And Then There Were 8: Round 2 NBA Playoff Predictions

What an exciting first round of play.... We bore witness as the Spurs and Jazz rose from the pits that the doubters had cast them into and the epic collapses of the Nuggets and Mavericks, two teams people expected to coast through their match-ups. We saw young guns like the Bucks and Thunder push their more talented opponents in the Hawks and the Lakers. We may have even seen Dwyane Wade's last game in a Heat jersey or the foundations of something real in Chicago (perhaps these two are related...). Regardless of what we saw in the first round one thing is for sure: there's nothing like NBA playoff basketball.

It would have been ideal to get these predictions out before the start of the second round but with the mess that is the NBA playoff schedule, we will have to deal with it. Only the defending conference champions were unanimous picks... So without further ado, your second round playoff predictions:



1. Los Angeles Lakers (beat OKC in 6) vs. 5. Utah Jazz (beat Denver in 6)
John:  Utah's an impressive, balanced team but LA is more impressive and more balanced.  The Jazz are more mature than the Thunder but LA is clicking and they're almost impossible to beat when they're on. Lakers.


Marcus: Regardless of how maligned the Lakers are by the world whenever they don't blow a team out, they're still the defending champions and are still top to bottom more talented than any other team in the league. In my opinion, the Jazz have no one to contend with Kobe at all...not even a pseudo Kobe-stopper of any sort.  Also, Bynum and Gasol will continue to take advantage of the same size difference that they have on everyone else in the league.  The problem is that when they have both of these advantages and they actually pass the ball well...well, that's what creates Game 5 against the Thunder.  Six might be high...but just because it's the highly mercurial Lakers, I'll stick to it.  Kobe will want a few nights off. Lakers in ~6.


Matt: The Utah Jazz definitely are a solid team but in comparison to the Lakers, I don't see this series going the distance. I predict the Lakers will win in 6 games. I attribute the two Jazz wins solely on the play of D.Will throughout the season. The difference for Williams in this series is that Fisher is much more disciplined than Denver's backcourt, which could slow down D.Will alot. With him being neutralized, I don't see who can really stop Kobe, or at least significantly disrupt his offensive rhythm. Lakers.


Michelle: I think that the Thunder may very well have been the team that could pose the biggest challenge to the Lakers run in the West playoffs and if everyone stays healthy and focused the rest of the West might just be a breeze for them. Lakers.


Sport 4 Prophet: I think that the gutsy Jazz run in the first round was halfway dependent on their tenacity and halfway dependent on the fact that the Denver Nuggets are the most talented team of head-cases the league has seen in a while. I don't see the Lakers failing to take advantage of the Utah injuries like Denver did. I just worry about how long it will take them to do it. Lakers in 5.


3. Phoenix Suns (beat Portland in 6) vs. 7. San Antonio Spurs (beat Dallas in 6)
John: The Suns match up with the Spurs better than Dallas, and the Spurs' age will show more and more with every game they play. Suns.


Marcus: Hm....this one could be interesting.  To be completely honest, I can't bring myself to pick against the Spurs.  They just seem to continue to get these infusions of youth (George Hill, Richard Jefferson) that allow their core to lose steps here and there, but still serve as crucial parts of very, very competitive teams.  To be clear, Manu and Tony are still very dangerous players...Tim Duncan considerably less so.  I see Manu Ginobili having a great series against Jason Richardson, and I also see Tony Parker and George Hill having pretty great series against the always defensively questionable Steve Nash.  Amare Stoudemire will make Tim Duncan look like the fairly aged man that he is, but it won't be enough. Spurs in 6.


Matt: PHX has definitely established a decent balance in their scheme; enough to give them an edge over the aging Spurs. Although the Spurs were written off before persuasively "handing it" to Dallas, I'm still not believing the hype enough to know for sure that they would make it to the Western Conference Finals. Suns.


Michelle: I really don't know with this one. I hate the Spurs for what they did to the Mavericks so I want the Suns to win. But it's still a toss-up. Suns.


Sport 4 Prophet: This may be one of the closer series of this round as I was very wrong about how much the Spurs still had in the tank. It will really come down to who can dictate the pace of the game. If the Suns can get out and run against the Spurs they should be able to tire out some of the older members of the San Antonio team. On the other hand if the Spurs are able to slow down the game and limit the number of possessions, they could run the show. Suns in 7. 


1. Cleveland Cavaliers (beat Chicago in 5) vs. 4. Boston Celtics (beat Miami in 5)
John: After game 1, it's pretty clear that the C's can play a full, competitive 48 minutes against 1 of the best teams in the league.  They never give up in the second half of big games, and they'll run the table in the next 4. Celtics.


Marcus: This is an interesting one too in my opinion.  I kind of feel like the Celtics are fine against the Cavs if you were to replace LeBron James with a mere mortal.  Unfortunately, they have LeBron James, who is a force to be reckoned with, as evidenced in Game 4 of the series with the Cavs.  The Celtics are playing loose and happy basketball.  They know the bulls-eye is off of their backs, and they're able to play more freely because of that.  Rondo will have a good series, and Paul Pierce will certainly have a few of those nights which have created his legend.  Unfortunately, at least one of those nights will be overruled by a virtuoso performance by James.  Cavs in 5...hm...maaaaybe six.  But I'll stick to five. Cavs.


Matt: The Cavs have enough experienced, proven role players around James to prevent this series from going to a game 7. I dont see a sweep occurring either so this series is likely to go 4-1 in my opinion. Cavs.


Michelle: I think that the Celtics turned it on in the last series but based off of last nights game I just don't know if they can pull it together. Also LeBron's "injury" doesn't seem to be that much of an issue and even if it is if he can continue to have players like Williams step up they should be fine. Cavs in 5 or 6.


Sport 4 Prophet: I don't know about everyone else but I think that the Cavs need to start playing with a little more urgency than they played with in the Chicago series and the beginning of the 1st game in this series if they want to win a title this year. Anything less than a Finals run would be a disappointment. Boston looked good by the end of their Miami series but that matchup should not have even been close. I think James and company right the ship. Cavs in 6. 

2. Orlando Magic (beat Charlotte in 4) vs. 3. Atlanta Hawks (beat Milwaukee in 7)
John: Simply put, the Hawks won't have an answer for Howard.  The Magic have enough perimeter defenders to take care of Atlanta's shooters. Magic.


Marcus:  So, unquestionably the Magic will win this.  The only question is, how long will it take? I hate these Magic without Hedo, but nonetheless, that's what they have now.  I think it will be a six game series, Although I could see it happening in 5.  I wish I had deep thoughts on it, but I really don't.  This is almost as boring a prediction as the first round Magic match-up. Magic.


Matt: It's extremely hard to NOT choose a rested Howard-Nelson combo. Magic.


Michelle:  The whole Bucks-Hawks series was a joke. Neither of them looked like they would be ready to take on Howard and the Magic especially considering all the rest that the Magic have been able to get. The most interesting part of this series will be seeing how many times Howard unnecessarily fouls out. Magic.


Sport 4 Prophet: While the Suns-Spurs series was the hardest to pick, this is by far the easiest. Did anyone see the first round series for these two teams. The Magic were able to wrap up their match-up in 4 even while their best player, Dwight Howard, spent most of his time on the bench. On the other hand, the Hawks had to go to 7 with a banged up, young Milwaukee Bucks team. Magic in 5.