The 2011 NBA Playoffs: Be All That You Can Be

Lafayette "Fat" Lever being all that he can be...

No break down of the NBA playoffs is complete with out offering some predictions. Most of the breakdowns will be pretty short, so I can gear up for the NBA version of Christmas.


EAST (1) Chicago vs. (8) Indiana
Season series: 3-1 Chicago



I covered a fair amount on the Bulls in my previous post, so let’s talk about the Pacers. The Pacers I think can make this series competitive. They have some solid pieces on the perimeter with Darren Collison and Danny Granger along with some solid depth down low in Josh McRoberts, Roy Hibbert and Psycho T. The Pacers shoot the ball pretty well and work well off of screens both on the ball and away from it, which evidently is one of the Bulls’ strength on the defensive end. The Pacers might be able to steal one. Let’s hope not…

Pick: Bulls in 5


(4) Orlando vs. (5) Atlanta
Season series: 3-1 Atlanta

I don’t have much to say about this series. Because I really do not enjoy watching either of these teams play. The Hawks have had some success against the Magic because Jason Collins can match-up down low with Howard, which allows the Hawks to stay out on Orlando’s shooters. However, the Hawks have been miserable lately and in fact they allowed more points this year than they scored. Orlando has not gotten any better since the trade and at times they are down right terrible on defense when you throw out Arenas, Hedo and Ryan Anderson on the floor together. I think the Magic screen and roll the Hawks to death and pull this off, but this series will be ugly

Pick: Magic in 6


(2) Miami vs. (7) Philadelphia
Season series: 3-0 Miami

The 76ers are a great story after a tough start to the season, but this is a real bad match-up for them. The Heat can counter any funk lineups that Doug Collins will throw at them. The Heat are very good defensively and if they can get stops and turnovers, which allow them to push the ball in transition then watch out. The 76ers will not be able to control pace on the Heat like other teams may be able to down the road. It will ve interesting to see how this Heat group plays in the Playoffs together, but I do not think the
76ers will be able to test them very much.

Pick: Heat in 5


(3) Boston vs. (6) New York
Season series: 4-0 Boston

I wish CBS still had NBA games and we could get a lucid Dick Stockton to call this match-up of classic NBA teams.



What the Celtics did last year down the stretch was in part an effort to rest their players, but this year… This Celtics team looked like a disaster down the stretch. Rondo is a different player and not in a good way. And the big three is another year older. So, of course this Celtics team seems ripe for a 1st round upset… Well, it is not going to be this year. The Knicks are a nice story and it is great to see relevant basketball being played in the Garden again. However, the ‘Bockers are atrocious on the defensive end and I think they gave up 1 too many players (Ray Felton) in the Carmelo trade to be able to beat the Celtics this year. This should be fun to watch, but I think the Celtics get back on track.

Pick: Celtics in 6


WEST




(1) San Antonio vs. (8) Memphis
Season series: 2-2

After tanking their final 2 games the Grizzlies got the match-up they wanted in a 60+ win Spurs team. Wait a minute… Yes, you read that right. The Spurs come into the playoffs a little banged up with Ginobili and Tim Duncan, but I think their experience and home court advantage will allow them to push past the Grizz. I like this Grizz team, who would have been the 5 seed in the East and instead are an 8 seed out West. Zach Randolph is as tough as they come in the post and Mike Conley has played a pretty decent point. However, the Grizz struggle shooting from the perimeter and really don’t have an elite wing with Rudy Gay being lost for the season. So, I think the Spurs get it done.

Pick: Spurs in 6


(4) Oklahoma City vs. (5) Denver
Season series: 3-1 Oklahoma City

I am hoping the average score of this series winds up to be in the 128-124 range. I think the Thunder have the look of at least a conference finals team... Maybe more. The Nuggets are as fun to watch as any team in the NBA. It is shame that these two teams have to meet up in the first round, but at least this will be entertaining. The big question is who do the Nuggets turn to down the stretch? Because they really play well as group, but they do not have that go-to-guy you need for a tough basket in crunch time. The Thunder pushed the Lakers last year, but much like the Bulls this Thunder team has yet to win a playoff series let alone a playoff game on the road. Westbrook has taken his game to another level this year and the addition of Perkins bolsters their front line and allows Durant to play his more natural position in the 3 spot. This has the making of one of those classic late 80’s / early 90’s Western Conference playoff match-ups like the Suns-Supersonics.



(Oh My.....!)

So, over course that means this series will be boring to watch since I just spent the better of this paragraph hyping it up. The Nuggets make it interesting, but I really like this Thunder team.

Pick: Thunder in 6


(3) Dallas vs. (6) Portland
Season series: 2-2

This series will be really fun to watch. The Blazers are going to throw the kitchen sink at Dirk and pretty much every NBA expert likes the Blazers. Either way I think this series goes 7 games. The Blazers struggle shooting the ball and the Mavs have been pretty average down the stretch. I tend to like the Blazers ability to mix and match different lineups a little more than the Mavs, who are missing some key components (Butler and possibly Beaubois). Rip City gets it done, but it is close.

Pick: Blazers in 7


(2) L.A. Lakers vs. (7) New Orleans
Season series: 4-0 Los Angeles

Chris Paul is a great point guard and facilitator, but without David West the Hornets have no shot. It will be interesting to see if Bynum plays at all for the Lakers and if so how effective will he be? Also, let’s see what teammates get chicken pox from Steve Blake

Pick: Lakers in 4




Finals Pick:

Heat over the Thunder in 6.

I think the Heat slightly edge out the Bulls in 7 and the Thunder push past the Lakers in 6. Obviously I hope this does not happen, but I just have a strange feeling about this Heat team. The Thunder pick is more becuase I just do not want to pick the Lakers.

Till next time... Here is some Warpaint from yesterday at Coachella