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| Source: ESPN Mike Conley will need to be fully recovered from his facial fracture in order for Memphis to have any chance. |
I'm done looking stupid on the Warriors. They were 67-15 in the regular season and there is almost no stopping them. The Warriors shooting is almost as unbelievable as some of the stunts pulled in The Expendables franchise (Schwarzenegger just tore the door off the car!!!). Memphis is the one team that match Golden State defensively in the western conference but, they are very inconsistent offensively. Jeff Green looked alright in the first round but, Mike Conley suffered a facial injury and will probably still be swollen and he'll play less aggressively in game one. Memphis is really going to need Beno Udrih to add the fire he had against Portland.
Key Match-up To Watch: Tony Allen vs. Draymond Green.
The two best non-big defenders in the league. There's not a whole lot else to say about that.
My Pick: Warriors in 5.
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| AP Photo/Kelvin Kuo This could be the breakout series for Terrence Jones, guarding Blake Griffin. |
Who is going to get more calls? It's a series that will be decided by free throws and the Hack-a-whoever strategy. Don't groan about that either, it's actually more exciting when players have a 50/50 or 30/70 chance of putting the ball in the basket with all the pressure in the world on them. James Harden is playing very well but, I feel we are all not appreciating the talented players Daryl Morey has placed alongside him. Terrence Jones has been inconsistent but, when he's on fire... he's on FIRE. Josh Smith has revitalized his career thanks to his role off the bench and the coaching of Kevin McHale. Even Jason Terry and Clint Capela have gotten big minutes out of these playoffs and (surprise, surprise) they're playing good! The Clippers bench was terrible during the regular season and they did just barely enough to knock out San Antonio in 7 on a last second shot from Chris Paul. This is bound to be another terrific series if everyone can stay healthy and the Clippers bench doesn't play too well.
Key Match-up To Watch: Dwight Howard vs. DeAndre Jordan.
They will both be fouled a lot and the battle for rebounds will be fought mightily. If Dwight can average 13.8 rebounds per game again, Houston will win. If DeAndre can average 15.0 per game as he did in the regular season, the Clippers will win. It'll probably change from game-to-game who dominates in the paint but, everyone needs to pay attention to this match-up.
My Pick: I'm reverting back to my preseason choice, Clippers in 6.
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| Getty Images DeMarre Carroll has emerged as a player that could create havoc for Paul Pierce in the second round. |
Originally in this series, I had picked the Wizards in 7 but that would include Randy Wittman out-coaching Mike Budenholzer and that has never happened in any alternate universe or the one that we live in, that's how improbable that is. The Wizards swept the Raptors proving that the USA is better than Canada at basketball and the Hawks had trouble early on but woke up in games 5 and 6 and defeated the Brooklyn Nets in 6. In the first round, it became apparent that neither of these teams were going to be able to play the way they did in the regular season, resulting in DeMarre Carroll and Paul Pierce bursting out of their shells and becoming two of the most efficient players in the playoffs. One problem in Atlanta is that none of their players outside of Carroll seem to be at 100% health and that could be a problem against the constant speed of John Wall, the healthy big men Nene and Gortat and the outside shooting of Beal and Pierce. Atlanta always seems to find a way to win but, even they might need to come up with a new way to win in this series (more Pero Antic'!)
Key Match-up To Watch: John Wall vs. Jeff Teague.
Jeff Teague is not at 100% health (nobody is really) and might have an unusual amount of trouble guarding John Wall. Wall is one of the fastest players in the NBA and if Teague starts to show any sign of limping, coach Budenholzer will need to take him out for Dennis Schroder.
My Pick: Hawks in 7.
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| Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports Without Kevin Love, the Cavs will rely even heavier on Kyrie Irving. |
THIS IS THE SERIES WE'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR. Of course, the basketball gods would not let every player stay healthy for this series and that's why Kelly Olynyk decided to sacrifice Kevin Love's arm in exchange for a full series of Derrick Rose. Kevin Love will have to replaced with Tristan Thompson and a bunch of washed up three-point shooters like Mike Miller, James Jones and maybe Shawn Marion. The Bulls are clearly better off of a two-day rest as opposed to the one-day rests that "cost" them games 4 & 5 versus the Bucks in round one. The Cavaliers went ahead and swept the Celtics as everybody knew they would (don't try tricking yourself out of it, Celtic fans). Kyrie Irving's first ever transition to playoff basketball went over incredibly well and now he gets to face his first REAL challenge against the D-Rose & Jimmy Butler-led Bulls. The series is unpredictable as a whole and I think we're all anxious for a game seven between these two.
Key Match-up To Watch: Tristan Thompson vs. Pau Gasol.
Thompson dominated the Celtics with his offensive rebounding and really has no other skills but, with his energy and rebounding abilities, he will create real havoc for Pau Gasol. It might be inconsistent at times but, how much Thompson and Timofey Mozgov beat out Pau and Joakim Noah for a rebound or how often they force a bad shot or get a block will decide a few of the games in this series.
My Pick: Bulls in 7. Jimmy Butler is a star and could be better than Rose would have been had he stayed healthy all these years.
MY FINALS PICK AT THE MOMENT: I'm reverting to my preseason call of "This is the Clippers year" and saying Clippers over Bulls in 7.
I really have no idea anymore.
I hope you enjoy the second round of the playoffs and may all the series' go to game sevens!
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