NBA Playoff Schedule 2012: Predictions for Monday's Matchups
The Los Angeles Lakers are set to begin their series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, while the Boston Celtics will host the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 2 of their series tonight.
The Lakers won a hard-fought seven-game series against the Denver Nuggets to earn the right to face the well-rested Thunder.
This is also going to be the reunion of Metta World Peace and James Harden. MWP returned from his suspension on Saturday night for the Lakers' Game 7 win over the Nuggets. Now, he will be face-to-face with the man he took out with the elbow heard 'round the world.
OKC swept the defending champion Dallas Mavericks and have been waiting on its second-round opponent since May 5. This marks a nine-day layoff for the Thunder, which can be a bad thing, especially early in a series.
The Sixers were the least impressive team in the first round. They were pushed to six games by a Bulls team severely decimated by injury. In Game 1 versus the Celtics, the Sixers played well, but they fell short by a single point.
What does Monday night's action have in store for us?
Here are my predictions:
Lakers Thump Rusty Thunder
Los Angeles is fresh off an intense seven-game series with the Nuggets. The scoring was balanced, and the Lakers bigs—Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum—played well in Game 7. They combined for 39 points and 35 rebounds, and they gave Kobe Bryant the support he needed.
When Gasol and Bynum play that way, the Lakers can beat any team in the NBA.
Meanwhile, the Thunder have been sitting for nine days, and I believe there will be some rust. The Lakers are a veteran team that know the importance of coming out strong and taking the crowd out of the game.
I'm expecting a huge performance from Bryant, no World Peace incidents, a solid performance from the Lakers bigs and poor shooting from the Thunder.
All of that equals a Lakers win in Game 1.
C's Grind Out An Ugly Win Over the 76ers
The 76ers force you to play ugly more often than not, but the Celtics can win those games. The Sixers simply don't shoot well from the outside consistently and don't have a formidable enough post presence to beat the Celtics.
Rondo's dribble penetration and KG's presence on the block give the C's what the Bulls didn't have in the first round. This was evidenced in Game 1 when Rondo victimized the Sixers with a triple-double (13 points, 12 rebounds and 17 assists) and KG put in 29 points and 11 rebounds.
I'm predicting a sweep in this series as Philly has only defeated a Chicago team in a battered state. Unless the Celtics' equivalent of Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah goes down, the Sixers won't win this game or any other one in the series.
Follow Brian Mazique and FranchisePlay.net for reactions, analysis and news from the world of sports and sports video games.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
