NBA Playoffs 1st Round Preview: Western Conference
The Western Conference has clearly been the better, more compact conference all season, and so look for the best first round action to come out of the West this season.
#1 Los Angeles Lakers (57-25) vs. #8 Oklahoma City Thunder (50-32):
The Los Angeles Lakers are at it again, once again ready to defend their NBA title. Kobe Bryant is having a stellar season again as he usually does, and their depth when at full strength is second to none. The only concern for this team can be health since Kobe has a Broken Finger, Bynum is out, and Sasha "The Woman" Vujacic has a sprained ankle. Having won 4 of their last 10 games, they are not exactly coming in hot, and if they aren't careful, they could find themselves in world of trouble early in the post-season.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are this years darlings in the NBA. Kevin Durant has the scoring title, and is ready to make his mark in the post season. Remember that Golden State Warriors team that shocked the Dallas Mavericks 3 years ago? This Thunder team reminds me of them only better. They are young with little post season experience, and yet they have the talent to knock heads with anybody in the NBA. Not only do they have Durant, but they have Russell Westbrook, a talented Point Guard that can scrape on anybody in the NBA and Jeff Green who also does serious damage as well.
My Prediction: The Oklahoma City Thunder will shock the Lakers and take game one. Upsets in the post season half to start with a game 1 upset. The Thunder will catch the Lakers asleep at the wheel in game one, and proceed to defend their home court, where they will finish off the Lakers in 6 games in front of the home crowd. The Ron Artest experiment will blow up in the faces of the Lakers.
# 2. Dallas Mavericks (55-27) vs. #7 San Antonio Spurs (50-32)
The Mavericks are coming in having made some nice trades for Caron Butler, Gordon Hayward, and Deshawn "He should be in Jail, but he got off because he was going to the NBA" Stevenson. Dirk Nowitzki is playing out of his mind right now and is captaining this team with strength. Jason Terry needs to get that silly mask off his face, but he's still playing well, and Jason Kidd is playing remarkably well.
The Spurs have got fire as of late, thanks to Manu Ginobili who has turned up the crank. Duncan and Parker are playing well, and the Rookie DeJuan Blair out of Pittsburgh has been playing very well for a rookie despite getting overshadowed by Stephen Curry, Tyreke Evans, and Brandon Jennings. The Spurs are definitely a dark horse in the Western Conference. Another player to look at on this team is Matt Bonner who could come to be the teams Robert Horry if you will. He shoots 3's exceptionally well, and due to his 6 foot 10 240 lb body frame really helps spread the court.
My Prediction: The Mavs win, to the despair of Spurs fans. The Spurs have Boston Celtic syndrome, too old and too banged up to win the series, but they'll scare the Mavs by taking them to 7 games.
#3. Phoenix Suns (54-28) vs. #6 Portland Trail Blazers (50-32):
The Phoenix Suns are coming into the NBA Playoffs loaded and ready to kill off their opponent. Impressive wins against the Nuggets and Jazz showed me that they are serious contenders that could take the West this year. Steve Nash is playing great and Amar'e Stoudemire is playing like a BEAST. Grant Hill is healthy, Jason Richardson is healthy, and they've been playing great down the stretch. The only injured player they got is Robin Lopez, and he won't be missed much in the first round anyways.
The Portland Trail Blazers have survived a load of injuries this season, and just got dealt another one with Brandon Roy. This will be the straw that breaks the Camels back. They have no shot of advancing without him healthy. Marcus Camby has a good defensive presence in the middle and will create some issues there, and Rudy Fernandez is one that can be a 3 point threat. Also LeMarcus Aldridge can do some serious damage as well, and so they still have some pieces to be dangerous.
My Prediction is the Phoenix Suns win the Series in 5 games. The Trail Blazers will steal a game at home, and then lose the series after that. If Greg Oden is healthy next year, then maybe we can talk about them as a real danger.
#4. Denver Nuggets (53-29) vs. #5 Utah Jazz (53-29):
The Denver Nuggets are playing without George Karl, and that clearly has affected this team. They need him on the court in order to win close games. Carmello Anthony is playing great and so is Chauncey Billups. They just got Kenyon Martin back, and seem ready to scare the Jazz in this series. Not a very good road team with only 19 wins on the road all season.
The Utah Jazz have on the other hand a winning record on the road this season, which means they are getting mentally tougher. Deron Williams is the commander of this Utah Squad, who plays through pain for the good of the Team. Carlos Boozer and Andrei Kirilenko if healthy should make things tough for Denver. Utah has a lot of weapons like CJ Miles, Wes Matthews, Kyle Korver, Ronnie Price, Mehmet Okur, and Paul Millsap that can do work. Not to mention a 7 foot one 300 lb Ukrainian named Kyrylo Fesenko. This team is locked and loaded.
My Prediction, the Jazz take the series in 6 games, and move on to face the Thunder in the next round because they have Jerry Sloan coaching them, and not Adrian Dantley. Not only that, but Deron Williams will take over this series, and Boozer will show up and have a good series to ensure that he gets more money next season. AK-47 will play well and come out of nowhere, with his Calf "injury" mysteriously disappearing.
#1 Los Angeles Lakers (57-25) vs. #8 Oklahoma City Thunder (50-32):
The Los Angeles Lakers are at it again, once again ready to defend their NBA title. Kobe Bryant is having a stellar season again as he usually does, and their depth when at full strength is second to none. The only concern for this team can be health since Kobe has a Broken Finger, Bynum is out, and Sasha "The Woman" Vujacic has a sprained ankle. Having won 4 of their last 10 games, they are not exactly coming in hot, and if they aren't careful, they could find themselves in world of trouble early in the post-season.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are this years darlings in the NBA. Kevin Durant has the scoring title, and is ready to make his mark in the post season. Remember that Golden State Warriors team that shocked the Dallas Mavericks 3 years ago? This Thunder team reminds me of them only better. They are young with little post season experience, and yet they have the talent to knock heads with anybody in the NBA. Not only do they have Durant, but they have Russell Westbrook, a talented Point Guard that can scrape on anybody in the NBA and Jeff Green who also does serious damage as well.
My Prediction: The Oklahoma City Thunder will shock the Lakers and take game one. Upsets in the post season half to start with a game 1 upset. The Thunder will catch the Lakers asleep at the wheel in game one, and proceed to defend their home court, where they will finish off the Lakers in 6 games in front of the home crowd. The Ron Artest experiment will blow up in the faces of the Lakers.
# 2. Dallas Mavericks (55-27) vs. #7 San Antonio Spurs (50-32)
The Mavericks are coming in having made some nice trades for Caron Butler, Gordon Hayward, and Deshawn "He should be in Jail, but he got off because he was going to the NBA" Stevenson. Dirk Nowitzki is playing out of his mind right now and is captaining this team with strength. Jason Terry needs to get that silly mask off his face, but he's still playing well, and Jason Kidd is playing remarkably well.
The Spurs have got fire as of late, thanks to Manu Ginobili who has turned up the crank. Duncan and Parker are playing well, and the Rookie DeJuan Blair out of Pittsburgh has been playing very well for a rookie despite getting overshadowed by Stephen Curry, Tyreke Evans, and Brandon Jennings. The Spurs are definitely a dark horse in the Western Conference. Another player to look at on this team is Matt Bonner who could come to be the teams Robert Horry if you will. He shoots 3's exceptionally well, and due to his 6 foot 10 240 lb body frame really helps spread the court.
My Prediction: The Mavs win, to the despair of Spurs fans. The Spurs have Boston Celtic syndrome, too old and too banged up to win the series, but they'll scare the Mavs by taking them to 7 games.
#3. Phoenix Suns (54-28) vs. #6 Portland Trail Blazers (50-32):
The Phoenix Suns are coming into the NBA Playoffs loaded and ready to kill off their opponent. Impressive wins against the Nuggets and Jazz showed me that they are serious contenders that could take the West this year. Steve Nash is playing great and Amar'e Stoudemire is playing like a BEAST. Grant Hill is healthy, Jason Richardson is healthy, and they've been playing great down the stretch. The only injured player they got is Robin Lopez, and he won't be missed much in the first round anyways.
The Portland Trail Blazers have survived a load of injuries this season, and just got dealt another one with Brandon Roy. This will be the straw that breaks the Camels back. They have no shot of advancing without him healthy. Marcus Camby has a good defensive presence in the middle and will create some issues there, and Rudy Fernandez is one that can be a 3 point threat. Also LeMarcus Aldridge can do some serious damage as well, and so they still have some pieces to be dangerous.
My Prediction is the Phoenix Suns win the Series in 5 games. The Trail Blazers will steal a game at home, and then lose the series after that. If Greg Oden is healthy next year, then maybe we can talk about them as a real danger.
#4. Denver Nuggets (53-29) vs. #5 Utah Jazz (53-29):
The Denver Nuggets are playing without George Karl, and that clearly has affected this team. They need him on the court in order to win close games. Carmello Anthony is playing great and so is Chauncey Billups. They just got Kenyon Martin back, and seem ready to scare the Jazz in this series. Not a very good road team with only 19 wins on the road all season.
The Utah Jazz have on the other hand a winning record on the road this season, which means they are getting mentally tougher. Deron Williams is the commander of this Utah Squad, who plays through pain for the good of the Team. Carlos Boozer and Andrei Kirilenko if healthy should make things tough for Denver. Utah has a lot of weapons like CJ Miles, Wes Matthews, Kyle Korver, Ronnie Price, Mehmet Okur, and Paul Millsap that can do work. Not to mention a 7 foot one 300 lb Ukrainian named Kyrylo Fesenko. This team is locked and loaded.
My Prediction, the Jazz take the series in 6 games, and move on to face the Thunder in the next round because they have Jerry Sloan coaching them, and not Adrian Dantley. Not only that, but Deron Williams will take over this series, and Boozer will show up and have a good series to ensure that he gets more money next season. AK-47 will play well and come out of nowhere, with his Calf "injury" mysteriously disappearing.
posted by Ben Parker at 12:08 AM
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