Poll
2008 First Round Playoff Predictions
April 19, 2008
The 2008 NBA Playoffs get underway today, and with the Bobcats on the outside looking in while having just finished their fourth year in the league, Matt Rochinski and Malinda Murray of bobcats.com checked in with Bobcats Television Play-By-Play Announcer Steve Martin to get his take and some predictions on the first round matchups in both the Eastern and Western Conferences. Rochinski and Murray also gave their takes and predictions for Round 1.
|
BOSTON CELTICS (1) vs. ATLANTA HAWKS (8)
MARTIN: Boston has been playing for this since the trade went down last summer. Hawks have athletic wings who can give the Celtics fits (just like Gerald Wallace and Jason Richardson). However, they are but a small bump in the road for the Big Three and friends.
PREDICTION: C’s in four straight.
ROCHINSKI: Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen were brought in for one reason and one reason only – to restore the Celtics to elite status and bring home an NBA Championship. Anything less will be considered a failure and the Celtics know it. They’ve shown they are ready since the opening tip of the season, dominating teams throughout the league along the way with a high-octane offense and stifling defense. Atlanta is happy to be back in the playoffs for the first time since 1999, but they won’t stick around long.
PREDICTION: Celtics in five.
MURRAY: The Celtics have been dominant all season and from the looks of it that should easily continue in the first round as they face an Atlanta team that squeaked into the playoffs with a 37-45 record. Boston not only has the Big Three to carry them, they have a solid group of players surrounding them. In addition to the Big Three, seven other players average more than six points a game for Boston.
PREDICTION: Celtics sweep.
|
MARTIN: Hard to draw anything out of the regular season series as starters missed each of the four and Detroit mailed in the fourth and final game last week. This series turns on three things: 1. The Pistons’ ability to avoid turnovers that will feed in to the Sixers fast break. 2. Although playoff rotations are tight, bench production when at least three reserves play for each team will be vital. 3. Check the winner of the Tayshaun Prince-Andre Iguodala match-up each game… there’s your winner.
PREDICTION: Pistons in six.
ROCHINSKI: Only one team in the league was better than the Pistons this year, and they hope to meet them in the Eastern Conference Finals. Like the Celtics, Detroit won’t be satisfied with anything less than a championship. Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Rasheed Wallace make up the most formidable team in the East. After last year’s disappointment to LeBron James and the Cavs, the Pistons won’t allow Andre Iguodala and these young, freakishly athletic Sixers to be the second team to shock them in as many years.
PREDICTION: Pistons in five.
MURRAY: Detroit and Philadelphia are polar opposites. Detroit has been one of the most consistent franchises over the last several years. They have made deep playoff runs and their roster is laden with playoff-experienced veterans. The Pistons ended the season winning their last four games. Philadelphia is a team no one expected much of to start the season. They have a very young roster that was able to gel and as a result propel them into the playoffs. The 76ers come into the playoffs in a bit of slump having lost their last four games. In the end, playoff experience and veteran leadership prevail in this series.
PREDICTION: Pistons sweep.
|
MARTIN: The Magic say “anything you can do, we can do almost as good” when it comes to 3-point shooting. These are two of the best, but I like the Magic’s big answer when they miss and his name is Dwight Howard. Toronto limped home in the final month.
PREDICTION: Magic in five.
ROCHINSKI: Never mind “Superman’s” performance to win the Slam Dunk Competition this year, it’s what Dwight Howard has done consistently throughout the season that has allowed the Magic to soar. He averaged 20.7 points, 14.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks and can make a case for being the most dominant center in the league – and he’s only 22 years old. Add bombers Rashard Lewis and the rejuvenated Hedo Turkoglu on the outside, and Chris Bosh and the Raptors have enough to make it interesting but not enough to advance.
PREDICTION: Magic in six.
MURRAY: Toronto faces a tough task against Orlando. The Magic have a dominating frontcourt that features three players that average close to 20 points a game. That’s a tough matchup for anybody and Toronto has not played great late, winning just three of its last seven games.
PREDICTION: Magic in five.
|
MARTIN: We got trash talk already in this series and Gilbert Arenas can blog with the best. Now he gets to turn words into action. Arenas, Caron Butler, and Antawn Jamison are a tough combo to beat. Cleveland survives if that second scorer that helps LeBron is Zydrunas Ilgauskas each and every night. My guess is that won’t happen and we’ll have a new Eastern Conference Champ.
PREDICTION: The defending titlist goes down in seven…Wizards advance.
ROCHINSKI: I’m going to have to respectively disagree with my colleagues on this one. Yes, I think this might be one of the better series to watch in the East in the first round, but I just have a feeling that LeBron James will take over in this one. After last season, he knows what it takes to get the job done in the playoffs, and with a new compliment of players around him this time around, the Cavs will get it done. Sure, the Wizards big three are back, but Arenas, Jamison and Butler have played just seven games together all season. By the time they start playing well together, it’s going to be too late.
PREDICTION: Cavaliers in five.
MURRAY: This is one of the most interesting matchups in the first round in the Eastern Conference. With LeBron James in your lineup, you can never count the Cavaliers out. James will need to get help from his supporting cast though in order to advance. Washington has been beset by injuries all season. Caron Butler and Gilbert Arenas both missed significant time during the regular season. Heading into the playoffs, everyone appears to be relatively healthy. If the Wizards can get their entire complement of players performing cohesively, they can take the series.
PREDICTION: Wizards in seven.
|
LOS ANGELES LAKERS (1) vs. DENVER NUGGETS (8)
MARTIN: Number 4 offense (Lakers) meets Number 2 offense (Nuggets). The team that is able to play shut down defense on three successive possessions – in the entire series – will win. First team to 120 wins each night. Pau Gasol has never been on a playoff winner in 16 tries. He’ll get four wins by Game 5.
PREDICTION: Lakers in five.
ROCHINSKI: When my four-year-old daughter cries for a piece of candy 15 minutes before bedtime, we have to explain to her that whining and crying won’t get her what she wants. “But Kobe did it and he got the top seed in the West,” she said the other night… okay, no she didn’t, but you get the point. Seven months ago, Kobe Bryant didn’t even want to be a Laker, and now he’s running the best team in the West. I badly want to choose the Nuggets here, but a D-League team could put up 100 points on Denver.
PREDICTION: Lakers in six.
MURRAY: Buoyed by four wins to end the season, the Lakers were able to fight their way through a tough Western Conference to claim the top spot. Kobe Bryant is having one of his best seasons ever. Pau Gasol is back from injury and is playing a huge role in the Lakers success. Only seven games though separate the Lakers from their eighth-seeded opponent Denver and the Nuggets may be able to sneak out a couple of wins to make things interesting.
PREDICTION: Lakers in six.
|
MARTIN: This looks like a sucker bet. The Mavericks were on the sore side of one last year when Golden State tossed them out of the playoffs. Well, they’ve got a new point guard to throw in the mix, but they are just as soft and not nearly as athletic inside as the Hornets. Chris Paul sat on the sidelines last year and watched Steve Nash and Deron Williams soak up all the playoff point guard accolades last year. He’s an automatic. Dallas had better pay attention to David West. The Hornets are 7-10 when he scores less than 15 and shoots less than 45%. Avery, there’s no charge for that piece of information.
PREDICTION: I’m sentimental to the organization that I spent 16 years in, Hornets in seven.
ROCHINSKI: Last year the Mavericks entered the playoffs as the top seed in the West and were stunned by the Golden State Warriors. This year, it’s Dallas who can play spoiler and ruin the MVP season (well, it should be) of Chris Paul and the Hornets. Mavs Owner Mark Cuban pulled the trigger on a trade bring Jason Kidd back to Dallas, and this might be the last shot for Dallas to make a deep run before the roster gets blown up. New Orleans will pose more than a formidable challenge for Dirk Nowitzki and crew but they won’t be making an early exit this season.
PREDICTION: Mavericks in six.
MURRAY: Chris Paul developed into an MVP candidate and in the process carried the Hornets to the Southwest Division Title. Paul will need to do more of the same to get New Orleans to the next round. If Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki is healthy and can put up MVP-type numbers and Jason Kidd showcases his veteran savvy, the Mavericks could make this series tight.
PREDICTION: Hornets in six.
|
MARTIN: Time for the Suns to put their money where the mouth is and they did just that by getting Shaquille O’Neal to help turn themselves into a two-speed team. They got him so they could overcome the Spurs in the playoffs. Let’s see Robert Horry try to throw Shaq around like a rag doll.
PREDICTION: Here it is, Suns…a take down of the champs in six games.
ROCHINSKI: Shockingly, this first round matchup might be exactly what the Suns wanted. Shaq was brought in get Phoenix past the defending champs, and it’s probably best for Big Diesel to get his crack at Tim Duncan and the Spurs now instead of after a brutal series against another team in the West. Keep an eye on Amare Stoudemire – this kid has brought his game to another level since Big Diesel came over and that one-two punch inside will be too much for San Antonio to handle.
PREDICTION: Suns in six.
MURRAY: The defending NBA Champion Spurs seem to be the team no one is really talking about, yet they have once again put together another stellar season. Their core group of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili have led the Spurs to 50+ wins for the eighth straight year. San Antonio always seems to up their game to another level in the postseason, and it will be interesting to see if they can do it again. Phoenix poses a unique challenge. If Shaquille O’Neal is able to contribute in a significant way, the Suns, with Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire, may be able to slow the Spurs.
PREDICTION: Spurs in seven.
|
MARTIN: No one is more ready for the first round than Utah. They played nine winners in their last 12 games and dispatched the Rockets with home court in the balance last week. Tracy McGrady has been on first round losers in each of the six playoff series he’s played in so far. This will make No. 7.
PREDICTION: Jazz play through in five.
ROCHINSKI: True, Tracy McGrady has never won a playoff series and the Rockets blew a 3-2 series lead against the Jazz with home-court advantage last season. But does anyone else remember that this is a Houston team that posted the second-longest winning streak in league history after winning 22 straight games? Sure, they went 8-7 post-streak to close the season, but if T-Mac can find a way to shake his playoff demons and get his teammates fired up, it wouldn’t be shocking to see the Rockets string together enough wins to advance.
PREDICTION: Rockets in seven.
MURRAY: Even with a higher seed, the Jazz don’t get home court advantage and must start the playoffs in Houston. This might be problematic, as Utah has had its share of problems away from home. Utah and Houston played a tough seven-game series last season in the first round game and expect more of the same this time around. Throughout the season though, the Jazz have showcased their best basketball against the top teams in the league, so expect them to be playing at their highest level against Houston.
PREDICTION: Jazz in six.
Let us know what you think.
Send us your response to this article or video and we'll post it on bobcats.com using your selected screen name.
|
|
|