NBA Conference Finals Predictions

First Round Record (6-2)

Semi Finals Record (2-2)

NBA Conference Finals Predictions

Western Conference

Oklahoma City Thunder Vs Golden State Warriors

When the Playoffs began I had a feeling the Thunder were going to make things tough for some of their opponents, but I really did not believe they would make it this far in such dominating fashion! They spent the entire regular season blowing major leads in the fourth quarter and it was tough to believe they’d be able to withstand the Spurs for an entire series, let alone kick their ass! The Warriors are finally going to be tested this post season. It’s been amazing to see how well they play even with Steph Curry injured, but they will definitely need him in this round! While I point out that the Warriors will be tested in this round, I still think they are head and shoulders above every team remaining in the playoffs! They play  in sync and so well together offensively, they make it all look easy. The defense is what gets overlooked, but I have a feeling it will play a major role in this matchup against the Thunder. The Warriors focus should be trying to contain Russell Westbrook. He is all over the court and if he continues to run loose then it’s easy for him to run up the score on you. He goes hard in the paint and is not afraid to muscle his way in for some rebounds. With all that said about Westbrook, I think the Warriors will end up on top. They know what it takes to win a Championship and they’re an even better team than they were last year so it’s kind of tough to pick against the Warriors because so far this entire season they have overcome every task that they have had to face.

Warriors over Thunder 6 games

Eastern Conference

Toronto Raptors Vs Cleveland Cavaliers

The Eastern Conference is such an insanely awful conference I don’t even understand why they bother to pretend to participate in the previous rounds of basketball. The Cavaliers are the only legitimate team in this pathetic conference and the sad thing is that’s pretty much the way the East has been for many years! You have one to three good teams and the rest are a wash! This is why I have no faith in the Raptors. I’d love to think that they could actually make this a watchable series, but Toronto cannot be trusted this time of year! The Cavs are nice and rested and ready to cruise into the NBA Finals to finally face a real team! This should be another quick series for Bron Bron and the Cavs!

Cavaliers over Raptors 5 games

NBA Conference Semi Finals Predictions

First Round Record (6-2)

NBA Conference Semi Finals Predictions

Western Conference

Portland Trail Blazers Vs Golden State Warriors

Even though Steph Curry is injured I still have no doubt in my mind that the Golden State Warriors will move on to the next round easily! The Trail Blazers are a decent team, but are really only in this round because of all the injuries to the Clippers. The Warriors are way too deep and coached too well for the Blazers to keep up with.

Warriors over Trail Blazers 5 games

Oklahoma City Thunder Vs San Antonio Spurs

I am absolutely looking forward to this matchup! Whenever these two teams face off against each other it’s a fun matchup to watch and I’m expecting nothing less from this series. The Thunder have been rolling on the offensive side of the ball, Russell Westbrook is playing out of his mind basketball this season and has been the driving force for this team. Unfortunately for the Thunder they aren’t as deep as the Spurs. The Spurs are stacked from top to bottom and have so many weapons it’s tough to keep up for one game, let alone an entire series. The Spurs are much more aggressive on the defensive side of the ball and should be able to lock down some of the role players to apply some pressure on Durant and Westbrook to only focus on offense. That sounds like it’s not a problem when you have two of the highest scoring players in the league, but it has actually always been a problem for the Thunder over the years. It’s why they have continued to blow big leads in the fourth quarter consistently this season. Durant and Westbrook start throwing up shots and any and all defense goes out the window and you can’t do that against the Spurs. They are too damn good! When it’s all said and done I think the Spurs will be moving on!

Spurs over Thunder 6 games

Eastern Conference

Atlanta Hawks Vs Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavaliers were extremely unimpressive in the previous round. Sure, they won the series without even losing a game, but they didn’t dominate one game against a fairly mediocre team. The Hawks looked pretty good, but they’re still a team that I can’t really believe in until they step it up and win big in the post season. The Cavaliers don’t really have any chemistry which is something that has been very obvious throughout the entire season, but it hasn’t cost them much since they are in the mediocre Eastern Conference, it’s very easy to mask that weakness when you aren’t facing any good teams. The Hawks will make this a good series to watch and should walk away with a couple wins, but like I said before, until they prove their worth in the post season I can’t pick them. Even if they are going up against a team with no chemistry, the Cavaliers still have LeBron who could probably beat the Atlanta Hawks team all by himself if need be.

Cavaliers over Hawks 6 games

Miami Heat Vs Toronto Raptors

The Raptors are lucky to even be in this round! I swear they wanted to go home in the last round against the Pacers, but managed to hang on to the win in Game 7. If there is one thing that the Raptors are consistent at it is blowing it in the playoffs and I have a feeling that will be right around the corner…like in this round! The Heat were pushed to the max by the Hornets and it should have never gone seven games, but the Heat would be a much more dominant team if Bosh wasn’t injured. Dwayne Wade has really stepped it up this season. It seemed like he was headed towards retirement with all the injuries he’s had to deal with over the past couple of seasons, but right now he has shown that he still has some gas in the tank and I think he’s ready to go for this round! The Heat aren’t that far removed from when they were winning Championships, which is why since the playoffs began I figured they would be one of the biggest threats in the Eastern Conference to the Cavaliers. The Raptors are a good team, but cannot be trusted in this position and until they prove otherwise I can’t pick them. They’re playing a red hot Miami Heat team led by a veteran who has multiple Championships and knows how to win at this time of the year! Enjoy the views from the 6 Toronto you’re going to be crying as hard as your ambassador Drake once Dwayne Wade is done with you!

Heat over Raptors in 6 games

NBA First Round Playoff Predictions

Western Conference

Houston Rockets Vs Golden State Warriors

Warriors. Win. Easy. Nuff. Said!

Warriors over Rockets 4 games

Portland Trailblazers  Vs Los Angeles Clippers

This will probably be the only competitive matchup in the Western Conference from the First Round. Damian Lillard has been playing very well this season and for the most part it has gone unnoticed because the West is full of a lot of great players and it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle. The Clippers have had their moments this season, but I don’t know if I think they can actually be a threat to any team in the playoffs this season. The Clippers on occasions tend to be their own worst enemy, they play great team ball when they win, but when they lose I often question their mental toughness. That is why I don’t think this will be a cake walk at all for them against the Trailblazers. I give the edge to the Clippers in this matchup because they have more depth on the bench, but I expect the Trailblazers to give them everything they’ve got!

Clippers over Trailblazers 6 games

Dallas Mavericks Vs Oklahoma City Thunder

This will be a boring matchup overall. The Thunder are quietly having a very good season. Since there is so much competition in the Western Conference it’s easy to get overlooked, especially when the Warriors have been so dominant! Russell Westbrook is having the best season of his career and Kevin Durant has bounced back strong from the foot injury last season. The Mavericks are old and won’t be able to keep up with the Thunder for an entire series.

Thunder over Mavericks 5 games

Memphis Grizzlies Vs San Antonio Spurs

This has been a great a matchup over the years in the playoffs, fierce battles, fought until the end. Not this year though. The Grizzlies have had a tough time trying to work through injuries this season. Twenty eight players have been cycled through this roster and that’s never a good thing for any team. The Spurs on the other hand have a lot of depth on their bench and Coach Popovich has his squad ready for a playoff run! This should be a nice warm up for the Spurs to get them ready for the next opponent they end up facing in the following round!

Spurs over Grizzlies 5 games

Eastern Conference

Detroit Pistons Vs Cleveland Cavaliers

This will not even be close….therefore, no analysis on this matchup is necessary!

Cavaliers over Pistons 4 games

Boston Celtics Vs Atlanta Hawks

This could possibly be the only intriguing matchup in the Eastern Conference! The Celtics have surged the second half of the season and unexpectedly made the playoffs led by the nobody squad! They’re a scrappy team with some good shooters so I expect them to put up a good fight against the Hawks! The Hawks are a pretty boring team overall which is why this should end up being a decent series. Both teams matchup well against each other and neither team is expected to make any strides in the post season! I think the Celtics have the edge in this matchup because they’ve steam rolled their way into the playoffs and I believe they can continue to ride that wave for at least one round in the playoffs!

Celtics over Hawks 7 games

Charlotte Hornets Vs Miami Heat

You know the Eastern Conference sucks as soon as you see a mediocre team like the Hornets are actually participating in the post season. The Heat are actually a good team this season and Dwayne Wade has managed to stay healthy for the most part which is a big reason why they are playing so well. They’ve even managed to continue to play well through the absence of Chris Bosh! The only hope for the Hornets is that Michael Jordan just gets so fed up with his mediocre team and comes out of retirement to try and get them a win!

Heat over Hornets 4 games

Indiana Pacers Vs Toronto Raptors

I don’t expect this to be much of a series. The Pacers are mediocre and the Raptors are one of the few teams that could actually challenge the Cavaliers this post season. This should be a nice little warm up for the Raptors!

Raptors over Pacers 5 games

Thanks For The Memories

Dear Kobe,

                You don’t know me, but I know you. Well, not personally, but I’ve been privileged enough to be able to witness your entire twenty year career. I became a Laker fan when I was a kid back in the early 90’s. I was not an avid fan during those times, just more of a casual fan. That all changed when you were drafted by the Charlotte Hornets and traded to the Lakers in 1996. This was one of the greatest moves by the GM at the time Jerry West who realized that you were a once in a lifetime player and over the years you have put in the hard work to prove that this is true. I was only 11 years old at the time and from then on I’ve been one of your biggest fans!

                I have many memories over the past twenty years that will be absolutely unforgettable. The five Championships were obviously some of the greatest memories, but the one I enjoyed the most was the 2010 Championship against the Boston Celtics. That series had everything any real basketball fan would want in a Championship matchup! A hard fought seven game series that came all the way down to the end. Every game a back and forth battle. This was unlike any of the prior Championships you won because the previous Championships were won in dominating fashion. I feel like this was your greatest Championship because this was YOUR team and you were able to shutup every single idiot who hopped on the hate train during the feud between you and Shaq.

                The night you scored 81 points in one game was magical and I didn’t even get to see it, but I was listening on the radio. I grew up in Reno, NV so we got Laker games, but not every game and since you were playing Toronto and this was not a national TV game it was nowhere to be found on cable. I remember watching ESPNews and watching the ticker and noticing that every time it scrolled past the games score I noticed how many points you were scoring was rising at an insane rate and I had to at least hear what was going on! I have satellite radio and luckily they play every NBA games radio broadcast so I immediately tuned into the game and was literally jumping up and down with every basket you scored. It is so hard to enjoy a basketball game on the radio, but this was a game unlike any other in the history of the NBA. When it was all said and done you scored the second most points in one game in NBA history…81 points!

                When you’re a Laker fan you expect the haters, but you Mr. Bryant brought on the haters like no other! I cannot tell you how many arguments I have been in over the years about you!! I have your back for life and will NEVER back down from a Kobe Bryant argument no matter who you are!! One of my favorite arguments was when I was at work I was decked out in all Lakers wearing a Kobe jersey. I worked at the mall and it was in the afternoon on a weekday so no one else was in the store besides this customer and me. He notices my jersey and scoffs “Pfff Kobe he ain’t the best player in the NBA!” I look at him and laugh and respond with “please oh great one enlighten me with who the best player in the league is today?” His response of course was every haters response at the time with “LeBron!” Now mind you at this time LeBron had ZERO rings and just got swept out of the NBA Finals the previous season so I look at him and just start laughing in the most condescending bitch way I possibly could and this fat fuck got a little upset by that. So eventually our argument gets so heated we are like inches from eachothers face arguing back and forth about Kobe Vs. LeBron. Side note I am a 5’2’’ one hundred pound girl. This guy is about 6’3’’ and three hundred pounds (or more). Once the argument was over I think he felt kind of stupid and eventually he left. So like I said before I don’t care who you are I’ll get in your face if you don’t show the Mamba respect!

                I could go on forever about the numerous memories you have provided myself and many others over the past twenty years, but there isn’t enough time!  Your final season has been tough to watch because of how awful the team is in general, but it also has been great to see you get your respect from the league, the fans and even your haters. This is the first year EVER I have not been in a major Kobe fight with a hater! It’s been odd to not see you as the villain this season, but it’s because we all know the imprint you have left behind on this game was great to watch and even the haters can’t continue lying to themselves about it! You are a legend and I am so happy to have been able to come along for the ride and watch you play your entire twenty year career on my favorite team, the Lakers. Our paths may never cross and we may never even have so much as a hand shake, but I do really want to thank you for all of memories over the past twenty years. They were great and amazing and there will never be another Kobe Bean Bryant!

                                Sincerely,

                                Katie Tropp

Super Bowl 50 Prediction

Wild Card Record (4-0)

Divisional Round Record (4-0)

Conference Championship Record: (2-0)

Super Bowl 50 Prediction

Denver Broncos Vs Carolina Panthers

Out with the old and in with the new should be the slogan of this year’s Super Bowl! The Carolina Panthers come into this game as the most dominant team throughout the season. They have not waivered at all when put to the task and have stayed true to themselves the entire way through. They are the most complete team from top to bottom on offense, defense, special teams and coaching staff, with some of the most mentally tough players in the league. The Broncos defense is flat out amazing, but they get absolutely no help from their mediocre offense. The Broncos offense is such garbage, but has been able to get by from the play of the defense. Everybody’s favorite loveable loser Peyton Manning is back in the Super Bowl again and I’m sure he’s ready to throw plenty of interceptions like he has been most known to do at this time of the year. Unlike most everybody I am not hoping Manning goes out on a high note, nor am I reminiscing on how amazing he is and do you want to know why? It’s because during the post season he has had some of the most epic collapses while having exceptional players surrounding him and he still sucks it up when it counts the most! He is 13-13 in the post season…NOT IMPRESSIVE! He is 1-2 in Super Bowls…NOT IMPRESSIVE! If he loses this Super Bowl (which he more than likely will) those numbers will look even more pathetic! But since everybody thinks he’s just “the nicest guy in the World” everybody creates every excuse in the World as to why we are supposed to think he is the best football player of all time when he really is just the ultimate display of the participation trophy!

The great thing for me is that not only does Manning choke hard in the playoffs, but The Panthers as a team are head and shoulders above the Broncos! If you watched the NFC Championship game or the last two Super Bowls Peyton Manning has LOST, then you should expect this game to look similar to those games. The Broncos have no ground game, an awful offensive line and a broken down Peyton Manning. The Panthers defense is going to have a field day with the Broncos offense they should be able to cause some turnovers to set their offense up in great position to run up the score. The Broncos defense will get too worn down as the game moves on because their offense will keep them on the field too long and before you know it the Broncos will be down and won’t be able to fight back. I don’t believe the Broncos have a chance in this game and I will be surprised if this is even a competitive matchup.

Panthers over Broncos 41-10

MVP: Luke Kuechly