10 Predictions for Rest of the NBA Postseason

As the first round of the 2012 NBA Playoffs winds down, the postseason picture is beginning to take form.

We have seen the obvious—the Bulls need Derrick Rose.

We’ve seen the unexpected—the postseason doesn’t instantly equate to LeBron choking.

We still have a long way to go, but here are 10 predictions for the rest of the playoffs.

Spurs Will Continue to Defy Age

Sweeping the Utah Jazz was important for the San Antonio Spurs. As you get older, rest becomes even more vital.

With an aging core group—Tim Duncan is 36, Manu Ginobili is 34 and Tony Parker is a couple weeks from 30—these Spurs could be kicking in their last rodeo.

That means they’re playing with even more determination than ever, knowing it’s probably the last chance to get Duncan another ring.

They also have know how to deal with postseason rigors: They won’t get too up after a series sweep, nor will they let themselves get too down if they drop the first game of the second round. They’ll just keep on with business as usual because they know how to succeed at this level.

The Spurs will reach the Western Conference Finals.

Thunder Will Continue to Defy Age

Meeting the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals will be the youthful Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Thunder’s four key players—Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, James Harden and Serge Ibaka—are 23, 23, 22 and 22.

Oklahoma City and San Antonio are on opposite ends of life’s pendulum.

Whereas the Spurs possess a been-there, done-that, ready-to-do-it again attitude, the Thunder are a hungry, incredibly talented group that hasn’t yet been to the mountaintop.

The addition of ancient—by Thunder standards—Derek Fisher should aid the team on its quest for greatness. Fisher will serve as the aging guide along the route.

With Fisher serving as the voice of experience, this young OKC group will put up a heck of a fight when it calls the old man out.

West Will Win

Whether it be Oklahoma City or San Antonio, the Western Conference champion will win the NBA Finals.

It doesn’t matter which of those two teams makes it to the finals—it will be the Thunder—they will win.

As used to be the norm, the teams in the Eastern Conference play a much more physical brand of basketball. By the time a team from the East makes it to the finals, it will be too beat up to play another seven-game series.

Injuries have already taken their toll on Eastern Conference teams. Add Derrick Rose, Dwight Howard or a rationally-thinking Amar'e Stoudemire to their teams and this postseason takes on a different tone.

Once a team from the East—Miami—makes it to the finals, there just won’t be the energy left in the tank.

LeBron, Dwyane and company will have had to endure too much physical pounding that they won’t be able to keep up in the finals against their Western Conference opponent.

Wilbon Will Continue Calling Magic Johnson Earvin

The entire world knows Earvin “Magic” Johnson as Magic.

Except for Michael Wilbon.

Because Michael Wilbon thinks he’s cool for knowing Magic way back when, he refers to him only as Earvin when they’re yukking it up on ESPN.

This drives me crazy.

It will continue, but it shouldn’t. Michael Wilbon, please stop.

The Best Matchup Will Not Happen

LeBron vs. Durant. Celtics vs. Lakers. Shaq vs. Chuck.

These are all matches made in heaven, but they aren’t the best possibility out there.

The best playoff series for basketball fans would be Indiana vs. Philadelphia.

These are two teams that have eschewed the modern-day philosophy of building through big-name trades and marquee free-agent signings.

Instead they have stockpiled through the draft and picked up other teams’ leftovers to emerge as contenders in 2012.

The 76ers appear on the verge of knocking off the Derrick Rose-less Bulls. The Pacers already disposed of the Dwight Howard-less Magic.

But it’s a stretch to think the Pacers could get by LeBron and Dwyane or the 76ers could get the best of a healthy Celtics squad.

One team might win its series, but both Indiana and Philadelphia advancing past the second round won’t happen.

And that will rob basketball fans of a perfect matchup in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Big Markets Will Bust

None of the five biggest TV markets will have a team playing in the conference finals, let alone fighting it out for the title.

New York—the biggest market—has already seen the Knicks knocked out by the Heat, and the only news we’re hearing about the Nets these days is about their new black-and-white logo.

The No. 2 market has two teams still alive, but neither team will advance. The Lakers will beat the Nuggets, but L.A. won’t be able to get past Oklahoma City, one of the few teams in the league with the length to match Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum.

The Clippers have surprised by leading their series against the Grizzlies, but once they run into the juggernaut that is the San Antonio Spurs, Lob City will be done for the season.

Chicago is fighting for its postseason life without MVP Derrick Rose.

Philadelphia has made itself into the feel-good story of the season. The Sixers are nearly out of steam and won’t make it past the Celtics.

The Dallas Mavericks, dwellers in the fifth-largest TV market, are already tuned into the tube from the comfort of their own couches.

Small Markets Will Thrive

While their big-market brethren are shown early exits, teams from smaller market sizes will be the ones laughing last this postseason.

Oklahoma City and San Antonio play in the third- and fourth-smallest markets in the NBA. Both of these teams will find their way into the Western Conference Finals.

Indiana plays in front of the seventh-fewest TV sets. The Pacers made quick work of the Magic, but won’t get past the Miami Heat.

The Heat, surprisingly, are home to only the 14th largest NBA market.

There Will Be Too Many Timeouts

Ever since the playoffs became televised, fans have hated the final two minutes.

Sure, that’s when all the excitement happens, and there isn’t anything better than a buzzer-beater to win a postseason game.

But the final 1:30 of game time does not need to take 15 minutes of real time.

Think about this: Every team gets six timeouts per game and a TV timeout every four minutes (one after the eight-minute mark and one after the four-minute mark of each quarter). That equates to a team getting 14 timeouts per game.

If you add in replay time for officials to review flagrant fouls, three-point shots or shot-clock violations, you get another timeout or two per game.

At that rate, why do players need subs at all?

Because companies continue to pony up enormous sums of money to have commercials during the playoffs, we will keep seeing 45 Men At Work promos per game.

Rajon Rondo Won’t Get Enough Credit

Whenever a list of great NBA point guards is thrown together, guys like Chris Paul, Deron Williams and Steve Nash get the glory spots near the top.

Rajon Rondo’s name is rarely in the conversation.

Rondo is the catalyst for a Boston Celtics team that will battle it out with the Miami Heat for this year’s Eastern Conference Championship.

He’s leading the playoffs in assists (12.8) and steals (4.0) per game. Rondo has already posted a triple-double this postseason—the seventh of his career in the postseason and 20th overall.

These are the players with more postseason triple-doubles than Rondo: Magic Johnson (30), Jason Kidd (11), Larry Bird (11), Wilt Chamberlain (9) and Oscar Robertson (8).

LeBron James also has seven.

But for some reason—mainly his temper, which had him suspended for Game 2—Rondo never gets the credit he deserves as a superstar in this league.

LeBron Will Be Unjustly Doubted

LeBron James is the best player in the NBA today, but every year he is scrutinized for not getting the job done in the playoffs.

Fans and media overlook outings like the one he had against Detroit, where he single-handedly won the game for his team.

They ignore the 27.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.6 assists a game he averaged in the first round this year.

Instead they vilify him for not winning a ring.

In Cleveland, he did not have the supporting cast.

Last year, the self-imposed pressure from The Decision proved too much to overcome.

This year the Heat have a good chance, but still are not a deep enough team to be able to overcome the physicality of the Eastern Conference and make it through the Thunder (or even the Spurs).

So at the conclusion of the finals, pundits will once again criticize James for not getting the job done.

At age 27, they will question his “legacy.”

Meanwhile, throughout the postseason, fans will be treated to his greatness over and over again.