Waxing Prediculous

By: Andrew Walker



Outside of March Madness, the NBA playoffs represent the pinnacle of sports. The NBA truly showcases the greatness of basketball and what the game can be. As much fun as March Madness can be, its painful to watch college players miss layups and routinely shoot below 50% from the free throw line. Anyone who watched this year’s NCAA Basketball Championship game would have trouble disagreeing with me.

The NBA also has the best athletes of any major American sport. NFL defensive linemen may be physical freaks, but they don’t compare to the athleticism, control or precision of the Blake Griffin or LeBron James’ of the NBA. Case and point, Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates, and Julius Peppers are all NFL superstars and former college basketball players. Despite their athleticism, none of them were good enough to be serious NBA prospects. If LeBron James went to the NFL as a tight end, he would break every NFL tight end record.

Football players also have trouble playing basketball at its highest level. Take Charlie Ward as an example. Charlie Ward is one of the few top football players to make it to the NBA. In college, Charlie Ward was dominant at Florida State and won a Heisman trophy. As his college career was ending, he decided to take his talents to the NBA rather than the NFL and ended with a mediocre career.

Now that I’ve established the NBA is superior to the NFL, let’s talk NBA playoffs and predictions.



EASTERN CONFERENCE

Quarterfinals
Bulls vs Pacers



This matchup doesn’t warrant much discussion. The Bulls are heavily favored, have the league’s MVP in Derrick Rose, Coach of the Year in Tom Thibodeau, a high-energy team that plays solid defense, and the NBA’s best record. As the season has gone on, the Bulls have grown and progressed as a team.

The Pacers are a team on the mend, but don’t have a realistic shot of competing with the Bulls. Although much improved from last season, the Pacers finished the season 8 games under .500 and only won 5 of their last 10 games. Danny Granger is the classic scorer, a la Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony, that doesn’t produce quality wins for your team.



My Prediction: Bulls sweep the Pacers. The Bulls will make quick work of the Pacers and be well rested for their next opponent.

Heat vs 76ers



The Heat are on the road to winning 7 or more championships…wait, that was LeBron, D-Wade, and Chris Bosh’s prediction after coming out of a WWE smoke machine and having won 0 games together. Their press conference was as awkward and uncomfortable as Ricky Martin in the “She Bangs” music video. Awkward and uncomfortable perfectly describes the Heat this year. The team routinely goes from showing flashes of brilliance to complete mediocrity. Everyone has written this season off for the Heat, but I disagree and wouldn’t be surprised to see the Heat in the Finals. The Celtics and Magic have fallen apart at the end of the regular season and the Bulls might be too young and inexperienced to get through the Heat.

Although the 2 vs 7 seeds are typically one-sided matchups, I think this series will be tough for the Heat. The 76ers have made substantial improvements from last year and have a young and energetic team. The team is playing well together, the players trust each other, and have great coaching. The 76ers have the makings of being the 2010-11 “nobody believes in us team”. Unfortunately, I don’t believe in them either.



My Prediction: This will be one of the most intriguing matchups of the first round. The Heat will win the series, but the Sixers will give LeBron, D-Wade, and Bosh all they can handle. The Heat will have to work for it and take the series 4-2.

Celtics vs Knicks
This is the tale of two teams that went through substantial mid-season changes.

The Celtics entered the All-Star game less than 2 months ago with the top seat in the East and fans planning their trips to LA for a Finals rematch. Then the Kendrick Perkins trade happened and the team hasn’t been the same. Locker room chemistry is in shambles, the team has been playing sub-par basketball and they’ve slipped to the 3rd spot in the Eastern Conference.

Everyone has written them off, including Celtics fans. Last year the Celtics played mediocre basketball until the playoffs. This year, Celtic fans don’t think the team can turn around their downward trajectory.

The Knicks are the most fascinating team to watch in the playoffs because no one knows what to expect. Carmelo Anthony joined the team just after the All-Star break and New York has beaten the best and lost to the worst. The Knicks have somewhat hit their stride and ended the season winning 7 of the last 10, but have played weak opponents and cannot play defense. Regardless of recent success, the Knicks are a team in a leadership crisis. Amare Stoudemire left Phoenix for a big contract and to have his own team. Well, he got a big contract and his own team for half a season. Now, the Knicks are like a football team with a two-quarterback system. This might be their undoing in the playoffs.



My Prediction: The Celtics will pull this out in a close series based on the Celtics’ depth. Amare & Carmelo don’t have the team or the chemistry to beat the Celtics. The Celtics win the series 4-2.

Atlanta vs Orlando
This series will almost be unbearable and is not worth talking about much. The winner of this series will earn itself the right to get knocked out swiftly in the next round by Chicago. Atlanta has sputtered into the playoffs, losing 6 straight, and Orlando has fallen apart. The NBA is so unexcited about the matchup and will show several of the games on NBA TV.

Atlanta will dissolve its nucleus this summer, trade Josh Smith, and still be left owing Joe Johnson more than $100 million over the next five years. Oops!



My Prediction: Orlando wins the series 4-1 in potentially the most forgettable series of the playoffs.

(Source: prediculous.com)