Realistic Expectations for Every 2nd-Round NBA Playoff Team

The first round of the NBA playoffs had its fair share of exciting moments, but the second round has the potential to provide even more breathtaking sequences.

From a superstar perspective, the way Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant performed in two six-game series stole the show.

Only in his fourth season, Curry is already considered one of the best three-point shooters of all time. In the Golden State Warriors' first-round series, Curry emerged as a legitimate superstar and carried them to victory without All-Star power forward David Lee.

Curry's performance in the first round bolstered his resume while adding to his narrative.

Which player will dominate in the second round and thus become the "It Guy"?

Russell Westbrook's injury drastically changed the entire playoffs, as it threw the battle in the Western Conference into a state of flux. The injury is just an example of how quickly expectations can change, as the Miami Heat are now the overwhelming favorite to hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy come June.

This time last year, the Heat were perfectly healthy. That quickly changed when Chris Bosh strained his abdominal muscle in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. While the Heat ultimately prevailed, there were doubts about their ability to overcome Bosh's absence.

The NBA world always changes, but mapping out realistic expectations is a fair way to assess the situation after the games are played.

Miami Heat

Expectations for the Miami Heat are through the roof because their play over the course of the season was exceptional. The Heat enjoyed a 27-game win streak and finished with the league's best record.

Miami is privileged to employ LeBron James, as he is unarguably the best player on the planet. Having the best player in a series is significant, and that's what LeBron figures to be, barring a 2011 NBA Finals-esque slump.

Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh are both franchise cornerstone players too, and they form the league's best trio when James joins the equation.

While pundits raised concerns about how Wade's style of play might affect his career in terms of his ability to stay healthy, the Marquette product tinkered with his game successfully this season.

The physicality with which Wade played basketball early in his career was unsustainable, as the injury risk for an aging player becomes too great. These days, Wade doesn't hit the deck as often as he did three or four years ago.

Wade's transition as a player hasn't affected his numbers in a negative way, as he averaged 21.2 points per game on 52 percent shooting this season.

The addition of Ray Allen makes Miami's offense even more dangerous, as his ability to stretch the floor is something the opposition must always keep in mind. 

Miami's main expectation is simple—win the NBA title. Anything less will be considered a huge disappointment. Looking at their second-round matchup, the Heat have a strong chance to finish the series up in four or five games.

Chicago Bulls

The fact that the Chicago Bulls' season isn't over speaks to their resiliency. Without Derrick Rose, Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich, they somehow found a way to win a Game 7 on the road against the Brooklyn Nets.

The Bulls have already exceeded expectations this season, as they won a playoff series with a revamped bench and without their best player.

At this point, Chicago cannot be expected to win more than one game against the Miami Heat. While the Bulls were the team that ended Miami's 27-game winning streak, they don't have the talent to compete with the Heat in a seven-game series.

Reasonably, it's hard to conjure up a scenario in which the Bulls do anything more than win either Game 3 or 4 at home. The Heat are extremely familiar with Chicago and have had time to prepare for their upcoming series.

Miami's elite defense will give the Bulls offense fits, as Chicago's offensive firepower is limited without Rose leading the charge.

Chicago and Miami split their season series, but postseason basketball is different and is dominated by the league's superstars.

Realistically, the Heat have the best three players in the series, which certainly doesn't bode well for Chicago.

The Bulls' 2012-13 season went far better than projected, and the city of Chicago should be proud of how hard its team fought all season long.

New York Knicks

When the New York Knicks dispatched the Boston Celtics in Game 6, it marked the first time that the Knicks won a playoff series since 2000. More impressively, they did so without Amar'e Stoudemire, a player who is responsible for a quarter of the team's payroll.

Simply put, this season's Knicks team is the best one to call the Big Apple home in over a decade. That distinction has ramped up expectations, especially considering they wouldn't meet the Miami Heat until the Eastern Conference Finals.

With the way Carmelo Anthony has scored the basketball lately, he gives the Knicks a chance to win any game they play. In his last eight games, Anthony has averaged 36.9 points per contest while shooting 53.8 percent from the field.

In the first round, Anthony eclipsed the 30-point mark three times in six games. The Syracuse product finished the series with a scoring average of 29.2, a mark only topped by Kevin Durant this postseason.

When you combine Anthony with Sixth Man of the Year J.R. Smith, it's easy to see why the Knicks are considered the biggest threat to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference.

The Knicks have the offensive firepower to beat what was the league's second-best scoring defense this season. The Pacers also finished the season 30-11 at home, which means New York must protect its home-court advantage in order to advance.

The excellence of Anthony has increased the Knicks' expectations, as a strong argument could be made in regard to him being the second-best player remaining in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

A trip to the conference finals would make this season a resounding success for the Knicks. Not so coincidentally, that's exactly what is expected of them as the playoff grind continues.

Indiana Pacers

The strength of the Indiana Pacers is on the defensive end of the court, as evidenced by the fact that they finished second in the league in scoring defense.

The Pacers front office did a superb job building the roster and clearly focused on developing an elite defense. Roy Hibbert is an elite rim protector, and Paul George is an excellent all-around defender.

George has emerged as a star this season, but he isn't the offensive player who can carry a team through rough stretches. The fact that the Pacers don't have an elite scorer is definitely detrimental and has to be taken into account when crafting expectations.

Do the Pacers have the personnel to win multiple games against the league's elite in crunch time?

That question will be answered in the coming weeks, but it's not a promising issue to have.

Against the New York Knicks in the second round, the Pacers will have to focus on defending the three-point line. Carmelo Anthony will score his fair share of points, but if the Pacers can limit the rest of the Knicks roster, they have a real chance to win the series.

In the regular season, the Pacers split their four-game series with the Knicks, with the home team winning every game. To win this series, Indiana must steal a game on the road and then perfectly defend its home court.

The Pacers have an opportunity to get another shot against the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, as the top seed is heavily favored to advance past the second round. Frank Vogel's team must focus on defending the Knicks' offensive attack.

If they can keep the score in the high 80s to low 90s, then the Pacers will likely emerge as the victor. Indiana will struggle in shootouts and should not be expected to win many of those against Anthony and the Knicks.

Indiana should expect to win this series, but it will need contributions from the entire rotation in order to do so.

San Antonio Spurs

The primary expectation for the San Antonio Spurs in the second round is simple: Win this series and advance to the Western Conference Finals.

The first round went exactly according to plan, as the Spurs swept the overmatched Los Angeles Lakers with ease. 

The extra time to recuperate for Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker means they should all be fresh for their upcoming matchup with the Golden State Warriors.

The injury suffered by Russell Westbrook greatly improved the Spurs' chances at advancing to the NBA Finals, as they struggled to slow the UCLA product down in the 2012 Western Conference Finals. 

While the Spurs had lofty expectations before Westbrook went down with an injury, they were kicked up another notch after the incident.

At this moment, San Antonio has to be considered the favorite to represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals.

Due to superb minute management by Gregg Popovich, Tim Duncan has somehow managed to keep Father Time at bay. In his 16th season, Duncan posted a PER of 24.45 and is still playing at an elite level.

That being said, how many spectacular seasons does he have left in him?

The Spurs have to expect to win it all this year because you never know when Duncan's play will diminish.

The Warriors will certainly pose a challenge but aren't the better overall team. The Spurs should expect to win in no more than six games, as they are finally healthy and playing excellent basketball.

Golden State Warriors

When David Lee went down in Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs, it dealt a major blow to the Golden State Warriors. Lee made his second All-Star Game this season and led the league in double-doubles, which speaks to how well he played prior to the injury. 

The Warriors didn't dwell on Lee's absence and, behind excellent performances from Stephen Curry, upset the Denver Nuggets in six games. Over the span of the series, Curry averaged 24.3 points and 9.3 assists per game while shooting 46.8 percent from the floor and 43.4 percent from behind the arc. 

In order to challenge the San Antonio Spurs, the Warriors will expect similar statistics from Curry in the second round. They will also need solid contributions from Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut on both ends of the court.

Golden State split its four-game series with the Spurs this season, with both of its victories coming at home. The Warriors have been dreadful in San Antonio for quite some time now, as they have lost their previous 29 contests there.

Yes, you read that right. The Warriors haven't beaten the Spurs in Texas since 1997.

Realistically, the Warriors enter the series as heavy underdogs. While Golden State took a major step forward this season, it still has plenty of room to improve, especially on defense, where it finished 19th in scoring defense.

Winning a couple of games against the Spurs is a reasonable expectation. In order to win the series, the Warriors will need Curry to be the best player in the series while the rest of the members of the rotation play their A-game.

It won't be easy, but crafting postseason expectations this time of the year is far better than generating them about the draft.

Memphis Grizzlies

After dropping the first two games in Los Angeles versus the Clippers, the Memphis Grizzles strung together four straight wins in order to advance.

Attacking the Clips inside got the job done for Memphis, and it's certainly a strategy it will continue to employ in the second round. Over the course of the series, Zach Randolph averaged 20.8 points and eight boards per contest while shooting 56.8 percent from the field.

The Grizzlies got revenge on the Clippers after being knocked out by Vinny Del Negro's club during the 2012 playoffs. Ultimately, Memphis is playing better basketball this year, which makes it a serious threat to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals.

After the Rudy Gay trade, expectations for the Grizzlies fluctuated. Based upon the fact that Memphis is a legitimate contender sans Gay, it's hard to knock the decision to move him.

In their three meetings this season, the Grizzlies beat the Thunder twice, with one of those wins coming on the road. Their past success bodes well for them, and you can bet they will enter the series expecting to win against OKC.

Expect the Grizzlies to be physical with Kevin Durant, as slowing him down will be crucial to moving on.

Since the Thunder are without Russell Westbrook, the Grizzlies have a legitimate shot to pull off the upset against the Western Conference's top seed. In order to do so, they will have to pound the Thunder inside and dominate on the glass.

It would be a surprise if this series was not extremely competitive, and it wouldn't be shocking if the Grizzlies managed to knock out the defending Western Conference champions.

Expect this series to be a strength versus strength affair, as the Thunder finished the season with the second-ranked scoring offense and Memphis led the NBA in scoring defense.

Oklahoma City Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder were thought to be the biggest obstacle to the Miami Heat's attempt to win back-to-back titles. That changed when Russell Westbrook tore his meniscus and was ruled out for the remainder of the postseason.

After looking like the favorites to represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals entering the postseason, the Thunder will now get everything they can handle in the second round.

While OKC is still focused on winning a title this year, it's hard come up with a logical argument that has the Thunder winning it all. At this time last season, they had a healthy Westbrook and James Harden and still lost to the Heat in the NBA Finals.

The Thunder will fight to the bitter end, but it's hard to see them threatening for the title without Westbrook.

Expect the Memphis Grizzlies to play extremely physical against the Thunder and to dominate inside. For OKC to be successful, it will need Kevin Durant to dominate like he did in the first round.

Can Kevin Martin score consistently against a very good defense?

He will be fine, but a lot will be expected from him with Westbrook sidelined. 

The Thunder won't admit it, but any conversation of winning this year's title without Westbrook isn't reasonable, considering the quality of teams still in contention.