NBA Playoff Predictions: Rating Anticipation Level for Each First-Round Matchup
OK—so we're roughly three-fourths of the way through the NBA season, with most teams having a little more than 20 games left on their schedule.
But the NBA playoff picture is about as clear as Charlie Sheen's mindset, and no one's quite sure how it will look come actual playoff-time.
Will the Boston Celtics hold onto the No. 1 seed in the East? How about the Spurs in the West?
Well, no one knows the answers to those questions for sure, so let's assume all 30 NBA teams decide to make my life easier and the current playoff picture stays the same.
What matchups will be the most entertaining and the most exciting?
Here are my rankings of the most anticipated NBA playoff matches, based on current seeding.
8. East: (1) Boston Celtics Vs. (8) Indiana Pacers
1 of 8
Anticipation Level: 3/10
Put the Boston Celtics up against any other East team currently positioned for the playoffs and the anticipation level probably doubles.
The Indiana Pacers haven't been to the playoffs since the 2005-06 season and don't exactly scream "Hey, we're gonna put on one heck of a playoff performance."
In fact, when I think of Indiana, it's more like I'm wishing Jermaine O'Neal was still there (and in his prime) or Ron Artest was assaulting fans in the stands.
Sure, the Pacers have some players who won't completely put me to sleep—like Darren Collison and Danny Granger—but they also have the potential to get run off the court by the Celtics in four straight games.
That's not exactly what I want when I'm watching NBA playoff basketball.
Matchup to Watch: Danny Granger vs. Paul Pierce
It's a battle between Indiana's best player and the 2008 NBA Finals MVP.
While Boston has the clear advantage at point guard, shooting guard and power forward (and Roy Hibbert > Nenad Krstic),Granger and Pierce will have the most evenly-matched on-court battle.
They're two of the top six or seven small forwards in the entire NBA.
7. West: (1) San Antonio Spurs Vs. (8) Memphis Grizzlies
2 of 8
Anticipation Level: 5/10
The Spurs vs. the Grizzlies. Old school vs. new school. Been around since the late 90s vs. been around since 2008.
We all know (or at least think we know) what we're going to get out of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and San Antonio, which has been the NBA's best team all season long.
But Memphis is a bit of a mystery, as the Grizzlies started off 4-9 but are 12-4 since Jan. 28.
Zach Randolph has been wearing his working boots all season, Rudy Gay's been good when he's on the court and Mike Conley is making Memphis fans not completely hate that contract he signed this offseason.
While the Grizzlies have very little playoff experience, a Golden-State-over-Dallas-type upset isn't completely out of the question, if Memphis plays like it has been.
Matchup to Watch: Zach Randolph vs. DeJuan Blair
Could have gone with the obvious Duncan-Gasol, Conley-Parker or even Gay-Jefferson matchups here, but Randolph's been a monster in 2010, averaging 20.2 points and 13.1 rebounds while also upping his PER to a very respectable 22.1.
Blair's going to have his hands full, both on the glass and on the defensive end. If he can't keep Randolph from going crazy, the Spurs better be on upset alert.
6. West: (2) Dallas Mavericks Vs. (7) New Orleans Hornets
3 of 8
Anticipation Level: 6/10
Take it from someone who lives in New Orleans—no one here is ever all that thrilled about Hornets basketball, because the Saints are the city's No. 1 priority, no matter what time of year it is.
So there won't be a whole lot of anticipation in the Big Easy, even though this would be a divisional matchup against Dallas.
I'm sure Mark Cuban—who found a way to complain about the Hornets trading for Carl Landry—will find a way to make this matchup more interesting, but that won't be necessary.
The Mavericks and Hornets have faced each other twice this season and the Mavs won by three points at home while the Hornets won by two in New Orleans.
Both games literally came down to the wire, so we could very well see that happen again in the playoffs.
Matchup to Watch: David West vs. Dirk Nowitzki
My dad's favorite saying: "Can David West even spell defense? Because he damn sure can't play it."
Guess what, David. You better play some D on Dirk, or the Hornets are screwed.
5. East: (4) Orlando Magic Vs. (5) Atlanta Hawks
4 of 8
Anticipation Level: 6.5/10
I'm not sure why, but I feel like the Magic and the Hawks always end up facing each other in the playoffs.
Maybe it's because they've consistently been among the East's top five teams over the last few years, so I always group them together.
Anyway, these two teams have faced each other three times the season, with Orlando winning the first game by four points, losing the second by six and the third one by 10.
But since the mega-trades that brought Hedo Turkoglu, Jason Richardson and Gilbert Arenas to Orlando—and Kirk Hinrich to Atlanta—the Magic-Hawks series has gotten a little more interesting.
How will Orlando and Atlanta fare against each other come playoff time? Will they have gelled as a unit by then?
I guess we'll find out.
Matchup to Watch: Dwight Howard vs. Al Horford
The NBA's best center (and MVP candidate) vs. the Hawks' All-Star forward/center, who is one of the league's more underrated players.
The Magic will look to Howard early and often in this series—it'll be up to Horford to both prevent him from going off and score some points of his own.
4. East: (2) Miami Heat Vs. (7) Philadelphia 76ers
5 of 8
Anticipation Level: 7/10
The fact that this is the first playoff series for the new-look Miami Heat automatically increases the intrigue, because we know that ESPN will be covering this PHI-MIA meeting like it's the single most important event in human history.
But, all jokes aside, this actually has the potential to be a really good series.
While Miami's Wade-Bosh-LeBron trio obviously give the Heat the talent advantage, Philadelphia has one of the league's best home records at 19-10 and has gone a very under-the-radar 14-4 since Jan. 22.
The 76ers have been playing some serious ball as of late and we all know what can happen when a star-studded team underestimates its opponent.
If the Heat come out in the playoffs with lights, fog and music like they did during the summer, then this series could be a lot closer than people might think.
Matchup to Watch: Andre Iguodala vs. Dwyane Wade
Philadelphia's most explosive player vs. the league's second-best shooting guard.
Iguodala hasn't been much of a scorer in 2010-11 (14.1 per game), but he'll need to be, even though it won't come easy against a stellar defender like Wade.
3. West: (4) Oklahoma City Thunder Vs. (5) Denver Nuggets
6 of 8
Anticipation Level: 8/10
The new-look Nuggets vs. the young buck Oklahoma City Thunder? I approve.
Given all the Melo-Drama (pun intended) surrounding Carmelo Anthony, Denver wasn't expected to be as good as they have been once he left.
But, the Nuggets have won three straight games and are on a collision course to face Oklahoma City in the first round, which could be a very fun series.
Denver appears to have (at least some of) the right pieces in place with Melo gone and the Thunder are as good as any team in the league when they're hot.
Plus, any series that involves Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook is fine by me.
Matchup to Watch: Kevin Durant vs. Wilson Chander, Russell Westbrook vs. Raymond Felton
I couldn't pick just one, because both matchups will be critical in determining the outcome of this series.
Westbrook's one of the league's quickest points guards and Durant's the league's top scorer, so Felton and Chandler are going to have to step up on defense and provide a ton of offense to counter the production of both Westbrook and Durant.
2. West: (3) Los Angeles Lakers Vs. (6) Portland Trail Blazers
7 of 8
Anticipation Level: 9/10
Anything that involves Jack Nicholson also involves anticipation and that includes a potential series between the Lakers and the Blazers.
Though LA would be in unfamiliar territory as the No. 3 seed, it's still playoff basketball in the Staples Center and it comes against a very good Portland team.
Even without Brandon Roy, the Blazers managed to put together a recent six-game winning streak and are 8-3 in their last 11 games.
Thanks to the acquisition of Gerald Wallace, they're one of the few teams in the NBA who can roll out a starting lineup that looks as good as the Lakers'.
Plus, after recent trade rumors surrounding Ron Artest and Andrew Bynum, you have to think that their play will be a hot topic of debate before and during the playoff series.
Matchup to Watch: LaMarcus Aldridge vs. Pau Gasol
With Roy sidelined, a large chunk of Portland's slack has been picked up by Aldridge, who has been unconscious at times this season.
He's scored 34 or more points five times since Jan. 2 and had seven double-doubles during that span.
1. East: (3) Chicago Bulls Vs. (6) New York Knicks
8 of 8
Anticipation Level: 10/10
Does it get any bigger than this for a first-round playoff series?
You've got the current frontrunner for the MVP award, Derrick Rose—and the Chicago Bulls—taking on Carmelo Anthony, Amar'e Stoudemire and the new-look New York Knicks.
OK, if the players aren't enough for you, then how about the franchises?
The NBA is a happier place when the Knicks and Bulls are actually worth caring about and they definitely are this year.
In this series, the court will be filled with All-Stars, including arguably three of the top 10 players in the game (Rose, Anthony and Stoudemire).
That's something any basketball fan wants to see.
Matchup to Watch: Amar'e Stoudemire vs. Carlos Boozer/Joakim Noah
It all depends on the Knicks' starting lineup, but Stoudemire will be matched up against one of two guys—the aggravating pest known as Noah or the defensively-challenged Boozer.
Either way, the Bulls are going to have to find a way to shut down Stoudemire and eliminate him from the Knicks double-headed superstar equation.
