Saturday, April 18, 2015

NBA First Round Playoff Predictions



Western Conference

New Orleans Pelicans (awful team name) Vs Golden State Warriors

No team has kicked more ass this season than the Warriors. They have slowly been building a solid team over the years and it finally has come along this season. Stephan Curry is balling uncontrollably this season, there is no doubt in my mind he is the league MVP. Curry has been lights out and carried the Warriors throughout the season, he’s had plenty of help with his surrounding cast including another sharp shooter in Klay Thompson. The Pelicans also have an emerging star who has had a great season, Anthony Davis. Davis has had a breakout season and there is no doubt that he is the reason why the Pelicans are in the playoffs. The problem for them is that he has suffered way too many injuries and I don’t think they have the fire power to keep up with Golden State. The Warriors have been playing some of the best basketball and have maintained it up until this point. Offensively and defensively there aren’t going to be too many teams that will be able to hold this team back and I definitely don’t think that’s going to happen in this matchup. 

Warriors over Pelicans 5 games

Portland Trailblazers Vs Memphis Grizzlies

Portland has just been decimated by injuries this season, which is why I don’t have much hope for them in this matchup. The Grizzlies have been playing some excellent basketball throughout the season, led by Marc Gasol who is having yet another great season. The Grizzlies play smothering defense and are tough in the paint. This matchup would be more interesting if the Blazers weren’t struggling this season, but that is not the case and the Grizzlies should have no problem moving onto the next round!

Grizzlies over Blazers 5 games

San Antonio Spurs Vs Los Angeles Clippers

I knew I was going to feel bad for whoever had to face off against the Spurs in the first round of the playoffs. The Clippers have had an up and down season. Sure they’re a good team, but not even half as good as I expected them to be when the season began. The Clippers have had to battle through injuries this season and never really got into a rhythm with one starting lineup. The Spurs on the other hand have come rolling into the post season full steam ahead ready to try and win another Championship. Tim Duncan is still balling hard, there isn’t one bad thing you can say about the way he continues to dominate at his position he truly is a timeless player. Beyond Duncan the rest of the Spurs are as dominant as ever, Kawhi Leonard has been lights out, Tony Parker is playing well and the bench steps it up when they need to. I think the Spurs are ready to dominate another post season and the Clippers are just one team in their way. It should be a good series, but the Spurs are playing some great basketball right now and I expect that to continue on into the next round.

Spurs over Clippers 6 games

Dallas Mavericks Vs Houston Rockets

James Harden has been playing some of the best basketball of his career this season and it’s shown with how well his team has fared this season. No thanks to the flying vagina, Dwight Howard, that fool has spent most of the season nursing his busted ovaries or something. The Rockets rely heavy on offense, which is why Harden is killing it this season, but beyond him the Rockets are kind of thin and don’t have much fire power. So the key for their opponents will be to frustrate Harden and I feel like the Mavericks will layout that blueprint for the rest of the playoff teams that may possibly face the Rockets at some point this post season. The Mavs have had an up and down season, they’ve had their moments but overall they’ve been fairly mediocre. The Rondo trade hasn’t made them any better, until now that is. Rondo is a player who always steps it up come playoff time and I have a feeling he is going to put the Rockets on the brink along with Dirk Nowitzki, who is retiring after this season so you know he’s going to put it all out there for his last hurrah, but ultimately I believe the Rockets will prevail. The Rockets overall are a better team from top to bottom and Harden will be tough to hold down for an entire series.

On a side note I will say it’s going to be tough to say goodbye to another great player from this era, Dirk Nowitzki . I respect the way he has played the game and it was nice to see him win his Championship against The Heat in an epic battle a few years ago. I’m a Lakers fan for life, but also a basketball fan and Dirk was a class act all the way. I enjoyed watching his career from start to finish.

Rockets over Mavericks 7 games

Eastern Conference (awful first round matchups)

Brooklyn Nets Vs Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks stormed into the season as a surprise team. They had a great regular season, maintained the dominance and now have the top seed in the Eastern Conference. This was not expected at all before the season began, but the Hawks have proven everyone wrong and are playing some of the best overall team basketball in the league, WITHOUT a superstar player. We’ll see if that becomes a problem later in the playoffs, but I’m fairly confident that this will be an easy series for the Hawks. The Nets are garbage and have no shot at even winning a game in my opinion, but hey you know me I’m always bitchy!

Hawks over Nets 4 games

Washington Wizards Vs Toronto Raptors

This will be the ONLY possible good matchup we have in the first round in the Eastern Conference. Both of these teams matchup well against eachother. The Wizards are led by a solid tandem of guards with John Wall and Bradley Beal. Neither are afraid to take the big shot from the outside or drive into the hole and knock down a layup or take the hard foul. Gortat is playing tough defense in the middle and old ass Paul Pierce can still ball! The Raptors started the season off hot, with Kyle Lowry leading the charge. But after Lowry began getting injured on and off throughout the season they really have cooled off. The Raptors are tough on defense so there should be some fun battles to watch in the paint, but I think where the Wizards will have the edge is with Paul Pierce. He always steps it up come playoff time and even though he isn’t the “go-to” guy anymore, you still have to trust him in the post season. Dude is cold and just elevates his game, I think he’ll prove that again in this matchup.

Wizards over Raptors 6 games

Milwaukee Bucks Vs Chicago Bulls

Derrick Rose is healthy (for now) and ready to go just in time for the playoffs! The good thing for The Bulls is they are so used to playing without him that when he misses time it doesn’t hinder them. As a matter of fact The Bulls have battled through injuries to key players throughout the season and still play well. Pau Gasol is back and playing at a high level, I personally have a soft spot for Gasol since I’m a Lakers fan and he helped bring us two Championships, so I am not surprised in the least by his dominant play and so far he has been the go to guy for The Bulls. This should be a nice warm up to help Rose get some more playing time before the next round, which will hopefully be more interesting on The Eastern Conference side compared to some of these atrocious first round matchups!

Bulls over Bucks 4 games

Boston Celtics Vs Cleveland Cavaliers

The Celtics have no shot in this matchup so I’m not going to bother giving any analysis on the matchup! One word describes this matchup and that is… SWEEP!

Cavaliers over Celtics 4 games

Sunday, April 5, 2015

National Championship Prediction



Final Four Record (1-1)

Duke Vs Wisconsin

Well now that my bracket is all the way busted let’s talk about this upcoming National Championship! Truth be told I’m kind of surprised this is where we are at, Wisconsin are usually a bunch of choke artist’s before they can get to this point and I personally did not believe Duke was really that impressive when the tournament began. But both of these teams by far have been the most impressive and absolutely deserve to be in this spot. Both teams can dominate on both sides of the ball, have super star players who can take over the game and are led by great coaches. These teams matchup very well on paper and this should be a close game, but the one spot I believe Duke has the edge over Wisconsin in this matchup is with Jahlil Okafor. He has been ballin’ so hard this season, but has really stepped it up in the tournament. I’ve been impressed with everything he has accomplished this tournament. He can dominate in the paint and I believe that is what will happen against Wisconsin. The Badgers are strong in the paint as well, but overall Okafor is a far superior player than the majority of what Wisconsin is bringing to the table. With Okafor grabbing boards he will command a double team which will open up shots for the rest of his teammates and it will be too much for Wisconsin to overcome. I really can’t pick against Coach K in this instance either, he’s one of the greatest coaches of all time and he has his team focused and ready to win.

Duke over Wisconsin 78-70

MOP Award: Jahlil Okafor

Friday, April 3, 2015

Final Four Predictions



Kentucky Vs Wisconsin

Kentucky is coming into this matchup as one of the deepest teams in the league. Every guy from top on down could start for another team easily, which is why this team has remained dominant all season. It hasn’t been easy though and they’ve definitely had some close calls, but what team doesn’t on their way to a Championship? This matchup is going to be a tough one for Kentucky because Wisconsin matches up well against them. Wisconsin is a fast paced, high scoring team, with big guys who can dominate the paint and can also get you on the defensive side. The problem is I still don’t think they are deep enough to compete with Kentucky. There is a reason why Kentucky has remained undefeated thus far and I don’t see that coming to an end this week. Any guy at any time can step up on Kentucky and even when a guy is having a down game there is another to step in and pick up where he left off. They just have too much fire power to overcome and if I’ve learned anything throughout the years of watching the tournament is that Wisconsin tends to choke in the big moment so we’ll see how they can handle this one.

Kentucky over Wisconsin 68-65
 
Michigan State Vs Duke

It seems no matter what happens during the regular season that some how some way these two teams end up getting into the Final Four. Two of the greatest coaches in college basketball history are facing off and will have a tough task ahead of them. Tom Izzo is probably having one of the best coaching seasons of his career considering that this team basically backed their way into the tournament. They weren’t expected to do anything and then of course there are The Spartans back into The Final Four fighting their way to a Championship. Duke has really stepped it up all season and seem to have grown stronger as the season has gone on. This should be a good matchup from a coaching stand point, but outside of that I feel like overall Duke is the far superior team and if this turns into a shoot out then Michigan State is in trouble. Michigan State gets really sloppy once they have to start shooting a lot, Duke does not have this problem. Not only can the Blue Devils kill you on the offensive side, but they will get at you defensively and this is where I think they will have the edge over The Spartans. 

Duke over Michigan State 71-63