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.