NBA 17-18 Round 2

You know what isn’t good? When Round 2 starts before Round 1 does. That doesn’t help me get predictions done for the round. Also what doesn’t help? Your final spring class ending on the same weekend as the turnover of the rounds. However, I don’t really feel bad about making predictions for series that already have results. Mainly because, most the readers of this know my thoughts already on who is going to win or not, and also, because as much as I am going to pick some teams who did win their Round 1 game (Dubs) I will be picking against others (Celts).

Round 2, let’s go.

East:

1. Raps over 4. Cavs in 5 games

-Okay, here we go. Am I going to pick against Lebron when he is playing Toronto, or when the guys guarding him are 24 and 20 years old respectively (Siakam and OG)? Yeah, I think I am. Toronto is just crazy deeper, younger, and more enthused everywhere else on the roster. Maybe Love has an advantage over Serge, but not by much and not based on that first round. DeRozan could have a big series, and this a chance for playoff-challenged Kyle Lowry to take advantage of a great matchup versus whoever is out there for Cleveland at PG.

3. Sixers over 2. Celts in 6 games

-Nice game one win, amazing they did that without Brown (+Kyrie, +Hayward, +Theis). Value of a coach is still really high, and also having versatile, young, long defenders. Tatum is getting so much golden experience. But it can’t last, the Sixers can’t be that bad again. They will take lessons from this and also will get a huge boost at home. Respect to my boy Horford, but it won’t be enough.

West:

1. Rockets over 5. Jazz in 4 games

-Respect to the Jazz and their defense. But this series will just show how badly the Thunder were overall by comparison. This won’t be close. The Jazz just can’t score with the Rockets. The Rubio loss is tough, but ultimately, I’m not sure it will really matter.

2. Dubs over 6. Pelicans in 5 games

-Maybe one home win for New Orleans, on a big AD game, but they just don’t have enough even without Curry. Golden State should actually control its Curry usage and just warm him up for the Western Finals. That’s going to be a great show.

NBA 17-18 Round 1

Sanity dangling on a string, almost 2/3s of the way through my doc program, I almost just didn’t do this column. But, one of my bucket list goals is to have a perfect prediction post season, so it makes sense to take the swing at this again. It has been an awesome NBA season (albeit about 10 games too long). I can’t wait for the Dubs to be healthy: I wish the Celtics would be healthy at all. But we are still going to get a great set of series, and the many stories will be fun to follow.

Okay, here we go for round 1!

East:

1. Raps over 8. Wiz in 5 games

-Gentleman’s sweep. Wiz need to keep it together, but their “best” player is fighting implications from his own team, may not be fully healthy, and the Wiz’s depth is concerning. Lowry, this is going to be the easiest warmup you can get on the quest to shake your post season reputation.

2. Celts over 7. Bucks in 6 games

-Giannis is the best player in the series (2^nd best player in the East, really). However, their depth is terrible, they don’t have enough shooting, their coach is temporary, and the Celtics have the wings of death and a far better coach. Nice draw for the Celts, though it will only get them to the second round.

3. Sixers over 6. Heat in 6 games

-This is going to go longer than people think. Spo is scheming right now around Ben’s lack of range and Embiid’s absence. However, what actually makes me feel great about the Sixers here and beyond is the people they have added. Ersan, Redick, Belinelli have added enough spacing and experience to this core. If Fultz can influence 2 games a series as an above average, athletic, backup point guard that would awesome.

4. Cavs over 5. Pacers in 5 games

-The Pacers have been a great story, but it’s still Lebron, the cyborg terminator who is not human. It’ll be fun to see how the Cav’s newcomers experience the playoffs for the first time though.

West:

1. Rockets over 8. Timberpups in 5 games

-I feel bad for the Wolves here, this is a tough draw. Towns gets them one win, but this is a series for the Rockets to cruise through. Harden, you won this MVP, but you need to prove it in the post season or the noise will be deafening this summer.

2. Dubs over 7. Spurs in 5 games

-Dubs are hurting, but I wouldn’t put much thought into their .500 record the last 20 games. They will be fine. The Spurs have been a great story, much respect to Pop for an amazing job, but the talent gap is extreme here.

3. Blazers over 6. Pelicans in 5 games

-Blazers drop one just because they are so jump shot reliant, but assuming Nurkic has his competition switch turned on, the Pelicans just don’t have enough. Lillard deserves MVP mention for this year, and this is a good draw for the Blazers.

5. Jazz over 4. Thunder in 6 games

-The Jazz have the best defensive player in the series, and roster of lesser talented but clearly defined role players. If Melo shows up and Russ is efficient, they can totally win this series. But somehow that seems unlikely, and Paul George had been oddly quiet for over a month now. It comes down to Donovan Mitchell, and if he plays like a rookie in the playoffs or like it doesn’t matter. I’m betting on the young man, and on an organized, cohesive team.