Eastern Conference Finals
#1 Atlanta Hawks vs #2 Cleveland Cavaliers
The Eastern Conference finals will pit the two best teams in the East all year. The Hawks ousted the Wizard’s in 6 games, and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Chicago Bulls in 6. The bulls were up 2-1 in that series, but when Cleveland won game 4 in Chicago with Lebron’s buzzer beater to even the series up that’s when the momentum shifted to the Cavs. The Bulls would’ve been up 3-1, but Cleveland tied the series and went on to beat the Bulls in 6. Lebron took over when he needed to, and Derrick Rose didn’t show up during the second half of game 6. The Cavs have been without Kevin Love, and it hasn’t hurt them thus far, but when they face the top-seeded Atlanta Hawks that could change.
I think the Hawks will pose some match up problems for the Cavs. The Hawks have a bunch of good players, but they don’t have that true star. One thing they have going for them in this series is the home court advantage, but that hasn’t meant a whole lot in these playoffs. The Hawks beat the wizard’s without a healthy John Wall and if that three pointer by Paul Pierce counted that series would’ve went 7 games. The Hawks also had a little bit of trouble in that first round against the Nets. I believe this will be a real competitive series, Atlanta will not back down to the Cavs and I think they have the advantage on the inside with Paul Millsap and Al Horford, but I also thought the Bulls would have the advantage on the inside. The difference between the Bulls and the Hawks is that the Hawks play a more efficient style of offense. They move the ball really well and don’t get stagnant on the offensive end like the Bulls were known to do. I don’t believe the Hawks have had a true test yet, and they will get one when they face Lebron and the Cavs. I’m not sure the Hawks will have an answer for Lebron, but I think they will make this a series and it will go 7. Cleveland will advance to the finals
Prediction: Cleveland Cavaliers in 7.
Western Conference Finals
#1 Golden State Warriors vs #2 Houston Rockets
The Western Conference finals will also pit #1 vs #2. The Warriors have had the best record this season and have pretty much coasted in these playoffs with not a whole lot of problems. They are led by the MVP Steph Curry and his splash brother partner Klay Thompson, and are coached by Steve Kerr, who has done one hell of a job with them. The Rockets were down 3-1 against the Clippers and the Clippers choked and blew that series. This loss has to be on Chris Paul and coach Doc Rivers. Paul is a great player and one of my favorites to watch, but he is not a proven winner and hasn’t even reached a Conference final yet, which is sad in my opinion. The Clippers had the series in their hands, and blew it in the 4th quarter of game 6 at home. They blew a 19 point lead as they let the Rockets score 40 in the 4th. I don’t know what happened, I guess they fell asleep. When you are up that much you have to close out. In game 7 the Clippers didn’t even show up and Houston had the lead the whole game and went on to beat the Clippers in 7. It’s a rare feat for a team to come back from a 3-1 deficit. The Rockets were just the 9th team in NBA history to come back from a 3-1 series deficit. No team has come back from a 3-0 deficit.
The Warriors faced the Rockets 4 times this year and all 4 games went to the Warriors. They won by double digits each game, so they had very little trouble vs Houston this year. The Rockets obviously have to try to stop the warriors from the perimeter, but that’s easier said than done when you arguably have the best two shooters in the NBA playing in the same back court. I think that James Harden is a key X-factor in this series. The Rockets will only do as well as he plays. The knack on Harden is that he doesn’t play defense, but do the Warriors have anyone to stop James Harden on the defensive end? If this series is anything like the match-ups these two teams had during the season then I think this will be a pretty easy series win for Golden State. The Rockets also had to expends alot of energy to come back in the series vs the Clippers and have to play on only 1 day of rest.
Prediction: Warriors in 6.
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