Tuesday, May 17, 2022

NBA Conference Finals Playoff Predictions

 

First Round Record (8-0)

Conf. Semifinals Record (2-2)

 

NBA Conference Finals Playoff Predictions

Western Conference

Dallas Mavericks Vs Golden State Warriors

Luka Doncic has been the man this postseason and has led the Mavericks all the way to the conference finals when nobody thought that was possible, including myself. Overall, the Mavericks have a solid team, but it’s completely built around Luka and while that has worked thus far, they have a big task ahead of them with the Warriors. The Warriors have played great this postseason and seem to be playing with a chip on their shoulders because nobody thinks they’re as good as they once were, but so far, they are proving everyone wrong. Steph is knocking down three pointers, Draymond is getting dirty in the paint, Klay is getting healthier, and they have a bunch of young guys stepping it up! The Warriors have been here before and know what it takes to win and I think that gives them a huge advantage in this matchup! The Mavericks will make this a tough series, but the Warriors depth and experience will take them on into the NBA finals, once again!

Warriors over Mavericks in 6 games

 

Eastern Conference

Boston Celtics Vs Miami Heat

The Celtics have been a silent killer this season because nobody expected them to be this good and be this lethal in the postseason. Nobody looked at Jason Tatum as a superstar player ready to stab the dagger through each of his opponents hearts this season, but that’s exactly what he has done. The Celtics are one of the most complete teams from top to bottom and they have an all around game where they can keep up with on offense, but will lock you down on defense. The Heat are a great offensive team, but they lack on the defensive side of the ball. Jimmy Butler has also had a phenomenal postseason and will be difficult for the Celtics to stop, but if they are able to limit the scoring of everyone else on the Heat that may help them gain the edge in this series. Both teams are on fire, but the Celtics are battle tested and just took out the defending champs. I don’t think the Heat will be able to withstand the Celtics defense for an entire seven game series and the Celtics will wear them down and run up the score. Jason Tatum has proven to be clutch this season and looks like he wants to make his mark in this league and this postseason run is helping him make that case!

Celtics over Heat in 6 games

Sunday, May 1, 2022

NBA Conference Semifinals Playoff Predictions

 

First Round Record (8-0)

 

NBA Conference Semifinals Playoff Predictions

 

Western Conference

Dallas Mavericks Vs Phoenix Suns

Chris Paul is on some right now! He went off in the first round and you can just see it in his eyes that he wants this Championship! Even in the absence of Booker due to injury, CP3 stepped it up and carried this team on into the next round. The Mavericks are also coming in hot led by Luka The Don. He also missed a couple of games in the last round due to injury, but the rest of the team was able to hold it down and keep them in the series until Luka was able to get back on the court. The Mavericks are great on the defensive side of the ball and really put the pressure on their opponent, but on offense Luka is really the only constant. The rest of the team can be sporadic when it comes to scoring and that will work against them in this matchup because the Suns can score anyone out of the building! The Mavericks are a good team, but I don’t think they have the depth on their roster to compete in a seven game series with the Suns. Especially in the paint where Deandre Ayton is dominating on the boards. This should be a good series, but I believe the Suns will be too much for the Mavericks to handle.  

Suns over Mavericks in 6 games

 

Golden State Warriors Vs Memphis Grizzlies

The Golden State Warriors are probably the most dangerous team left in the playoffs because they are on fire right now and are playing Championship level basketball. Steph Curry can’t miss, Klay Thompson is getting better with each and every game, Jordan Poole has come out of nowhere to add another level of offense to this team, and even Draymond Green is looking like his old self! The Grizzlies did not look that convincing against the Timberwolves in the first round and if they don’t step it up in this round they will be watching the rest of the playoffs from their couch! It should be an interesting series between two top notch teams, but I have a feeling the Warriors experience is going to come into play in this series. They know what it takes to win it all and the Grizzlies don’t, and that really was evident in the first round. While the Grizzlies were able to get it together and move on, this is a much more experienced team that they are going up against and if the Warriors catch fire on offense I think the Grizzlies will have a difficult time trying to play catch up and the series will just get away from them.

Warriors over Grizzlies in 6 games

 

Eastern Conference

Philadelphia 76ers Vs Miami Heat

I had a completely different outlook on this game up until the announcement that Joel Embiid has an orbital bone fracture and will be out indefinitely. I had them winning this series, but now with this injury that changes everything! Embiid is the backbone of this team and has been playing at an MVP caliber level, and I don’t believe there is anybody who can step it up in his absence. The Heat are a damn good team and it looks like the Jimmy Butler injury isn’t going to be a factor in this one. The Heat are stacked from top to bottom and the only weakness I thought they had coming into this matchup is they didn’t have anyone who could matchup against Embiid and now that looks like it won’t be an issue. If Embiid ends up not playing at all in this series I think this will be a quick and easy series for the Heat. If he is able to maybe come back by Game 2 or 3 then this should be a good series. With Embiid’s status currently at unknown, my prediction is the Heat will win this series a lot quicker than anticipated because I don’t believe the 76ers will be able to keep up with how fast they are able to score. The loss of Embiid is huge for the 76ers and this injury couldn’t come at a worse time for them.

Heat over 76ers in 5 games

 

Milwaukee Bucks Vs Boston Celtics

This is going to be one hell of a matchup! The Celtics have been dominating the league since Christmas, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Jason Tatum continues to grind and lead this team. He makes the clutch shots and is always reliable down the stretch. The Celtics played some of the best defense Kevin Durant has ever seen in the first round and now the Celtics have yet another, tough task ahead of them with Giannis in this round! Giannis has been playing out of his mind and is in playoff mode and looks like he is ready for another Championship! The Kris Middleton injury could be the difference in this matchup because he is a huge part of the Bucks offense right behind Giannis, but I believe the Bucks Championship experience will help them get past the Celtics in this round. It should be a great battle between two great teams and I expect this one to go the distance.

Bucks over Celtics in 7 games