The Most Wonderful Time of the Year: Rise of the Small Markets
I had this done Thursday, April 17. However, I got caught up with one thing after another and didn't get to edit and post it...Though the games began, the integrity of my picks has not been compromised.
I do not want to sound like talking head stat guy by saying this, but I will take that chance. This is the first time in NBA history the postseason will not feature the Lakers, Celtics, and Knickerbockers, easily the 3 most prestigious NBA franchises. It would also be great if the 76ers could be good again. Chicago is the only mega-market power team that came through this season. Therefore, we are left with the rest of NBA which is made up of lucky bad teams that just so happen to be in the Eastern Conference, and small and medium market teams that just so happen to have superstars or be very well ran.
Nonetheless, I love basketball. I hope absence of the Lakers, Celtics, and Knicks do not take away the luster from this year's playoffs as they will still be good. We assumed the East was going to be a sleepwalk until the conference finals, but perhaps not! The West is going to be absolutely insane as it has been for the last 15 years. Phoenix probably had one of greatest performing seasons for a non-playoff team ever. 48 wins gets your the 3-seed in the East, by the way, which is what Phoenix ended with. Damn.
Anyway, on to the teams that actually made it. No more tanking or contrived drama. On to the games!
Eastern Conference
(1) Pacers vs. (8) Hawks
I would have most likely gave this series the snoozefest treatment, but oh no! Atlanta recently embarrassed Indiana and Indiana has not responded well to success. Handling failure gets talked about often, but it is often times handling of success that makes or breaks people or organizations. Indy has always struck me as a team that felt like they arrived and could be the cool team. Once things got really bad, they realized there was a problem, which is good news. Atlanta has been surprisingly [relatively] good once Horford went down for the season. If they can hit their 3's, then they will make this very interesting as Indy does not score the ball with regularity. I expect Atlanta to challenge Indy a few games and may get one of them, but Indy is still far superior. Pacers in five.
(4) Bulls vs. (5) Wizards
I am one of the biggest cynics when it comes to teams opting out of higher seeds. I will always believe Brooklyn "rested" their players and gave up the 5-seed to avoid Chicago. Chicago is one of those teams superior teams know they can beat, but they also know they are going to leave that series battered and bruised. As a basketball purist, I love watching Chicago actually have to scratch, claw, and execute like hell to win games as they do not have any offensive stars that can drop 40 on any given night. Washington is really not a good team despite their 5-seeding. Wall is very explosive and he indeed has taken a step forward, but I do not expect much out of a team with two youngsters as their best two players. But it is good for them that they are getting the experience. While DC has two young studs in Wall and Beal, Chicago is going to totally out basketball the hell out of them. I do not expect a long series. Bulls in five.
(3) Velociraptors vs. (6) [Worst Nickname in all of Sports...Even Worse Than the Whittier College Poets]
I will definitely be rooting for the Raptors as they are getting no respect. If they were respected, would the Nets have really just given up a higher seed to play the Raptors? The Raptors are not too shabby. Granted, they are inflated because of a horrid Eastern Conference, but they actually have guys that can play. Amir Johnson has improved, Terrence Ross is frightening in the open court on the wing. Lowry and all-star DeRozan in the backcourt is more than formidable. Also, their bench is pretty solid. The Nets have far more name recognition, but they have a post-prime Pierce and Garnett and the enigmatic back court of Deron Williams and Joe Johnson. If these two absolutely ball out, then Brooklyn could actually be dangerous. However, they have not convinced me that they can do this. Many will probably take Brooklyn, but I will go with the upswing team by taking the Raptors in seven.
(2) Heat vs. (7) Bobcats
Shot out to the Bobcats, who will cease to exist after they get swept in the playoffs. Oops! I just gave my pick away. I will say this before I give my official pick. Al Jefferson is problem. He is actually very beast like on the block and out to 12-15 feet. Bosh does not have the strength to totally shut him down. If he asserts himself he will be a thorn in Miami's side. Either way, Heat sweep.
Western Conference
(1) Spurs vs. (8) Dallas
Dallas coach Rick Carlisle should win the Nobel Prize. I mean to get this roster to the playoffs with an aging Dirk and somehow getting Monta Ellis to be a controlled team player and not just a jacker makes him more than deserving of the award. I mean it is remarkable. The Spurs again and again are my absolute favorite team to watch from a pure basketball standpoint. They play basketball with very little nonsense. Again, this roster is not one that overwhelms teams with an aging Duncan and oft injured Ginobili. This will be one of my favorite first round series. Carlisle and Pop will be engaged in a great chess match. While this will be a great series to watch, Dallas is an 8-seed for a reason. Their perimeter defense is a weakness and that will hurt them against a team that plays perimeter offense to the level of the Spurs. Spurs in six. Will be a good series early and the Spurs will pull away as the better team prevails as time increases.
(4) Rockets vs. (5) Trail Blazers
The Rockets are the epitome of the new way of NBA basketball. From a philosophical standpoint, they either shoot from the paint or launch 3's. It has obviously worked during the regular season, but I cannot wait to see what happens in the playoffs when it is more pressurized and teams have plenty of time to scout and tighten up their defense. The Blazers were hot, cooled off for a while, and then started playing good ball again. They are an interesting team. My question is do they have that nastiness to go into hostel territory to win high stakes playoff games at this moment? They have a nice blend of veterans and youngsters, so we shall see. My money is on them being a year away from really planting their flag as a West Coast contender and could fill the opening left by San Antonio should they ever feel like falling off, which is unlikely. This will probably be an action packed, high scoring affair. Houston in seven.
(3) Clippers vs. (6) Warriors
This has kind of flared up to being a junior rivalry with the potential of becoming a must see TV rivalry. Griffin has made a huge leap this year. He is now able to control the game with his offense rather than just being a scoring accessory. I have been impressed and glad people can finally get off his back. The Clippers are loaded and healthy and playing with a fire and confidence to a level not seen before which can be attributed to the attitude and accountability Doc has brought to the organization. People ragging on the Warriors need to shut up. Mark Jackson has taken way too much flack. How quickly people forget the Warriors have not done squat since the Rick Berry era. It does not help that their main big man is injury riddled, which does not help them on the boards. With Griffin and Jordan and no Bogut, the Clippers will have a distinct advantage in the paint with will skew the series by a lot. Clippers in five.
(2) Thunder vs. (7) Grizzly Bears
Bad match up. The Bears match up better against the Spurs who play more half court though they up the tempo more than people think. OKC's length and athleticism is just overwhelming all the while the Bears are not capable of getting into uptempo barn burners. The Bears' only chance is to dominate the tempo by slowing the game down, but even then OKC still has Ibaka and Perkins, who will be up against one of about 4 teams he is useful against. I do not like it for the Bears. OKC still has the new improved angry Durant who cannot be stopped. Thunder in fo'.
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| 2014 marks the first time that the playoffs, as we know it, will not feature any of the above teams...EVER. |
I do not want to sound like talking head stat guy by saying this, but I will take that chance. This is the first time in NBA history the postseason will not feature the Lakers, Celtics, and Knickerbockers, easily the 3 most prestigious NBA franchises. It would also be great if the 76ers could be good again. Chicago is the only mega-market power team that came through this season. Therefore, we are left with the rest of NBA which is made up of lucky bad teams that just so happen to be in the Eastern Conference, and small and medium market teams that just so happen to have superstars or be very well ran.
Nonetheless, I love basketball. I hope absence of the Lakers, Celtics, and Knicks do not take away the luster from this year's playoffs as they will still be good. We assumed the East was going to be a sleepwalk until the conference finals, but perhaps not! The West is going to be absolutely insane as it has been for the last 15 years. Phoenix probably had one of greatest performing seasons for a non-playoff team ever. 48 wins gets your the 3-seed in the East, by the way, which is what Phoenix ended with. Damn.
Anyway, on to the teams that actually made it. No more tanking or contrived drama. On to the games!
Eastern Conference
(1) Pacers vs. (8) Hawks
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| #StruggleFace |
(4) Bulls vs. (5) Wizards
I am one of the biggest cynics when it comes to teams opting out of higher seeds. I will always believe Brooklyn "rested" their players and gave up the 5-seed to avoid Chicago. Chicago is one of those teams superior teams know they can beat, but they also know they are going to leave that series battered and bruised. As a basketball purist, I love watching Chicago actually have to scratch, claw, and execute like hell to win games as they do not have any offensive stars that can drop 40 on any given night. Washington is really not a good team despite their 5-seeding. Wall is very explosive and he indeed has taken a step forward, but I do not expect much out of a team with two youngsters as their best two players. But it is good for them that they are getting the experience. While DC has two young studs in Wall and Beal, Chicago is going to totally out basketball the hell out of them. I do not expect a long series. Bulls in five.
(3) Velociraptors vs. (6) [Worst Nickname in all of Sports...Even Worse Than the Whittier College Poets]
I will definitely be rooting for the Raptors as they are getting no respect. If they were respected, would the Nets have really just given up a higher seed to play the Raptors? The Raptors are not too shabby. Granted, they are inflated because of a horrid Eastern Conference, but they actually have guys that can play. Amir Johnson has improved, Terrence Ross is frightening in the open court on the wing. Lowry and all-star DeRozan in the backcourt is more than formidable. Also, their bench is pretty solid. The Nets have far more name recognition, but they have a post-prime Pierce and Garnett and the enigmatic back court of Deron Williams and Joe Johnson. If these two absolutely ball out, then Brooklyn could actually be dangerous. However, they have not convinced me that they can do this. Many will probably take Brooklyn, but I will go with the upswing team by taking the Raptors in seven.
(2) Heat vs. (7) Bobcats
Shot out to the Bobcats, who will cease to exist after they get swept in the playoffs. Oops! I just gave my pick away. I will say this before I give my official pick. Al Jefferson is problem. He is actually very beast like on the block and out to 12-15 feet. Bosh does not have the strength to totally shut him down. If he asserts himself he will be a thorn in Miami's side. Either way, Heat sweep.
Western Conference
(1) Spurs vs. (8) Dallas
Dallas coach Rick Carlisle should win the Nobel Prize. I mean to get this roster to the playoffs with an aging Dirk and somehow getting Monta Ellis to be a controlled team player and not just a jacker makes him more than deserving of the award. I mean it is remarkable. The Spurs again and again are my absolute favorite team to watch from a pure basketball standpoint. They play basketball with very little nonsense. Again, this roster is not one that overwhelms teams with an aging Duncan and oft injured Ginobili. This will be one of my favorite first round series. Carlisle and Pop will be engaged in a great chess match. While this will be a great series to watch, Dallas is an 8-seed for a reason. Their perimeter defense is a weakness and that will hurt them against a team that plays perimeter offense to the level of the Spurs. Spurs in six. Will be a good series early and the Spurs will pull away as the better team prevails as time increases.
(4) Rockets vs. (5) Trail Blazers
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| Barn burner alert! |
(3) Clippers vs. (6) Warriors
(2) Thunder vs. (7) Grizzly Bears
Bad match up. The Bears match up better against the Spurs who play more half court though they up the tempo more than people think. OKC's length and athleticism is just overwhelming all the while the Bears are not capable of getting into uptempo barn burners. The Bears' only chance is to dominate the tempo by slowing the game down, but even then OKC still has Ibaka and Perkins, who will be up against one of about 4 teams he is useful against. I do not like it for the Bears. OKC still has the new improved angry Durant who cannot be stopped. Thunder in fo'.
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