NBA Playoff Schedule 2015: Latest Conference Semis Bracket, Odds and Picks
After an opening round full of blowouts and sweeps, Round 2 has had significantly more parity.
Every team still alive has won a game this round, and nearly every contest has been close. That’s no surprise, though—only the biggest dogs are left now.
Who is most likely to go all the way? According to Odds Shark, it’s the Golden State Warriors, followed by the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Chicago Bulls.
Here’s a look at the rest of the odds:
Odds
| Golden State Warriors | 4/5 |
| Chicago Bulls | 5/1 |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 5/1 |
| Los Angeles Clippers | 6/1 |
| Houston Rockets | 16/1 |
| Atlanta Hawks | 18/1 |
| Washington Wizards | 20/1 |
| Memphis Grizzlies | 40/1 |
Updated Bracket and Picks
| Golden State Warriors vs. Memphis Grizzlies | 1-1 | Warriors in seven |
| Atlanta Hawks vs. Washington Wizards | 1-1 | Wizards in six |
| Los Angeles Clippers vs. Houston Rockets | 1-1 | Clippers in five |
| Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Chicago Bulls | 1-1 | Cavaliers in six |
Underdogs to Watch
Atlanta Hawks
Hey, remember the Atlanta Hawks?
They won the second-most regular-season games in the league, seven behind the only other team (Golden State) to win 60-plus. Come on, you remember them, don’t you?
Apparently, not everyone does.
The Hawks, devoid of big names and big egos, are built for the regular season. They move the ball, make open shots and string together wins at a rapid rate.
But their lack of star power has hurt them during the playoffs. In Round 1, Deron Williams and Brook Lopez carried the eighth-seeded Brooklyn Nets to a pair of a wins over the pride of the East, which sounded a few alarms.
Then, in Game 1 of the second round, John Wall, Bradley Beal and the Washington Wizards went into Atlanta and beat the birds on their own floor.
Wait, so what makes them an underrated championship contender?
Well, every remaining team has superstars—except the Hawks.
In some ways, that’s a disadvantage. But what Atlanta has—and what many other teams don’t—is balance. We’ve seen slow starts, sluggish finishes and slumps throughout the course of games, and those are largely due to struggles of a particular player.
But for the most part, the Hawks are right there all game, every single night.
They don’t get blown out and always play with high intensity and efficiency. The team might not have that go-to guy to carry it down the stretch of close games, but Atlanta dose have a versatile army of capable scorers and defenders.
It’d be unwise to bet against the Hawks, especially after seeing what they did in the regular season.
Memphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies won more games than four teams on that list, yet Odds Shark has them as the least likely champion...by far.
The only way to rationalize that is to question the long-term health of point guard Mike Conley, who went down in Game 3 of the first round, had surgery to repair facial fractures and then returned against the Warriors in Game 2.
After getting walloped by Stephen Curry in Game 1, the Grizzlies were a new team with Conley back Tuesday night. Twitter went crazy after such a display of heart from the masked point guard:
"Gutsy performance by my guy @mconley11. He's a gamer.
— Shane Battier (@ShaneBattier) May 6, 2015"
The southpaw outscored the 2014-15 MVP with a game-high 22 points (8-of-12) compared to Curry's 19 (7-of-19). All this on the night that the new king was given his crown.
Memphis was a completely new team, as Conley, despite being noticeably banged up, went toe-to-toe with Curry and won. Look at the difference Conley made, per the NBA on ESPN:
If the Grizzlies manage to push this series to seven games, their road to the NBA Finals will have to go through Los Angeles or Houston, both tough yet beatable opponents.
It certainly won’t be easy, but let’s not pretend that Memphis, with a courageous leader in Conley and a ton of skilled muscle inside, cannot make a run at the title.
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