However, GS winning will hinge on them "living by the three”, having a better bench than the Clippers do, & playing much better defense. Warriors in 6.


So, that gives the NBA Finals matchup of: #1 Golden State vs. #1 Atlanta

 

[tripolie atche]

I went 1-1 in the Conference Final Round (9-5 overall)

2015 NBA Finals Prediction:


#1 Golden State vs. #2 Cleveland - It’s going to be a fun series & it’ll be interesting to see which city ends their championship drought (Cleveland hasn’t won a championship since 1964, while Oakland has been title-less since 1989). As for this series, barring an Indians or Browns title run, I think the city of Cleveland will have to wait another year. The Warriors are just too deep as CLEs defenders won’t be able to keep up with the Splash Brothers & Co. GS also has plenty of bodies they can throw at LeBron (mostly Barnes, Draymond, & Iggy), while Kyrie’s knee could give CLE problems not only from an offensive standpoint but defense as well since he’ll be chasing Curry & perhaps even Klay around. I also don’t see JR & Shump shooting the ball well in these Finals like they did in their last two series, while Mozgov & Bogut will cancel each other out & Tristan will have a much harder time grabbing boards. Warriors in 6.

Finals MVP: Steph Curry