NBA Playoffs 2015: Previews, Predictions for Sunday's 1st-Round Matchups
The 2015 NBA playoffs have already seen one overtime game and a 35-point performance from Anthony Davis—albeit in a losing effort. This year's postseason is shaping up to be something special.
The first round continues Sunday, with a total of four games scheduled. Although two of the games look somewhat uneven on paper, the second half of the day should more than make up for that.
Here's a quick look at the quartet of matchups.
| 3 p.m. | Boston Celtics at Cleveland Cavaliers | CLE (-11.5) | CLE |
| 5:30 p.m. | Brooklyn Nets at Atlanta Hawks | ATL (-10) | ATL |
| 8 p.m. | Portland Trail Blazers at Memphis Grizzlies | MEM (-5.5) | MEM |
| 10:30 p.m. | San Antonio Spurs at Los Angeles Clippers | LAC (-1) | SAS |
Game 1 Previews
No. 7 Boston Celtics at No. 2 Cleveland Cavaliers
It's hard to talk about the Boston Celtics without being somewhat patronizing. They've done so well to make the playoffs, but it seems highly improbable that they can upset the Cleveland Cavaliers without one of Kevin Love, LeBron James or Kyrie Irving getting injured.
The Celtics took two games off Cleveland on April 10 and 12. However, Irving was missing in the first, and all of the members of the Cavs' Big Three were absent in the second. You can't necessarily use those two Boston wins as a barometer for this series.
From top to bottom, the Cavaliers own the personnel advantage, and they'll have a serious home-court advantage in the first playoff game inside Quicken Loans Arena since James' departure.
Speaking of LeBron, the four-time MVP might be looking to exorcise some past demons since the Celtics were the team to eliminate the Cavs from the 2010 playoffs, in part leading to James' move to Miami.
"I think about every (series) loss I ever had," LeBron said, per Joe Vardon of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. "All those experiences help me get to this point. It's definitely a different challenge for me. I'm going in with a much younger team and an inexperienced team than I've had the last four years. But I look forward to the challenge."
There might be some early postseason jitters from Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love as they make their first foray into the playoffs:
The Cavaliers won't have it easy Sunday, but they should pick up a victory.
Prediction: Cleveland 99, Boston 87
No. 8 Brooklyn Nets at No. 1 Atlanta Hawks
Whereas you can see the Celtics giving the Cavaliers a tough time, you don't get that sense from the Brooklyn Nets when it comes to their first-round series with the Atlanta Hawks.
According to NBA.com, the Hawks are sixth in the league in offensive rating (106.2) and seventh in defensive rating (100.7). Only three teams have a higher net rating. Atlanta has been the best team in the Eastern Conference for a while now.
Although you could argue that the Hawks are lacking in that one true star player, ESPN.com's Kevin Arnovitz countered that the franchise's team-building is what separates it from somebody like the Nets, who have acquired notable stars with little to no view toward the long term:
"The Hawks are the anti-Nets, a franchise that values long-range planning and constructing a roster with purpose. Korver and Carroll might not be complete players, but they’re so perfectly suited to the system in Atlanta that you can imagine the “Korver-Carroll” wing tandem becoming a league model: Throw an elite defender who can shoot a little bit and an elite shooter who can defend a little bit out at the 2 and the 3, and you’re set. They’re also considerably cheaper than Johnson, a prolific isolation threat who nevertheless constricts an offense. The Nets didn’t care. For them, building a team comes from the accumulation of individual talent. For the Hawks, it comes from the adoption of collective principles.
"
This series should be over in relatively short order—four or five games—with Atlanta coasting in a comfortable Game 1 win.
Prediction: Atlanta 101, Brooklyn 85
No. 4 Portland Trail Blazers at No. 5 Memphis Grizzlies
Depth was a bit of a concern for the Portland Trail Blazers entering the 2014-15 season. Then, they became plagued with injuries—none bigger than Wesley Matthews tearing his left Achilles tendon—further exacerbating their biggest weakness.
Portland's saving grace in this series might be the fact that the Memphis Grizzlies are just as banged up. Here's a look at the players with injuries going into Game 1 and their status for the matchup, courtesy of CBSSports.com:
| Memphis Grizzlies | ||
| Tony Allen | Hamstring | Probable |
| Mike Conley | Foot | Probable |
| Jeff Green | Back | Questionable |
| Portland Trail Blazers | ||
| Arron Afflalo | Shoulder | Doubtful |
| Nicolas Batum | Knee | Probable |
| Alonzo Gee | Foot | Questionable |
| Chris Kaman | Back | Probable |
| C.J. McCollum | Ankle | Probable |
| Wesley Matthews | Achilles | Out |
| Dorell Wright | Hand | Out |
This series is one of the toughest to call.
The Grizzlies' physical style will really test the Blazers' health and depth, not to mention they have home-court advantage in the series. Memphis also won all four of the regular-season games between the two teams.
With that said, Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge could keep Portland in this series all by themselves. Lillard averaged 25.5 points and 6.7 assists in the first round against the Houston Rockets last year, while Aldridge posted 29.8 points and 11.2 boards a game.
Between that and the Grizzlies' continued problems from behind the arc, the Blazers might be able to grind out a series win.
In Game 1, though, Memphis should prevail. Playing at home, and with Portland carrying so many injuries, the Grizzlies get the nod.
Prediction: Grizzlies 92, Trail Blazers 87
No. 6 San Antonio Spurs vs. No. 3 Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers are such a hard team to pin down. They have the best offensive rating in the league (109.8), but their roster goes about six deep before there's serious reason for concern.
Yet even with a paper-thin bench, the Clippers still finished tied with the second-best record in the Western Conference (56-26).
The San Antonio Spurs can't match up with the Clippers 1 through 5, but their superior bench might be the difference in the series.
ProBasketballTalk's Kurt Helin wonders how much Clippers head coach Doc Rivers' team-building and tactical decisions might hamper Los Angeles in this series:
"The Clippers are an excellent team, but I think Doc Rivers the GM will have tied Doc Rivers’ the coach’s hands too much. The lack of depth leads to a lack of versatility that is the strength of the Spurs. Then there’s the fact the Clippers’ defense isn’t great — they play an aggressive, Heat-style trapping defense, but not as well and it can be exploited with ball movement.
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Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich also won't be above hacking DeAndre Jordan at every opportunity. It slows the game to a crawl, but few can argue with its effectiveness if Jordan isn't hitting his free throws.
"I hate doing it," Popovich said in February, per Melissa Rohlin of the Los Angeles Times. "But it's a rule. Free throws are part of the game. It's a whole lot better than chasing Chris Paul around all day."
Much like the Grizzlies-Blazers series, this one could go the full seven, and both the Clippers and Spurs could lay a claim for being the best team.
San Antonio becomes a different team in the spring, though, and the veteran core has at least one more deep playoff run left. The Spurs should snatch home-court advantage in Game 1.
Prediction: Spurs 101, Clippers 98
Note: First-round lines are courtesy of Odds Shark.
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