We brought in a ringer for our Playoff previews. He's a new writer that you'll be seeing more of around here. He calls himself The Crow and has been obsessed with predicting sports outcomes since middle school. If you're betting, take his advice. If he asks you to join his fantasy league, don't—you won't have a chance.
Jazz vs. Spurs!
Rested, experienced, well coached, and talented. Those are the first four things that came to mind when I was asked to describe the current state of San Antonio. On the other hand, Utah is a relatively unproven commodity, but certainly capable of doing some damage behind a big front court. It’s about time the world is introduced to one of the best men in the game: Al Jefferson. But it won’t be enough to keep the far superior team from advancing. Utah simply expended too much energy fighting off the surging Suns for the eight seed, and the well-rested Spurs will advance nearly unblemished.
San Antonio in 5
Mavericks vs. Thunder!
Prior to this year, seven players had led the NBA in scoring three or more times. Well, Kevin Durant just made it eight—and he did so before turning 25. Dallas was the story of the summer last year, but I’d be stunned to see a repeat after the roster turnover. I would have loved to see Jason Kidd in his prime match up with the uber-athletic Russell Westbrook, as he may have stood a chance. Now receiving AARP mailings, J-Kidd stands no chance. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me to see this matchup finally force Kidd into retirement—Westy is that good. Keep a close eye on James Harden’s health, as they will need him later in the playoffs, and enjoy the highlight reel that is the Thunder.
OKC in 6
Nuggets vs. Lakers!
Elbow Metta Face (or whatever Ron Artest goes by now) sure has bad timing. Turmoil like this is rarely a good thing and against an uptempo Denver team his defense will be sorely missed. The Lakers will now be forced to use Kobe to guard the hot perimeter player—and Denver has plenty—tiring him out for what could be their last reasonable push with this roster. I love the size down low to push them past the balanced Nuggets, but the effects of Peace’s elbow will prove costly down the line as the Lakers will only go as far as a now-tired Kobe Bryant will take them.
Lakers in 6
Clippers vs. Grizzlies!
The other team from L.A. went from laughable losers to Lob City basically overnight. From a fantasy prospective, I would love to see Blake Griffin hit more free throws and block a few more shots, but until then I'll just have to settle for a highlight filled double double. Chris Paul vows to play, although it makes you wonder how effective he will be. The Clippers closed out the season strong, but I think this Memphis team has all the tools to advance. I'm a big DeAndre Jordan fan, but I don't think he will be much of a match for the better Gasol. A competitive series all the way through, I'll take the Grizz to dance on in easily the best series of the first round.
Memphis in 7
I'm picking Clippers over the Grizz. Playoff CP3 is too good.
ReplyDeleteIt's the only series I have going seven Andrew. I just think Memphis has everything you need to win a playoff series, most importantly a great home court record (26-7). I completely agree that a healthy CP3 is a playoff dynamo but I just don't trust he's fully healthy. I also would feel a lot better with Big Shot Billups on the court providing the experience you'd like to have against a team fresh off a 1-8 upset last year. Should be the best series of the first round, I'll stand by my Grizzles and Marc Gasol advancing to meet the Spurs. In case you haven't noticed I'm crushing hard of Marc...he's so dreamy.
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