Eastern Conference
No. 1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers vs. No. 4 seed Atlanta Hawks
The Cavs were 40-1 at home this season, and I don’t see the road-weary Hawks cracking the Cavs home armor. MVP LeBron James is simply unstoppable. Expect multiple triple-doubles as he steps up his intensity for the playoffs. What gets lost with the Cavs is their stingy defense. The Cavs allow 91.4 points per game, which is the least allowed in the NBA. Their field-goal percentage defense is also the best in the NBA. In the four-game sweep against the Pistons, the Cavs allowed just 78 points per game.
The most interesting matchup in this series will be James vs. Josh Smith. Smith has the athletitic ability to block LeBron’s shot, but I expect LeBron to bulldoze his away into layups.
Expect the Hawks to win a game at home and have some success shooting the three-ball, but for LeBron to close them out in five.
Cavs in five
No. 2 seed Boston Celtics vs. No. 3 seed Orlando Magic
The Celtics survived a riveting series against Chicago Bulls, winning Game 7 in Boston by 10. Ray Allen was unbelievable throughout the series, making 27 threes in the seven games.
Meanwhile, the Magic limped into the playoffs and it showed against the 76ers. They lost two of the first three games of the series, with Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis getting outplayed by Thaddeus Young and Andre Iguodala. But, after surviving Game 4 with a game-winning three-pointer by Turkoglu, the Magic guards took over the series. In fact, with Howard suspended for Game 6, the Magic still won in the Wachovia Center by 25.
With the Magic hot and the Celtics reeling from a brutal series, I see an upset brewing. Unless Kevin Garnett can magically appear and limit Dwight Howard from dominating this series, I think the Magic will win this one in six.
Magic in six
Western Conference
No. 1 seed Los Angeles Lakers vs. No. 5 seed Houston Rockets
The Rockets surprised me when their defense limited the Blazers offense. The Rockets may be the best defensive team in the league, with Yao Ming patrolling the paint and Ron Artest and Shane Battier shutting down the perimeter. The Rockets have the talent to beat the Lakers, and with the first-round monkey off their back, they could ride that momentum into a stunning upset.
But, the Lakers may have the best team since Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls. Even Jordan did not have big men like Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, although Kobe does lack an all-around star like Scottie Pippen. In any event, the Lakers are the most talented team in the playoffs, and the “Zen Master” got his defense to step up in the first round against the Jazz. Expect the Rockets to hold the Lakers to under 100 points in most games, but the for Lakers defense to step up in the big moments.
Lakers in six
No. 2 seed Denver Nuggets vs. No. 6 Dallas Mavericks
It came as no surprise that the Mavericks defeated the crippled Spurs. But, it was surprising that they did so in five dominate games. Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Howard and Jason Terry are a difficult three-some to contain, and Rick Carlisle has this team playing its best defense of the season.
The Nuggets also looked awesome in their first-round series win against the Hornets. In Game 4, the Nuggets won in New Orleans by an NBA playoff record 58 points. The Hornets are way too good to be defeated by that much, unless they are completely overmatched. The Nuggets are capable of that type of performance on any given night. J.R. Smith can score at will, Carmelo Anthony is unstoppable one-on-one and Nene is a force inside. But, the key to this team has been the playoff-leader and veteran Chauncey Billups.
I see Billups making his seventh straight conference finals. Billups will run circles around Jason Kidd, and when the Nuggets need to make a play down the stretch, “Mr. Big Shot” will make it.
Nuggets in seven
Joey Akeley
-Multimedia Editor
