NBA Playoff Forecast, Pt. 1

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The NBA Playoffs are still nearly three months away, but when you take a quick glance at the standings in both the East and West, the matchups are starting to take shape.

This will be the first of three installments of my Playoff Preview, in which I will look at the NBA standings, playoff matchups, and predictions for the next month of the season.
This will be posted on January 23, which will show you the halfway point in the season for most clubs.

We will check back in with this special shortly after the All-Star break and trading deadline on February 23, to see what moves the contenders have made. A final look will be done on March 23, in which we will see where everyone stands leading up to the final couple weeks of the regular season.

Here are the Playoff matchups as of January 23:

The East

No. 1 Boston vs. No. 8 Milwaukee

The Celtics, who started this season blitzing everything in their path at 27-2, have started to right the ship after a 2-7 slump. Back on top of the East, their first round opponent as of now (The Bucks) will stand no match for the Big 3 in their quest to repeat as champs.
Boston in 4

No. 4 Atlanta vs. No. 5 Detroit

In what could be the most entertaining first round series in the East, the upstart Hawks would have home court advantage against the veteran Detroit club, who are still trying to make the Allen Iverson experiment work.

With the decision to bring Rip Hamilton off the bench too fresh to render a verdict, I will reserve my judgement on if that will work or not until at least next month. As for right now, I see this match going the full 7 games, and would have to give the edge to the home team to break through and advance against their hated rivals.
Atlanta in 7

No. 3 Orlando vs. No. 6 Miami

The battle of Florida would also be very interesting, however I do not expect these teams to stay in this position when the regular season is over. The Heat are only 2 games out of the No. 5 spot and 3 games out of the 4 spot, and Pat Riley knows he needs to make a move on his roster to jump the Hawks and Pistons to gain home court.

As for now, The Magic and their streaky 3 point shooting would prove too much for Miami, though Dwayne Wade would will his team to at least two victories in the series.
Orlando in 6

No. 2 Cleveland vs. No. 7 Philadelphia

The Sixers, have underachieved the first two months of the season, but have shown promise as of late, and with Elton Brand getting healthy in time for the second half of the season, may also improve their position. As for now, they run into King James and the Cavs, who are clearly on a mission.

The Cavs and Celtics battle for homecourt in the playoffs will go down to the very end I believe, and coach Mike Brown knows how critically important it would be host game 1 and 2 and potentially 7 in Cleveland, if they were to face Boston in the East Finals. Lebron is too much for the Sixers to handle in Round 1, and they advance easily.
Cleveland in 5

2nd Round: Boston over Atlanta in 6 , Cleveland over Orlando in 6
East Finals: Cleveland over Boston in 6
East Champ: Cleveland

The West

No. 1 Los Angeles vs. No. 8 Phoenix
The Lakers have a comfortable five game cushion over San Antonio right now for the top spot in the West, though anything can happen in the final three months. Based on today’s records though, the Lakers host Shaq and the Suns in what would be a very entertaining first round matchup.

Shaq dominates Andrew Bynum in the post in this series, and averages 22 points and 11 rebounds over the 6 game battle. However the Lakers bench steps up in the close games, lead by Luke Walton and Trevor Ariza, and Kobe’s bunch survives and advances.
LA in 6

No. 4 Denver vs. No. 5 Houston

The Rockets, who were picked by some to make it to the NBA Finals, have not had an opportunity up until this point in the season to have Ron Artest, Tracy McGrady, and Yao Ming all healthy and playing at the same time.

The Nuggets, who have blossomed under Chauncey Billups’ leadership, are looking forward to getting back Carmelo Anthony. This series has the makings to be a classic, going the distance, yet in Game 7, Yao is the x-factor, as the Nuggets are too thin up front to contain Yao from dominating in the post.
Houston in 7

No. 3 New Orleans vs. No. 6 Portland

Another entertaining first round matchup would pit Chris Paul and the Hornets against the young Blazers. Portland enters this matchup with a core of players without the needed playoff experience as their counterparts, put up a good fight, and make this series go long.

LaMarcus Aldridge has a great series, while shedding the “soft” label, by making Tyson Chandler look silly in the process. However the Blazers point guard position is no match for Chris Paul, and CP3 does just enough to get his team to Round 2.
New Orleans in 6

No. 2 San Antonio vs. No. 7 Utah

This would be a very interesting first round matchup, as the return of Carlos Boozer to the Jazz for the second half of the season adds much needed offensive firepower and toughness to the group.

The continued development of Paul Millsap, along with the streaky Kyle Korver make Utah a formidable foe for the Spurs. San Antonio’s depth up front gets exposed early on, and the Spurs find themselves in a 7 game series, however Manu Ginobili is the difference maker in Game 7, and the Spurs move forward.
San Antonio in 7

2nd Round: LA over Houston in 7, San Antonio over New Orleans in 5
West Finals: LA over San Antonio in 7
West Champ: LA

It will be exciting to see how the next 30 days of the season plays out. Between now and then, we have the All-Star break, in which many players will be nursing injuries and on their way back to their respective teams.

The trading deadline will also pass, and the playoff landscape will surely be effected. Teams currently on the outside looking in, such as Dallas in the West, and New Jersey in the East, may make moves in efforts to break through.