NBA Playoffs 2016: Remaining Schedule, Predictions for Conference Finals
Don't you just love the unpredictability of NBA playoff basketball?
Both conference-final series have delivered wildly unexpected results over the last four evenings, with the underdog Toronto Raptors and Oklahoma City Thunder each stealing two mostly convincing wins from the favored Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors, respectively. Both favorites need to make some adjustments heading into their next contests to avoid falling behind in their series (the Cavaliers) or getting eliminated entirely (the Warriors).
Let's review the round's remaining schedule and then predict the outcome for each matchup.
| Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Toronto Raptors (series tied 2-2) | |||
| Game 5 (at Cleveland) | 5/25 | 8:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| Game 6 (at Toronto) | 5/27 | 8:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| Game 7 (at Cleveland, if necessary) | 5/29 | 8:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| Golden State Warriors vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (Thunder lead 3-1) | |||
| Game 5 (at Golden State) | 5/26 | 9 p.m. | TNT |
| Game 6 (at Oklahoma City, if necessary) | 5/28 | 9 p.m. | TNT |
| Game 7 (at Golden State, if necessary) | 5/30 | 9 p.m. | TNT |
Predictions for Conference Finals
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Toronto Raptors (series tied 2-2)
After the first two games of this series, it was easy to assume the Cavaliers would roll over the Raptors and win in either four or five games. Now, neither of those outcomes is possible after two inspired efforts from the Raptors on their home floor that knotted the matchup at two games apiece.
Moving forward, Toronto should be able to stay competitive if it can continue to defend energetically and receive a positive contribution from Jonas Valanciunas. The Lithuanian center was active for the first time in eight games Monday but didn’t play. The Raptors need to find a way to utilize his excellent low-post offense while not losing the impact of Bismack Biyombo’s stellar rebounding and interior defense.
The Cavaliers have started to rely a little bit too much on their three-point shooting, and the offense looked lost during the first half of Game 1, when Cleveland made just three of its 22 long-distance attempts.
Cleveland has home-court advantage for two of the series’ final three games and has the more talented roster. Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan won’t make this easy on the Cavs, but LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and the role players are better than their counterparts and can pull this one out.
Prediction: Cavaliers in seven
Golden State Warriors vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
The Thunder have reached peak basketball excellence, and, boy, it's fun to watch.
After a regular season full of criticism regarding its defense, poor crunch-time execution and lack of depth, Oklahoma City has fixed all three problems and now looks like a nearly perfect basketball team. Most importantly, the team put the 73-win Warriors squad on the brink of elimination Tuesday night with a 118-94 shellacking.
The remainder of the series is somewhat difficult to predict. This is a Warriors squad that has shown it can play at the level the Thunder have during the past two games. The team might be able to get back on track with a home game Thursday, when the crowd will be cheering for its team’s playoff life.
Oklahoma City has shown the potential to implode as well. The San Antonio Spurs blew out the Thunder in Game 1 of the conference semifinals, and Oklahoma City once lost eight out of 12 games during the regular season. There’s always a chance something similar happens again.
But right now, the Thunder look too long, athletic and confident, and the Warriors look totally shaken, especially Draymond Green. The Warriors’ All-Star forward arguably deserved to miss Game 4 after a kick to Steven Adams’ groin during the previous contest, but he played and actually helped Oklahoma City’s cause with a 1-of-7 shooting performance and six turnovers. He’s now scored just 12 points over the last two games on 2-of-16 shooting with 10 turnovers.
Additionally, unanimous MVP Stephen Curry is “playing at 70 percent, at best” because of his knee injury, a source close to him told The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski. That doesn’t bode well for the Warriors’ chances of winning three straight games.
Russell Westbrook won’t stop making life hard for Curry, Kevin Durant won’t stop scoring, and Adams, Andre Roberson, Dion Waiters and Serge Ibaka won’t stop locking up on defense and providing energy on offense and the boards.
Prediction: Thunder in six
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
