NBA Playoff Schedule 2012: Bold Predictions for Monday's Matchups

After one of the most unpredictable opening weekends in NBA playoff history, the action keeps coming on Monday night with three Game 2s that will tell us how long—or short—these series are going to be. 

In a lot of ways, these playoffs are going to be better for the players than the regular season, though don't try telling that to the Chicago Bulls. They are going to get more time off in between games, instead of playing three games in four days or something crazy like that. 

Here is a look at all of Monday's playoff action, with predictions and analysis for all three games on the docket. 

New York Knicks at Miami Heat (7:00 p.m. ET on TNT)

Talk about a team in desperate need of a win, the Knicks were embarrassed against the Heat in Game 1. They entered the playoffs on a roll, feeling confident about their chances and they get blown out by 33 points. 

Establishing Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire early will be the key for the Knicks. Those two scored a combined 20 points on 5-for-22 shooting. If that is a sign of what they will do this series, they might as well forfeit now because it's over. 

The loss of Iman Shumpert to a torn ACL is going to hurt this defense, so it falls upon the Knicks' offensive stars to pick up the slack in this game.

The Heat played a perfect game on Saturday. The offense was driving the ball in the lane against an overmatched Knicks team. More impressively, their defense held New York to just 33 percent shooting. 

LeBron James is on a mission this year, and he will continue to prove why he is the best player on the planet with another dominant effort. 

Prediction: Heat win 94-88

Orlando Magic at Indiana Pacers (7:30 p.m. ET on NBA TV)

What a strange game to kick off this series. The Pacers were behind most of the game, took a lead late and looked like they were going to walk away with a win in Game 1. Stupid mistakes at the end cost them a win, and now they have more questions than answers. 

For the Magic, that was the kind of game they have to play in order to win in the playoffs. They have almost no offense whatsoever, so they need to play defense and keep the score low to have a chance. 

The Pacers had their one mulligan game. They were riding high after a great finish to the season, but they did not make any plays in Game 1 to make you think they were going to win the game. 

All that will change this time around. The Pacers aren't going to be held to 77 points every game and Orlando will struggle to score more than 81 the rest of the series. 

Prediction: Pacers win 91-87

Dallas at Oklahoma City (9:30 p.m. ET on TNT)

I said at the start of this series that the Thunder had to overcome a mental block against the Mavericks, who eliminated them in the Western Conference Finals last year en route to winning an NBA championship. before they could take that next step. 

It wasn't their best game of the year, but Kevin Durant delivered at the end with one of the ugliest game-winning shots you will ever see. That was a huge moment for both the Thunder and Mavericks. 

Dallas had a chance to take a 1-0 lead against arguably the best team in the west on the road. It took late-game heroics from Durant and co. to keep that from happening. 

I believe that will be a jumping off point for the Thunder in these playoffs. This is going to be a long series, but Oklahoma City will hold serve at home. 

Prediction: Thunder win 97-90

For more analysis on the NBA Playoffs and general musings about the great mysteries of life, be sure to follow me on Twitter @adamwells1985