by Nick Casarez | Sports Editor
The NBA playoffs are not gonna be very interesting this year…or so we thought. What were supposed to be blowout series turned out to be interesting matchups.
The Warriors and Nuggets were entertaining and competitive as expected, but some teams like Houston surprised us with their resiliency, looking at times, genuinely better than the West’s number one team the Thunder. In the East a Chicago Bulls team without franchise centerpiece Derrick Rose, took out the Brooklyn Nets who are laden with top NBA talent and the Miami Heat continued their year two of dominance over the league.
Now in round two the Heat have already had their scare in a game one loss to the Bulls, but are coming back with a commanding 3-1 series lead. The Spurs have pulled out a nail-biter against the hottest team in the playoffs in the Golden State Warriors, but have met their match it seems as the series sits at an even 2-2. The Pacers are continuing their huge home court advantage and has the upper hand with a 3-1 series lead and OKC thought they could walk in and handle the Grizzlies, but Memphis has surprisingly managed to turn it into a series, and a series they’re winning no less.
Predictions:
Spurs vs. Warriors: The Spurs in six. Even though the Warriors are extremely imposing with one of the best backcourts in the NBA, the Spurs seem to be figuring them out and should be able to close out the series.
Thunder vs. Grizzlies: The Grizzlies in six. While the Thunder may be able to get another win, the Grizzlies are shockingly handling the number one team in the West. Without Westbrook, Mike Conley has proven too much to handle all while Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol bang and beat ‘em up down low.
Heat vs. Bulls: Heat in five. The Bulls shocked everyone with their game one victory over a Heat team that thought they could sleepwalk into the finals, but since then the Heat have awoken and are slowly but surely crushing Chicago’s will to live.
Pacers vs. Hawks: The Pacers burst onto the scene after giving the Heat a real series last year and they haven’t looked back since. The Knicks are a team on the rise, but it’s not their year, and Paul George and Roy Hibbert are too skilled for the Knicks right now.
