2015 NBA Playoffs: Previews, Predictions, Analysis for Sunday's 1st-Round Games
Sunday's four-game slate of NBA playoff action will almost certainly produce some memorable moments.
The last time these eight teams squared off, three of the four contests were decided by single digits—one by only two points. In the fourth, this seasons's Defensive Player of the Year, Kawhi Leonard, dominated the offensive end as his San Antonio Spurs forged ahead in the first round's only series to be knotted at one win apiece.
The star power in all four outings is strong, highlighted by four-time MVP LeBron James and James Harden, one of this season's top candidates for the coveted award. The stakes are even higher. The Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors and Dallas Mavericks are all fighting for their playoff lives.
Will this be a broom-filled round of basketball spring cleaning? Or will history's astronomical edge given to clubs with a 3-0 series lead be rendered moot for a day?
We're here to help answer those questions and provide everything you need to know about the four battles awaiting the Association.
Sunday's Schedule
1 of 5
(2) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (7) Boston Celtics
Series: 3-0 Cavs
Time: 1 p.m. ET
TV: ABC
Opening Line: Cleveland (-6)
(3) Los Angeles Clippers vs. (6) San Antonio Spurs
Series: Spurs 2-1
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
TV: ABC
Opening Line: San Antonio (-6)
(4) Toronto Raptors vs. (5) Washington Wizards
Series: Wizards 3-0
Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
TV: TNT
Opening Line: Washington (-6)
(2) Houston Rockets vs. (7) Dallas Mavericks
Series: Rockets 3-0
Time: 9 p.m. ET
TV: TNT
Opening Line: Houston (-2.5)
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Boston Celtics
2 of 5
The pesky Boston Celtics have gotten closer to victory in each game, as they trailed by just three with 2:17 to go in their 103-95 loss to Cleveland on Thursday.
But the Cavaliers, with more top-level talent and playoff experience, haven't seemed very threatened in any game. It's hard to envision a different outcome in Sunday's showdown.
Cleveland's heavyweight trio of James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love has controlled this series from the start. The three have combined for 68.3 points, 20.7 rebounds and 13.7 assists per game, easily outperforming the best Boston has to offer.
Love has been the lowest-scoring member of that triumvirate at 18.3 points a night. Isaiah Thomas, the Celtics' leading scorer, has gone for 16.3 points per game.
Boston has had an even tougher time keeping pace on the glass. The Cavs are averaging 6.7 more rebounds a night, with three of those extra boards coming at the offensive end alone.
"There have been missed shots and missed rebounds and missed opportunities," wrote Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. "There has been a sense that even though all three games in this series were close for stretches, the Celtics remained so very far away."
Boston's rebuilding project appears a few steps ahead of schedule, and the Celtics haven't let anything come easily for Cleveland.
But this series is what most thought it would be. The Celtics shattered their preseason expectations simply by making the playoffs. The Cavs have been a popular championship pick all year, and they'll take their first significant step toward reaching that goal by dispatching their first-round opponents with a series-ending triumph Sunday.
Prediction: Cavaliers 101, Celtics 90
Los Angeles Clippers vs. San Antonio Spurs
3 of 5
The San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers both carried intriguing championship credentials into their colossal first-round clash.
LA and San Antonio finished the regular season ranked second and third in point differential, respectively. The first two matchups of this series looked like a heavyweight prizefight, as the Clippers drew first blood with a 107-92 win and the Spurs answered with a 111-107 overtime victory.
But everything changed once this series shifted to the Alamo City. San Antonio strolled to a 100-73 triumph in Game 3, silencing a Clippers offense that paced the league in efficiency both this season and last.
The Spurs struck early and often, with their most damaging blows coming courtesy of Kawhi Leonard's massive mitts. The reigning Finals MVP poured in a career-high 32 points, hitting 13 of the 18 shots he launched in less than 29 minutes.
LA, meanwhile, got uncharacteristically sloppy performances from All-Stars Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. The typically dominant duo missed 17 of their 26 shots and coughed up nine giveaways. As the offensive execution sagged, the defensive effort went with it.
"We have had this a couple times this year...where we lose our spirit because we can't make shots," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said, per Fox Sports West's Jill Painter Lopez. "That's what I thought happened as the game went on, every time we missed a shot, we played less defense."
The defending champion Spurs can smell blood, and this veteran group doesn't want to extend this series longer than it needs to go. But the Clippers could have an even more powerful motivation: desperation.
A 3-1 deficit to San Antonio would feel like a death sentence. Bounce-back efforts from Paul and Griffin will keep it from being handed out.
Prediction: Clippers 104, Spurs 100
Toronto Raptors vs. Washington Wizards
4 of 5
Both the Washington Wizards and Toronto Raptors struggled down the final stretch of the 82-game marathon. But the Wizards are the only ones showing signs of life since.
Washington has had an answer for everything thrown at it by a Toronto offense that ranked third in efficiency during the regular season. The Wizards have held the typically high-scoring trio of Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan and Lou Williams to an abysmal 48-of-149 shooting (32.2 percent).
That's part of the reason Washington has survived the shooting struggles of John Wall (36.7 percent) and Bradley Beal (39.3). But an even bigger key has been the consistently stellar play of veterans Paul Pierce (16 points per game, 53.8 percent shooting) and Marcin Gortat (16, 70.0) and sophomore Otto Porter (10.3, 63.2).
Pierce, in particular, has given Toronto major headaches—and not only with his trash-talking. He has routinely torched the Raptors defense while being deployed as a stretch 4, a look the Wizards rarely used during the season.
"We were saving it for the playoffs," Pierce said after his 18-point performance in Friday's 106-99 win, per Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post.
Toronto's defense has been an issue all year. This series is not going to fix it. The Wizards are bullying the Raptors inside and out. Wall has had problems igniting his own offense, but he's done a masterful job of setting the table (13.3 assists against 3.7 turnovers).
The Raptors' only hope is to overwhelm the Wizards with offense. But that isn't happening, with Lowry battling both injuries and inefficiency. Washington should put Toronto out of its misery without needing to leave the District.
Prediction: Wizards 105, Raptors 94
Dallas Mavericks vs. Houston Rockets
5 of 5
The Dallas Mavericks' gamble on mercurial point guard Rajon Rondo was an unmitigated disaster. But there's a reason they felt compelled to make that move.
Rondo, at his best, was Dallas' best shot at plugging its defensive leaks on the perimeter. And now that his Mavs days appear over, this team is frantically searching for a serviceable defensive formula that involves Monta Ellis, Dirk Nowitzki, J.J. Barea, Amar'e Stoudemire and Raymond Felton.
You'd have an easier time discovering the fountain of youth.
The Mavs have major defensive issues. The Houston Rockets have James Harden. Guess which side is winning this war.
Dallas racked up 128 points Friday, shot 52.3 percent from the field, got 34 points from both Ellis and Nowitzki—and still lost. Harden feasted on the Rondo-less, Chandler Parsons-less Mavs for 42 points and nine assists. Josh Smith and Corey Brewer combined for 33 points on 13-of-26 shooting. Dwight Howard dominated the other end with 26 rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
"The Mavericks have been outgunned. Out-coached. Outplayed. And, in the end, out-superstarred," wrote Jerome Solomon of the Houston Chronicle on Friday. "In a couple of days, they are likely to be out of the playoffs."
Dallas can't simply outscore Houston. This series has already proved that. And the Mavs can't stop the Rockets, either. Not with so many liabilities on that side of the ball.
The quicker the Rockets wrap this up, the more time they'll have to rest before drawing the Clippers-Spurs winner. Space City should sleep well Sunday night.
Prediction: Rockets 116, Mavericks 109
Unless otherwise noted, statistics used courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com. Point spreads obtained via OddsShark.com.
