Previewing the NBA playoffs

by Devin Cloherty           

With the NBA season coming to a close, the playoff push is heating up and the post season bracket is beginning to solidify.  The eastern and western conference teams are playing their hardest going down the stretch to try to earn their desired seeding.  In the eastern conference, second place Miami Heat are once again favored to win.  The Western conference, like recent years, is wide open due to all of the talent throughout the bracket. Let’s see how this year’s playoff picture is looking.

                First, let’s start off with the eastern conference standings.  Leading the pack are the Indiana Pacers, led by strong rebounding and consistent scoring.   The Pacers feature two of the league’s premier scoring big centers in Roy Hibbert and recent acquisition Andrew Bynum, as well as the breakout star Paul George.  With a strong supporting cast including Tyler Hansborough and Lance Stevenson, as well as a deep bench, the Pacers are poised to make a deep playoff run.

                The next few seeds show a major dropoff in talent following the second-seeded Heat.  The Heat, while not having the best regular season this year after a myriad of injuries and a barrage of close losses, have maintained a great record.  They’ve been an absolutely unstoppable force the last three years in the playoffs, steamrolling through whatever teams have stood in their way with their unfair trio of Lebron, Dywane Wade and Chris Bosh and a cast of sharp-shooters.  In third place sit the Toronto Raptors, about ten games behind the Heat.  The Raptors have shot up in the standings since last year, led by young up and comers Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan.  Despite a decent starting line-up, lack of postseason and overall NBA experience will likely make them struggle.  Finishing off the bottom half is the fourth seeded Chicago Bulls, who’ve recently struggled and dropped in the standings.  Their former MVP-point guard Derrick Rose is injured for the third year in a row.  Second-tier big men Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer along with point guard D.J. Augustin have maintained an above average team in Rose’s absence.  The Bulls recent playoffs struggles are likely to resurface again this season.

                In the bottom half of the playoffs, the Brooklyn Nets lead the pack with strong rebound, the conference’s best point guard in Deron Williams, and shooting guard Joe Johnson.  This year’s recruitment of veterans Paul Peirce, Kevin Garnett, and Jason Terry significantly aided the Nets’ chances to make a deep playoff run.  In the Western conference, the San Antonio Spurs are leading the pack once again.  The Spurs feature perhaps the league’s most experienced and championship tested trio in Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.  Since 2000, this squad of veterans has played in four NBA Finals and won three, in addition to being a perennial contender in the Western Conference.  It would be no surprise to see the Spurs in the finals again this year.

                Next in the standings is the Oklahoma City Thunder featuring the 3-time NBA scoring champion forward Kevin Durant.  Durant’s supporting cast is not too shabby either; the Thunder boast the league’s greatest scoring point guard in Russell Westbrook.  OKC also has solid defensive presence with guards Sefolosha and big men Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka.  The third seed in the Western Conference are the LA Clippers.  The Clippers have never been able to break out of the first round of the playoffs in recent years, despite having an explosive and high flying offense.  Chris Paul is universally recognized as the league’s premier Point Guard and Blake Griffin is unstoppable in the paint.  With the addition of swingmen Danny Granger and Jared Dudley and former NBA champion coach Doc Rivers, the Clippers might finally be ready to make a push for the Finals.  Rounding up the top half of the West are the Houston Rockets, my personal dark horse pick to win the west.   The Rockets gave the Thunder just about all they could handle last year in the first round of the playoffs, and have since developed greatly.  James Harden is a full blown NBA superstar, and the addition of the league’s best defensive center, Dwight Howard definitely didn’t hurt.  Houston has a legitimate chance at making a drive.

                  The bottom half of the bracket in the West is competitive as always.  The fifth seeded Portland Trail Blazers have been on a slide as of late, after starting off hot and in first place.  LaMarcus Alderidge and friends have been putting up impressive performances regardless.  Portland may struggle in the first round when matched up against Houston or the Clippers.  Next, in sixth place are the Golden State Warriors.  The Warriors could match up well with the LA Clippers, due to their strengths being in the same areas.  Guard Stephen Curry and Forward David Lee are both stars and could help Golden State out in the first round.  In seventh place sit the Memphis Grizzlies, who lost in the conference finals last year to the Spurs.  The Grizzlies have some strength in the big man department with 4-5 Zach Randolph and huge center Marc Gasol.  Despite strong defensive contributions from the backcourt and guards Mike Conley and Tony Allen, the Grizzlies offense is unimpressive and likely will fail them in this year’s postseason.  At the bottom of the bracket, the eighth seed is currently a tie between the Dallas Mavericks and the Phoenix Suns.  Though the Suns have been hot this year, the Mavs have been a staple in the Western Conference playoffs, and have a more real chance of qualifying.

                Now it’s time for the fun part; the picks.  Miami is too good not to win the eastern conference once again, and much to the dismay of many basketball fans, they’ll make their fourth straight appearance in the Finals.  To get out of the East, they’ll have to first get through the Brooklyn Nets in the conference finals.  In the West, the Spurs are my pick to represent their conference in the NBA Finals.  The Spurs will play the explosive Thunder in the conference finals.

                Finally, The Bull’s Eye’s prediction for the NBA Finals: Spurs over Heat in seven games.  It’ll be exciting to watch the postseason play out.  Happy watching NBA fans!