The NBA regular season has come to a close. We’ve already picked our award winners from the regular season, we’ve had a good laugh at some bloopers and we’ve also started to look ahead at what players could come into the NBA through the draft but the most exciting part of the year is upon us.
The NBA playoffs.
Lets take a look at the first round of the Western Conference NBA playoffs. There are some intriguing matchups from top to bottom.
The number one overall seeded Golden State Warriors take on the eight seeded New Orleans Pelicans who are fighting to get some respect from not only the rest of the league but the Warriors as well.
It’s a Texas two-step when the number two seed Houston Rockets take on the seven seeded Dallas Mavericks with some familiar faces going against each other but now on opposite sides.
What quite possibly could be one of the best first round series of all time features the three seed Los Angeles Clippers going up against the defending NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs. Can Chris Paul and the Clippers defeat the Spurs to get some respect or will San Antonio just make easy work of the Clippers once again?
Finally, it’s a battle of two hurt teams when the four seed Portland Trail Blazers go up against the Memphis Grizzlies. Can either team make it through this series without completely falling apart?
If you need to check when some of these game are being played, you can always see the full schedule right here on the site.
NBA Playoffs: Western Conference Conference
(1) Golden State Warriors vs (8) New Orleans Pelicans
Warriors
I guess Steve Kerr replacing Mark Jackson wasn’t such a bad idea after all? The team with the best record in the league, Kerr took a 51-win team from last year and made them into a 67 win team. This team just doesn’t win, they blow teams out. Their margin of victory this year was 11 and they have arguable the best back court in the game. This team will kill you in transition and are deadly from three-point range, and they shoot as a team 40% from downtown.
This team is very jump shot happy. One of their best strengths is also their weakness. The Warriors are a jump shooting team. That’s where most of their offense comes from. Even the best shooters go cold some nights and there were nights that Klay Thompson and Steph Curry were cold. They have no inside game, which will greatly affect them if they happen to be cold one night. They have to go up against one of the best big men in the league in Anthony Davis in the first round that I think will cause them some trouble. If they get past New Orleans then they will go up against either Portland or Memphis who have a lot of size down in the Paint, something that Golden State lacks. I still think Golden State will win in six games, but these playoff games won’t be blow outs like in the regular season.
Warriors advance to Western Conference Finals but are eliminated by the Spurs.
Pelicans
The Pelicans have made the playoff for the first time since Chris Paul left the team after the 2011 season. They come in fresh off of a win over the Spurs on Wednesday night that sealed their playoff berth for them. They have their lone superstar in Anthony Davis, but they have built a solid team around him with the likes of Jrue Holiday, Eric Gordon, Tyreke Evans, and others. They are a tough team to stop offensively due to the ability of Davis to beat you and he has players like Gordon and Quincy Pondexter who can shoot the ball well. They also have shooting big man Ryan Anderson. Tyreke Evans is a world-class penetrator with good speed and a lot of athleticism. Jrue Holiday is a solid point guard that scores well and passes well. They have good offense that keeps defenses on their toes.
Expect the Pelicans to give the Warriors a small challenge and win at least one game, maybe two. They will lose to the Warriors in the first round in a six game series 4-2.
(2) Houston Rockets vs (7) Dallas Mavericks
Rockets
The Rockets’ main weapon, obviously, is MVP candidate James Harden. The Beard can beat you in so many ways. He can take it to the rack and will finish and/or get fouled almost every time. Of course, he can also knock down shots from deep, and he’s one of the premiere ball-handlers in the league, and can get his shot off the dribble. Their other main strength is their defense. The Rockets’ defense is very underrated. Even with their current injuries, Trevor Ariza and Corey Brewer are great perimeter defenders, and Dwight Howard is one of the best interior defenders in the league when healthy. Plus, Josh Smith can play great D for stretches.
The Rockets two weaknesses are their injuries and lack of depth. These two weaknesses are really one and the same, as their lack of depth is due to injuries. With Patrick Beverly out, their starting point guard is Jason Terry, who should give Rajon Rondo little trouble. Their backcourt depth was further weakened with an injury to K.J. McDaniels. Their frontcourt depth is also low, as Donatas Motiejunas, who has had an excellent season, went down with an injury.
The Rockets will struggle in the first round with their lack of depth, but assuming no further injuries occur, James Harden should be able to lead them through the first round. This series is hard to predict though. Historically, Harden has been bad in the playoffs, and Rondo has been incredible. If that trend continues this year, then the Rockets could lose. However, I’m going to predict that Harden will lead the team to defeating the Mavs in 7.
Mavericks
Dallas Mavericks. Where do we begin? Well with Dallas it’s simple. They need to outscore you at any cost. They have the talent to do it as well and there’s no denying that. Dirk Nowitzki, Monta Ellis and a healthy Chandler Parsons will have no problem putting up 20 each, every night now that it’s playoff time. With Rajon Rondo directing the offense and running an effective pick and roll with Tyson Chandler, they can run up the score without warning.
Their issue, as a team, is their defense. We all know about Tyson Chandler and Rondo’s defensive prowess but there are questions about Dirk, Chandler Parsons and Monta Ellis. Beyond them, guys on the bench like J.J. Barea, Devin Harris, Raymond Felton, Charlie Villanueva and Richard Jefferson aren’t exactly slowing you down. Al-Farouq Aminu is one positive though, he’s played surprisingly well for the Mavericks this season when he gets a chance to play. They have no presence on the interior beyond Tyson, who has played a decreased role this season, so that could be very detrimental, especially when it comes to them matching up with Dwight Howard.
I don’t expect Dallas to make it beyond their first round series with the Rockets. Look for Houston to defeat Dallas in 6 or 7 games.
(3) Los Angeles Clippers vs (6) San Antonio Spurs
Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers the #3 seed in the Western Conference won 14 out of their last 15 games. For that wonderful accomplishment they have been awarded a first round series versus the San Antonio Spurs. If the Clippers want to win they’re going to need Blake Griffin to play like a superstar. They’re going to need him to consistently hit his outside jumper to free up space and create for Reddick and Paul. That way the impact from the Clippers biggest weakness, their bench, is kept to a minimum. It will also be interesting to see how many minutes DeAndre Jordan gets once teams start fouling him and sending him to the free throw line. Home court advantage should help things.
I would’ve picked the clippers to at least make the second round if they had drawn Dallas, Memphis or Houston somehow, but sadly the cookie didn’t crumble that way. My gut is telling me they’ll lose in six to San Antonio but Clippers will not make it past a game seven with the Spurs.
Spurs
They have five guys on the floor at all times who can pass the ball and understand how to move the ball accordingly, their ball movement is top notch and is the model for most NBA teams. The space and pace era starts and ends with the Spurs. They spread you out and making you guard the entire court with shooters. They’ve been here before, they’re the defending champs and it’s literally not their first rodeo. If they want they can play 10 deep beyond the starters with guys like Manu Ginobili, Patty Mills, Boris Diaw, Marco Belinelli, Matt Bonner, and Tiago Splitter. We saw how the Spurs bench can operate in last year’s Finals.
Their dribble penetration is a weakness. Outside of Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green the Spurs are weak on ball stoppers. They’re also, kind of old. They lack major speed and athleticism. They find ways to make up for it, but it’s still part of their vulnerability. Kawhi is their lone horse.
The Spurs can make it as far as they want, but realistically they’ll hit a wall in the conference semi-finals.
(4) Portland Trail Blazers vs (5) Memphis Grizzlies
Blazers
Portland Trail Blazers come into this matchup with the Grizzles hobbling, struggling and fighting off injuries. They have 2 bonafide All-Stars in Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge and there’s no hiding that. Lillard can score and he’s been in the playoffs before, coming up clutch for Portland in their series last year against the Rockets. Aldridge is a beast in the paint both offensively and defensively but his hand is an issue.
Portland’s injuries are ridiculous at this point. Wesley Matthews is done for the season, Aldridge’s hand has a torn ligament in it since February, Arron Afflalo has a shoulder issue now and in the last game of the Blazers season, C.J. McCollum even got hurt. That’s not even fair to them. Beyond that, Damian Lillard has been getting roasted this season so his defense is a big question.
Don’t expect Portland to survive against the Grizzlies in this one.
Grizzlies
On Wednesday night when the dust settled from the crazy fight for the 2nd-6th seed in the Western Conference, the Memphis Grizzlies ended up with the 5th spot and home court advantage against a limping Portland Trail Blazers. Without Wesley Matthews and other injured players, the Trailblazers will have a lot of problems dealing with the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies work comes on the defensive end, where they focus on pressuring you and killing you with pace. With the towers in the frontcourt of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, the Grizzlies will always slow down the pace, which hurts other young teams. The Grizzlies have been having internal problems and have been going through a slump after the All-star break because of injuries to Mike Conley and Tony Allen, they’re starting backcourt.
That being said, the Memphis Grizzlies will blow by the injured Portland Trail Blazers in a series that will be decided in 5 or 6 games. They will face the Golden State Warriors in the 2nd round, which will be where they will exit the NBA playoffs. Defensively the Grizzlies can not handle the pace of the Warriors, and therefore the Grizzlies will leave with an early exit once again.
