NBA Playoffs Predictions: First Round

The NBA Playoffs match-ups are officially set, and the first game is underway as I type this. The Eastern Conference series are #1 Cleveland Cavaliers vs #8 Detroit Pistons, #2 Toronto Raptors vs #7 Indiana Pacers, #3 Miami Heat vs #6 Charlotte Hornets, and #4 Atlanta Hawks vs #5 Boston Celtics. The Eastern Conference playoffs will probably be much more competitive in the first round because other than the Cavaliers and Raptors, the teams are packed together closely. By that I mean that the Miami Heat are 48-34, and got the three seed, and the Detroit Pistons are 44-38 and got the eight seed. So the series between the Heat and Hornets could go to six or seven games, as could the series between the Celtics and Hawks. I'm going to go with the Heat in seven games over the Hornets, although I think that will be the most competitive series. Another series that should be close is the Boston-Atlanta match-up, I see Atlanta taking it in six games. The Celtics will be a very good team in the years to come, but as of now the Hawks have more playoff experience. I believe that the Pacers will test the Toronto Raptors, but ultimately won't have enough firepower, so I will say the Raptors in six games. In the last Eastern series the Detroit Pistons take on the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Pistons actually took three out of the four regular season games versus the Cavs. Still LeBron is a force in the playoffs, so I'll say the Cavs win in four, maybe five games. 

The Western Conference playoffs are different from the East, in that the first round won't likely be that interesting, but the second round and conference finals should be very competitive. The series will be the #1 Golden State Warriors vs #8 Houston Rockets, #2 San Antonio Spurs vs #7 Memphis Grizzlies, #3 Oklahoma City Thunder vs #6 Dallas Mavericks, and #4 Los Angeles Clippers vs #5 Portland Trail Blazers. In the Golden State-Houston series I see the Rockets maybe getting one game, but the Warriors should easily handle them. James Harden could drop 40 points and 10 assists each game and I still don't think that the Rockets could win. The Spurs-Grizzlies series shouldn't even be close, the Spurs are very disciplined, experienced, and talented, and the Grizzlies have won only five of their last twenty games. Spurs in four games. The Thunder-Mavs series should be more of the same, but I think it could take the Thunder five or six games to take the series. Lastly, I think the Los Angeles Clippers will eliminate the Portland Trail Blazers in six games, I think that Portland doesn't have much talent outside of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum.