As Indianapolis Colts former coach Jim Mora said, “Playoffs?”
Yes, it is that time of the year with the NBA playoffs starting this past weekend.
With the first games ending this past weekend, we got a look at how the teams were going to match up, but everyone knows that no one wins a series in the first two games.
Now, let’s take a look at some match-ups. The number one and number eight seed match-ups are the few match-ups that won’t be close.
Golden State Warriors will completely dominate the New Orleans Pelicans at all levels, except for maybe the big man position, where Anthony Davis will get his points and stats.
AP Photo / Mark Duncan
However, he will not be enough to make a difference against the best team in basketball. The same thing goes for the Brooklyn Nets; they just don’t have the tools and players to give the Atlanta Hawks enough problems.
Aside from those clear-cut match-ups, there are going to be some very competitive series in this first round.
The four and five seed series are always fun to watch. I can see the Wizards upsetting the Raptors on the East side of the bracket.
If John Wall outplays Kyle Lowry at the point guard position and the big men of the Wizards, like Nene and Marcin Gortat, play up to their capabilities then they will be too much for the Raptors. Also, if one were to throw Paul Pierce’s experience into the mix, then it is hard to fight against the fact that the Wizards will win this series.
Although all four and five match-ups are interesting, on the other side of the bracket I don’t see the same thing happening.
The Memphis Grizzlies do fill roles on the team and are always competitive, but the Trail Blazers combination of Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge is one of the best pairs in basketball and will overpower whatever the Grizzlies will be able to throw at them. Now, the Grizzlies do have Zach Randolph as a counter to Aldridge, so that is a match-up to watch, but I don’t think anyone will be able to stop Lillard. I see Lillard being the X-factor and making the difference in this series.
Another series to look at will be Lebron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers going against the early rebuild in the Boston Celtics.
It will be interesting to watch this series as a majority of players and both head coaches are inexperienced in the NBA Playoffs.
Even Lebron James said it will be fun to work with an inexperienced team. At the end of the day, it’ll be interesting to see how the inexperience of both teams balances out, but the Cavaliers will be too much for the Celtics.
The Celtics have had steady contributors, but no one will be able to match the numbers that Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and Lebron will put up. This is just a feel-good trip for the Celtics because in the second year of a complete overhaul of the roster. They are just happy to be there. The Celtics may get a win or two, but that may be too generous. As all NBA fans know, the San Antonio Spurs seem to emerge as a strong contender in the playoffs each year. With the history that Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobli and Tony Parker have made together, nothing can be ruled out for this team.
This match-up with the LA Clippers is not going to be easy by any chance for the Clippers, even though they may be the higher seed. Since the creation of “Lob City” in LA, they have not made it past the Second Round and the last time they faced the Spurs in the playoffs they were swept in four games. Even though the Clippers, on paper, out-match the Spurs with athleticism, do not be surprised for a “nail-biter” series. This game will go at least to the sixth game and hopefully into the seventh. It will be a good series and will be one to watch.
The two series I have yet to mention are the Rockets-Mavericks and Bulls-Bucks. The Rockets-Mavericks series could be interesting if the Mavericks play extremely well, but the way James Harden the Rockets have been playing I do not anticipate them losing.
The Mavs will take a game or two, but at the end of the day the Rockets just have too many weapons in Dwight Howard, Josh Smith and Harden. Dirk Nowitzki will have a great series for the Mavs and Rondo will make some flashy plays, but that won’t be enough for the Mavs.
Now, the Bulls-Bucks series is another Cavs and Celtics type match-up. The Bucks are a young and inexperienced roster that at the end of the day won’t be able to match the skill and experience that the Bulls have on their roster.
This is another sweep or may be five game series.
As the playoffs begin, these opening rounds generally are not the ones people look to for the most excitement. As these teams make moves into the Conference Semi-Finals and Conference Finals that is when games will begin to get interesting.
Jeff Lunn can be contacted at jlunn@kscequinox.com
