This year’s
NBA has been absolutely ludicrous.
Golden State broke a seemingly unbreakable record by tallying 73 wins,
San Antonio tied the 1985-’86 Celtics record by winning 40 of their 41 home
games, Kobe Bryant capped off his
retirement season by putting up 60 and leading his band of misfits to a
comeback win, Blake Griffin beat up an
equipment manager (leading him to miss a good part of the season), the Brooklyn Nets tanked the Boston Celtics
into a (presumably) top 4 pick at this summer’s draft, and we were treated to
one of the deepest rookie classes in a long time (see Towns, Porzingis, Booker,
Winslow, Jokic, Turner, etc…). All of
this excitement and the post-season matchups have only just been decided. These are my thoughts and picks for the Western
Conference first round of the NBA playoffs. (I’m going to try to avoid specific
stats, because I want to do as little research as possible and rely on my gut!)
Western Conference:
#1 Golden State
Warriors (73-9) vs. #8 Houston Rockets (41-41)
In year’s
past, this matchup would have made me pause and look at all angles, but that
isn’t the case this year. Golden State
is coming off of its record setting 73rd win, and while there were a
couple of times they let off the gas this season (losses to Denver and Los
Angeles), they have been truly dominant.
As I watched their game against the Spurs the other night, I marveled at
how they created chaos on both ends of the court. Their offensive chaos, leading to wide open
three or simple lay-ups. The defensive
chaos causing the typically rock solid Spurs to take bad shots and give away
simple turnovers. Houston is a very pedestrian .500 team with many
holes, expect Golden State to exploit them.
Houston did recover from an awful start to rally into the playoffs after
a late season run, but didn’t once look like the team that made it to last
year’s conference finals. Playoff series
typically are determined by one or two of the best players on the court, and in
this series, it goes Curry, Harden, Thompson, and Green. Golden State is just too organized and has
too many weapons for Houston to be able to handle. Congratulations Houston, you made the
playoffs, but that is as far as you’ll go.
Prediction: Golden State in 4
#2 San Antonio Spurs (67-15) vs. #7
Memphis Grizzlies (42-40)
I can’t
imagine a world where these two teams don’t play each other in the
playoffs. As a Spurs fan, there have
been few postseasons in recent memories where these two teams didn’t face
off. This series, however, has a much
different look. Memphis has been
fighting the injury bug all season, and pulled off a near miracle by playing
consistent enough to make the playoffs without their low-post staple, Marc
Gasol. The Spurs train rolled along to
an amazing 67-15 record, bolstered by an incredible 40-1 record at home. While many of the faces are familiar in San
Antonio, some of the veterans who have been dominant in years past (Duncan,
Parker, Ginobili) have willingly taken a backseat role for the younger up and
comers (Leonard and Aldridge), who have taken huge strides in their leadership
this season. Leonard is a real beast,
showing his athleticism on both ends of the court by shutting down the other
team’s best player every night while also being a focal point on offense. Aldridge turns back time with his play, as he
compliments his low post play with a near extinct brand of mid-range
basketball. It took a little while for
the Spurs to find the right intricacies for their system, but it seems that
they have found their stride. Memphis
has always been a tough out in the playoffs, but I just think the Spurs are too
deep and experienced to lose this series.
Prediction: Spurs in 4
#3 Oklahoma City Thunder (55-27) vs.
#6 Dallas Mavericks (42-40)
I love the
way that year after year, Dallas does more with less than nearly every team in
the NBA. Carlisle is able to squeeze the
most out of his players, Dirk keeps fighting off Father Time and adjusting his
game to match his age, and Mark Cuban keeps on grinning in the stands. Oklahoma City, I would argue, continues to do
less with more. Durant and Westbrook are
two of the best players in the league, is it too much to ask to get to 60
wins? I know that in the long run, the
only thing that matters in regular season is getting into the playoffs, but
they have the two best players on the court (in their prime) on a near nightly
basis. The clock is ticking for the
Thunder to win a championship and if they make another early exit this year,
Durant could be wearing green next year (let’s hope). As much as I would love to see Dallas dig
deep into their bag of tricks and make this a close series, I just think that
the Thunder have too much overwhelming skill on their team. I would not be surprised if Durant averaged
28 or more and Westbrook averaged a triple-double for as long as they are in
the playoffs. Dallas lost the battle of
the emojis at the beginning of the season, and I have a strong feeling that
they are going to lose this series as well.
Prediction: Thunder in 5
#4 Los Angeles Clippers (53-29) vs.
#5 Portland Trailblazers (44-38)
Talk about
two teams who do more with less (Portland) and less with more (LA)! The Clippers are another team whose clock is
very rapidly ticking away. Last year may
have been their best chance to make it to the Finals, and they somehow let the
Rockets make an unbelievable comeback (led by Josh Smith) in the fourth quarter
to let their stranglehold of the series slip away. They return the same core as last year, but a
little bit older and beaten up (see Clippers equipment manager….. erm… I mean
Blake Griffin). Chris Paul is still really good (one of my favorite NBA
players of the last decade), but it seems to always be the same old song and
dance with them. The Trailblazers on the
other hand have been one of the league’s biggest, most pleasant surprises. Damian Lillard took his all-star snub
personally which prompted him to hang up 51 points and a win on the Golden
State gauntlet. One would have thought
that losing Wes Matthews and more importantly LaMarcus Aldridge would have sent
this team reeling, but with the leadership of Lillard and coaching of Terry
Stotts, they have found themselves in the fifth seed in a strong Western
conference. They have also received
important contributions from CJ McCollum, who made a massive step forward this
season. I will be honest in saying,
however, that I didn’t watch a single game played by the Blazers this season
(darn West coast time). While the
Blazers had a great season, I don’t think that they have enough firepower and
experience to compete with Chris Paul and the Clippers in the long run, and I
believe the Clippers will take this series.
Prediction: Clippers in 6
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