It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year!

The Playoffs mean it's time to win or GO HOME!

So to celebrate my favorite 6 weeks of the year, I'm going to be posting round by round predictions of the playoffs so we can see how truly bad at predicting sports I am.

The NBA season was pretty spectacular this year, Lebron played at a level only reached by a handful of players in the history of the NBA over the course of an entire season. No matter how you judge the season (stats or watching the game) there was NO doubt all year about who the MVP or best player alive was. Kevin Durant made the leap in his third year and became the youngest scoring champion ever. The Hawks, Thunder, Bobcats, and Bucks all made huge strides and the playoffs. There were 7 buzzer beaters by the most loathsome individual on Earth alone. In short the $169 I spent on NBA league pass this year was well worth it.

The NBA is truly a Fan-Tastic place where Amazing Happens. I love This Game :)

Now onto the previews.

We'll start in The East cause I can remember the match-ups easier :)


1. Cavs-Bulls. You know it's on when Lebron is warning the other team that their in for " a different kind of monster." in the playoffs. Throw in the Lebron/Joakim Noah beef and the fact that we get to watch the premier slashing/driving point guard in the NBA(Chicago's Spectacular Derrick Rose)and this series will be a very entertaining one. Unfortunately the King will sweep The Bulls. There's no way Lebron let's this team lose a game in the first round and the Cavs are way bigger. Cavs in 4.

2. Magic-Bobcats. I really like the Bobcats chances in this one, so I'm going to throw in an early upset and pick Charlotte in 6. Here's why, Dwight Howard is ineffective offensively, Vince Carter is lazy, fakes injuries and doesn't drive the ball or seem to care ever. Rashard Lewis took a HUGE step backward both statistically and in terms of impact on the game, and Jameer Nelson isn't as good as last year when he made the all-star team. On the other hand, the Bobcats have Larry Brown, Stephen Jackson(I'll explain in a sec), The most underrated player in the league Gerald Wallace, and a scrappy team of overachievers. Stephen Jackson is important because he was a major factor in the last big upset in the NBA (8th seeded Warriors Over 1st seeded Mavs 2007) and he'll most likely be guarding Vince which means Vince will have a rough series I'm thinking something like 13ppg, with 2 assists and 3 boards. Plus Larry Brown is wily enough to steal a victory or two by himself. Bobcats in 6.

3. Hawks-Bucks. This would have been a great series with a healthy Andrew Bogut playing for Milwaukee. But without him, I think the Hawks just have too much offense for Milwaukee to keep up with, though it will be interesting to see how Brandon Jennings plays and how that factors in to people's votes for Rookie of The Year. I really like this Hawks team a lot. A lot of commentators are saying Orlando is flying under the radar but I think the Hawks are the real dangerous team in the East no one is talking about. They're athletic, they push the pace and they have experience in the playoffs against the Cavs, Heat, and Celtics in the the last few years. Plus Jamal Crawford coming off the bench is going to be a MAJOR asset in a playoff series and at crunch time they have 3 LEGIT clutch guys in Bibby, Joe Johnson, and Jamal Crawford. If Josh Smith can elevate his game a little bit to something like 20-10-5 with 3 blocks a game ( Not a huge jump from his real #s of 15.7, 8.7, and 2.1 blks with a suprising 4.2 assists) Watch out. Hawks in 5

4. Celtics-Heat. The Heat are REALLY bad besides the always awesome D Wade. The Celtics are REALLY old, not to mention annoying, overly arrogant, injured, and incompetently coached. I HATE this Celtics team more than I have ever hated a specific Lakers team which is saying something... But I'm not going to drink the Kool-Aid and pick the Heat. I've watched A LOT of Heat games over the past year especially during the 6 months I lived in Miami. That team sucks. When Michael Beasley, Jermaine O'Neal, and Udonis Haslem are your 2nd, 3rd, and 4th best players you're not winning a playoff series. Especially if Rondo can be something of a nuisance to Wade which I could totally see as he's one of the only guys in the league who can stick with the fabulous # 3. Celtics in 6.


Let's venture out West now,

1. Lakers-Thunder. I LOVE the Thunder. They are my favorite team to watch. Love Durant, Love,Love Love Russell Westbrook, Love Thabo Sefolosha. Their fun to watch, score a ton of points and generally remind you of a group of high school kids. Everyone in the L will have A LOT to worry about from this group. But not this year. The Lakers as much as I hate to say this, still have the best team. They're not completely healthy, they're arrogant and they think they can turn it on whenever they want. They also have Kobe, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, and Ron Artest (plus in theory Andrew Bynum). And they're the champs till someone knocks them off. I think the Thunder will definitely give them some problems and push them to 6 or 7. I want to say 7, but I am biased toward The Thunder, so we'll say Lakers in 6.

2. Mavs-Spurs. The Spurs can absolutely beat the Mavericks. It wouldn't be an upset, no one who knows anything about Basketball would be surprised. That said, I watched a decent amount of this Mavs team AFTER the Caron Butler trade. They're a real tough match-up when they play Dirk at Center. Look at the line-up: Jason Kidd, Jet Terry (or Roddy Beaubois, this year's 2005 Leandro Barbosa) Caron Butler,Shawn Marion and Dirk. That's a NICE look. The Spurs looked to be almost back in championship form the last few weeks since Manu became a starter, and 2007 Finals MVP Tony Parker is back. I still just don't see it. Duncan is just a little too old at this point and the rest of the squad besides the big 3 just aren't that good. I'm talking to you Richard Jefferson. Mavs in 6.


3. Suns-TrailBlazers. The Trailblazers have such bad luck with injuries. It's really unfair, for a fan base that loves their NBA team. Both historically and especially this season. Brandon Roy is getting surgery and this team without Roy is going to get rolled by The Suns. The Suns really clicked down the stretch, but without Robin Lopez they don't have the height to actually compete in the West. They'll win here fairly easily though. Suns in 4.

4. Nuggets-Jazz. My pick as the best playoff series on the marquee thus far. This will be a shootout. The Nuggets and Carmelo Anthony looked like world beaters for the first 3rd of the game. But then George Karl got cancer( Get better George!) and Kenyon Martin got hurt, and Anthony's level of play dropped a bit during games against under .500 teams. And there in lies the basic problem with The Nuggets. You never know what team is going to show up and when. Beat the Lakers by 20 lose to The Bulls, all season long. So I'm not sure which Denver team will show up. They have the talent to beat anyone, but may not be together mentally enough to do it. The Jazz on the other hand are steady and you know what they are. Not quite big enough to do any real damage, not small and fast enough to run and gun. They can be penned in for 45-55 wins every year Deron Williams suits up , but they won't get past the Nuggets. Denver in 7.

I'm super excited for this first round, and I'll post another breakdown when Conference Semis start.

 JL