10 Bold Predictions for Week 2 of Second Round NBA Playoff Drama

The Miami Heat tied their series with the Indiana Pacers and the San Antonio Spurs completed the sweep of the Los Angeles Clippers to kick off the festivities for the second week of round two of the 2012 NBA playoffs.

That means that we have one team already with their name in the books for the conference finals in the Spurs, with the Oklahoma City Thunder a game away from joining them should they take down the Lakers tonight.

That seems to leave most of the drama going on in the Eastern Conference, where both series are tied up with each team having two wins.

The remaining series, the Boston Celtics vs. Philadelphia 76ers, is showing off an interesting dynamic of Boston hanging on to the past looking like they're ready for one last run, while the 76ers are just trying to keep up.

So what should we expect in the week ahead? Well, I've taken the liberty of looking into my crystal ball to see what's going to happen as the week drags on.

Oklahoma City Closes out in Game 5

The Oklahoma City Thunder earned a win in Los Angeles to split the two games played in L.A., thus earning a trip home with three wins under their belt.

Oklahoma City, having won every game they've played at home so far in the playoffs, seem to have the distinct advantage over the Lakers heading into Game 5 tonight.

With Kevin Durant hitting big shots, Russell Westbrook draining shots like a madman and James Harden keeping the team rolling on every possession that he's in the game, it just seems like too much is working against the Lakers to get them the win on Monday night.

Miami and Indiana Split Home Wins

The Miami Heat stopped the streaking Pacers in their tracks on Sunday afternoon with the help of some amazing play from LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and some staunch defense.

However valiant their attempt to even the series was, the fact remains that the Pacers are better than most people expected them to be, and it doesn't seem likely that they're just going to lie down and get beaten easily in the next two games.

With each team stealing a win on their opponent's home floor, expect the crowds in each city to be extra adamant about their team taking their respective home games.

It seems that either team is capable of winning this series, and this happens to look like one that could very likely end up going seven games.

Rajon Rondo Continues Silent Dominance

If I were to ask you who is leading the playoffs in assists, you would probably guess Rajon Rondo, right?

Then, if I were to have you wager a guess at how many assists per game he was leading by, the guess would probably be somewhere around one or two, right?

Well, Rondo is currently leading the playoffs with 13.1 assists per game—his nearest counterpart happens to be Chris Paul, who is averaging 7.6. Rondo's out-assisting his nearest competition by almost six dimes. That's dominance right there.

Rajon Rondo seems to be able to pick apart any team right now, and he's not slowing down—even with this Sixers defense. He's going to keep chugging along. 

Kevin Garnett's Resurgence Fuels the Celtics

Kevin Garnett has been the story of the Eastern Conference—that doesn't have to do with the Indiana Pacers at this point—considering the fact that he's starting to look like he's closer to 30 than 40.

On offense, Garnett is killing opponents' runs left and right, hitting shots when his team really needs buckets in the course of the game.

His 19 points and 11 rebounds only tell part of the story, as he's averaging two blocks a game. Garnett has been playing defense like he has knees again, which hasn't happened since 2010.

Boston Finishes in Six

The Celtics have dropped two games to the Sixers at this point, which is typical of the Celtics, as they tend to struggle with scrappy, younger teams. However, they seem more determined at this point than at any time in the past year.

Kevin Garnett is rolling along and dominating the paint, Rondo is passing like nobody else in the game, Paul Pierce is still hitting big shots and the entire team is defending well.

This seems like the point where they just hunker down and start to pick off the Sixers and take them down over the next two games.

San Antonio's "Lack of a Challenge" Becomes a "Real" Story

The Spurs are playing amazing basketball right now, but I think they're to the point where they're playing a little bit too good.

It's been a story surfacing here and there over the past few days, but with the eight wins in eight games and all the time off that the Spurs are going to have, the story has been that the Spurs haven't been challenged.

Evidently, it's a problem that this team has been so much better than their opponents that they might get lazy through the course of the next round.

Does anybody really think that Gregg Popovich is going to let his team laze through the Western Conference Finals? C'mon!

Roy Hibbert Earns a Marc Gasol-Like Contract

Roy Hibbert has been both the reason for the Pacers beating the Heat and the reason for the Pacers losing to the Heat over the past two games, but it seems like he's going to be a lot closer to the former than the latter in the next few games.

Hibbert's huge 19-point, 18-rebound game, plus the fact that he's blocking every shot that comes into his realm, is going to help him a ton this offseason when he becomes a restricted free agent.

Suddenly, Hibbert is a candidate for the second-best center in the East and arises as the apparent competitor for Dwight Howard's throne.

He's not necessarily going to be that good, but he's certainly headed in the right direction.

Kobe Bryant Throws His Team Under the Bus

Kobe Bryant's Lakers are on the verge of falling in the playoffs again, as they sit down three games to one to the Oklahoma City Thunder, which can only mean one thing—he's going to continue to call people out.

Over the course of about a week now, Kobe has called out his entire team (save Metta World Peace) for their lack of consistent effort, and then Pau Gasol for the Game 4 loss.

Kobe seems to be at the point in his career where he'll do anything for that sixth ring, including playing puppet master of the Lakers by deeming certain players counter-productive to the championship run, which could, in itself, turn out to be counter-productive.

OKC and San Antonio Kick off the Most Interesting Conference Finals Since 2002

With Oklahoma City having a chance to get the Western Conference Finals tonight in their Game 5 matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers, we could see that series start a bit early.

The potential matchup, which is all but a foregone conclusion at this point, would pit OKC up against San Antonio in what is probably the most intriguing WCF matchup in years.

In fact, the sheer number of subplots working in every direction along with the potential for these two teams to have the most top-to-bottom entertaining series of the playoffs, I think it's safe to say that the intrigue dripping from this one could rival the Lakers-Kings Conference Finals of 2002.

Let's just hope the referees don't hijack this one.

Dwyane Wade Wins Game 7

Dwyane Wade shook off that Game 3 depression early in the second quarter of Game 4 in Indiana, from which point he started to look like Dwyane Wade again.

Now, if what I foresee does come to be, and we end up seeing a Game 7 in Miami, pressure will be coming from all around on the Heat, with seemingly little outside pressure coming onto the Pacers—unless you count the people who would see a Pacers win as a win for basketball in general.

Still, I can see the Heat coming out on top because Dwyane Wade seems to be the central figure in this series, and his anger has yet to combine with his skill. Anger got the better of him in Game 3 when he was struggling, which led to more anger and more struggling.

However, an angry Wade in a game that important could and should be something scary to behold.

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