Just like the NHL, I wasn’t around for the first few games to be able to talk about my picks. I’m going to have to make this short and sweet as i’m at work, just like the NHL one.

Just like the NHL picks, I will redo these every round.

Cavs over Pistons in 4

Pistons have shown nothing. They could have avoided this matchup with a late season win, but faltered and now they’ll pay the price. The years of the Spurs and Pistons are done.

 

Celts over Bulls in 7

The way the Bulls have been playing they remind me of the Hawks in the first round last year. Gordon and Rose should be able to carry them to 1 or 2 more victories each, but in the end the Celtics are just better, with or without Kevin Garnett.

 

Magic over 76ers in 7

Magic are hurting and have high expectations in the playoffs for the first time since Shaq left for the Lakers in the 90s. They will win the series, but the other AI (Andre Igoudala) and company will make it tougher than everyone thinks.

 

Hawks over Heat in 7

Dwayne Wade has a lot of youngsters around him. I know i’m picking 3 serieses to go 7, but I feel like the East is up and coming and the teams are a lot closer than people think. Wade will carry his team for 3 wins, but the Hawks were growing last year and have only gotten better. They’re good enough to push into the 2nd round, and this should be the best series to watch come games 5, 6, and 7.

 

Lakers over Jazz in 5

The Jazz can’t play on the road. They got their 1 win at home. They may keep game 4 close, but will probably lose in the same fashion they lost game 2. Game 5 is going to be all LA.

 

Nuggets over Hornets in 6

Chris Paul is too good to get swept. The Billups trade has obviously made the Nuggets contenders. Billups should get the job done 4 out of 6 times against Paul as he has the better team around him right now. West and Chandeler need to show up.

 

Spurs over Mavs in 7

I would have said 6, so i’m cheating a bit as the Mavs have already won 2 games. Tim Duncan is a champion, Dirk Nowitzki is not. That should be the difference. Not to mention Jason Kidd has slowed down and Tony Parker is on a tear. With or without Manu Ginobili, the Spurs are a better team. Roger Mason (the new Robert Horry) with a game 7 game winning 3 pointer.

 

Blazers over Rockets in 7

This should be just as good as the Hawks and Heat series. The young Blazers have the 2nd best shooting gaurd in the game in Brandon Roy and a bunch of young talent that I think can get the job done against Yao. This series could go either way, but the Blazers have the better star and are just a bit more exciting to watch. They’ll also pose great problems for the Lakers in round 2, I think they pull it off.

 

Eastern Conference Semis:

 

Magic over Celtics in 7 (Magic get a bit healthier and without KG no one is going to stop Dwight Superman Howard. We’d all love to see the Celtics and Cavs go at it, but without KG its just not the same, and the Celts may just not get there.)

 

Cavs over Hawks in 5 (I feel like the Cavs will dominate the young Hawks and the Hawks are a year away. Moving up 1 round every year!)

 

Western Conference Semis:

 

Lakers over Blazers in 6 (Blazers will pose problems. The best 2 sg’s in the league will go at it in Kobe and Roy. Kobe is just too good, especially on defense. Blazers should be able to sneak a win or 2, maybe even 3, but they’re not winning this series.)

 

Nuggets over Spurs in 6 (this should look much like the Nuggets/Hornets 1st round series, Billups should get the job done 4 out of 6 times against Parker as well, especially with the team clicking at the right time.)

 

Eastern Conference Finals:

 

Cavs over Magic in 6 (2 superstars go at it. Reminds me of Shaq and Kobe. 2 future hall of famers. The Cavs are just too good though, they’ll probably take 1 road game and they’re not going to lose at home.)

 

Western Conference Finals:

 

Lakers over Nuggets in 5 (Nugs might steal a game, but they got dominated by the Lakers recently.)

 

Finals:

 

This is a toughy. Cavs vs. Lakers is everyones consensus picks. I will have to go with the Lakers though in 7. This may be tough as the Cavs don’t lose at home, but Lebron doesn’t face Kobe everyday. Kobe has the championship experience and two 7 footers that can dominate. No Z can’t dominate and I don’t care who thinks otherwise, he will get beat in this series. And it may just be the difference as long as the Lakers point gaurds don’t get beat by Mo Williams.

Yes…this article is about six weeks too early…and yes I am looking into the future…with Kevin Garnett possibly not playing in the entire playoffs and Orlando’s starting forwards (Hedo and Lewis) not at full strength the best chance for any East team to beat the Cavs will be the Hawks, they have the length to compete with Lebron and Joe Johnson should have have a field day against Delonte West.

 

Out West…the Lakers start off by playing the Jazz who are already with a hobbling Okur and Boozer isn’t at 100% yet…they have already taken care of the Rockets multiple times this season and the winner of the Mavs/Nuggets series (both will win their first round matchups against the Spurs and Hornets respectively) won’t give the Lakers any problems in the Western Conference Championship round….honestly…the best chance any team out West has of beating the Lakers would be the Blazers…they match up very well against the Lakers from the 1-8 positions..in fact I would argue that Brandon Roy/Rudy Fernandez is a better starting/backup scenario than Kobe/Sasha (which by the way is the reason the Lakers lost in the Finals last year..not because of Gasol’s so called softness but because Kobe had to guard Rondo/Pierce/Allen at the same time)…nonetheless I expect the Lakers to come of of the West and face the Cavs in the finals.

 

Now this is where it gets interesting…I know most people believe that the lakers are more talented..because it is true, the Lakers on paper do have more talented players than the Cavs do…but the Cavs team is so much better built in terms of their offense and skillset that each brings to their team, I believe they do have the better overall team than the Lakers.  If you are telling me that Ariza is a better player than Wally Sczerbiak then you are highly mistaken, Wally is one of the most underrated scorers in the league and has averaged at least 18 and 5 in three different seasons and should easily be able to handle Ariza and Odom during stretches of a game..who along with Mo Williams (who averaged 18ppg this season) spread the floor beautifully for Lebron to do his work.  Big Z holds the middle down very well and should be able to play Bynum to a draw; yes Gasol will win the matchup of whomever is guarding him but Mo Williams will also easily win his matchups against the Lakers PGs

 

So it comes down to the best players on each team.  The Lakers won both the games this season against the Cavs (one without Bynum) and the main reason was because of Kobe’s defense against Lebron.  If anyone has watched the Lakers play this season Kobe is the BEST on the ball and 1-1 defender in the league (with Kirk Hinrich coming in second) , yes he doesn’t block as many shots as Lebron or Wade..but he reguarly stops the opposing player on defense than either of those do, and I feel that he will take his D to a whole another level against Lebron in this series and allow Gasol and Bynum to handle majority of the offensive work for the Lakers.

Lakers in 6