#7 Indiana Pacers vs. #2 Cleveland Cavaliers: The Cavs didn’t finish the season very strong and dropped to the #2 seed in the east, setting them up with a tough matchup against Paul George and the underachieving Pacers. Indiana has a chance to turn a disappointing season around with no pressure on them to win the series. This could be an interesting series with the matchups at hand but you can’t go against Lebron around this time of year and I just don’t see the Pacers winning a game on the road, which is key in a series like this.
CLEVELAND IN 5
#6 Milwaukee Bucks vs. #3 Toronto Raptors: Jason Kidd’s Bucks look to upset the tough but not really Raptors with running up and down the floor. The Raptors look to get back to the Eastern conference finals with arguably one of the best back courts in the league, and with Drake the ambassador in attendance by making his presence known slapping hands with every player on the roster. He might just make a pregame speech this year which would be comedy. This series screams upset to me but at the same time the Raptors have a better bench which is important against a team that likes to fly in transition. Although, if the Greek Giannis balls out along with upcoming and possibly the rookie of the year in Malcolm Brogdon, they could be a dangerous bunch that commits turnovers and capitalizes. But if you rely on scoring off of turnovers in the playoffs and don’t have a strong half court set when the game slows down, you cross into trouble.
TORONTO IN 6
#8 Chicago Bulls vs. #1 Boston Celtics: The Celtics surprised the world with their finish at the tippity top of the eastern conference. (surprised me too) But seeding doesn’t mean too much when you get deep into May. The Celtics pride themselves on defense and do a great job of turning teams over along with an offense led by the lil guard ready to go to war every second of the game. The haters want Isaiah to fail soooo bad saying he won't be effective in the playoffs because of his small stature but I think his heart to win will be displayed these playoffs. They go against a tough minded bulls team with average talent on the roster. They’re led by Jimmy Butler who should be in a green uniform (hopefully we see that soon), and an old man in Dwyane Wade who could still get you 28 on a real good night. The Celtics are a weak rebounding team making this matchup a weird one since the bulls are very efficient in that category.
BOSTON IN 6
#5 Atlanta Hawks vs. #4 Washington Wizards: The Hawks come into the series with a balanced offensive and defensive team but you can say the same for the red hot Wizards. This is interesting series to me, and I say that not because it’s a 4-5 matchup but simply cuz Dwight Howard is playing and has shown glimpses of his old self. When he’s on top of his game the Hawks look like a top 2 team in the conference. I like the way John Wall has been playing, and his matchup with Schroder could end up with fists flying because of how competitive they are and seem to enjoy chattin on the court. I like the Wizard’s ability to score with Beal and Porter alongside Wall in this series.
WASHINGTON IN 7
#8 Portland Trail Blazers vs. Golden State Warriors: Kevin Durant has returned to the Warriors lineup but we’ll see how effective he can be against playoff defense coming off that knee injury he suffered late in the regular season. With or without Durant, the Warriors are still dangerous. The Blazers come into the playoffs without real fire power but it should be entertaining to see Damian Lillard’s attempt to throw the squad on his back as he usually does. I honestly can’t see the Blazers winning a game in this series though.
GOLDEN STATE IN 4
#5 Utah Jazz vs. #4 Los Angeles Clippers: The Jazz slipped their way into the #5 spot with a solid season led by Gordon Hayward who's averaging a lowkey 21 ppg. Chris Paul (my dawg) looks to capitalize on another opportunity for a playoff run and try to advance to his first conference title series. I like his chances with the Clippers under the radar and could surprise some teams down the road. Blake Griffin is the X factor to every series moving on. If he can play at an elite level, they’ll be a strong squad to deal with.
LA IN 5
#7 Memphis Grizzlies vs. San Antonio Spurs: The Grizzlies are always a physical team that tries to wear you down defensively while looking to pound the ball inside on the offensive end. Marc Gasol is still one of the top centers in the game but he’ll go against great defense as well in Pop’s system. The Spurs have a championship caliber roster along with a youthful image this time around led by superstar Kawhi Leonard. Lamarcus Aldridge could be the man he was a couple seasons ago when he was in Portland. If that’s the case you can catch the Spurs in the finals once again in this era.
SAN ANTONIO IN 7
#6 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. #3 Houston Rockets: The Rockets broke records this season for 3 pointers made and look to outscore their opponents led by MVP candidate James Harden. They don’t play much defense but look to clamp down as they prepare to take on the all time leader in triple doubles/MVP of the league in Russell Westbrook. We’ve witnessed Westbrooks dawg mentality all season. He looks for blood every game so don’t think he’s going to turn it down anytime soon. These old friends Westbrook and Harden should make this an interesting series, along with Pat Beverly covering Westbrook with their past run ins.
HOUSTON IN 7
Sports Writer: Devi Decourcey
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