Round 2 Picks
A quick prediction post for this round of the NBA playoffs: I got 6 of the first 8 series right. I didn't see the Spurs' loss coming (who did?), and I didn't think very closely about the Orlando-Atlanta series. Atlanta finished the season so cold that I'm sure I would have still picked Orlando, but I've liked this Hawks team for the past few years. I can't think of another team that's been as consistently competitive over the past three or four seasons without a superstar on the roster. I like the way they play.
I expect the Bulls to play better than they did in the first round, so I'm picking them over Atlanta, but it could be a close series. The pick is dependent on Derrick Rose's health. I like the Heat over the Celts. I realize I'm writing this after they already won Game 1 today, but I have a $10 bet with a friend that says I felt this way before today. I wouldn't be surprised if it goes seven, but I feel like the Celtics are just on the wrong side of the age equation, and the fact remains that the Heat have the two best players in the NBA wearing their uniform. I think they prevail.
In the West, I'm sticking with the Thunder, even though they obviously match up badly with Memphis, being 1-4 against them this year after today's convincing loss. I guess I just refuse to believe that Zach Randolph is suddenly the key to making a run at an NBA title. In the other series, it's impossible to be objective, because I'm a big Mavericks fan. Even taking that into account, I can't remember a 57-win team getting less respect than the Mavs have this year, especially in playoff predictions. And I get it. They've had two legendary chokes in recent years, against the Heat and the Warriors. (The refs get a big assist in the Heat example, though the Mavs folded like babies in the face of it; the Warriors just weirdly whipped them. I think the Mavs put way too much energy into the regular season that year, playing every game like it was a finals game after collapsing to the Heat the year before.) So, they've choked. And Jason Kidd is 472 years old. And after Dirk, there isn't a clear No. 2 guy. I get all that. I'm still going to pick Dallas to win it. Kobe might prove to be human, and the Mavs might prove that choking is not a genetic thing, it's a circumstantial thing. I look at the way they picked themselves up after an awful loss in Game 4 of the Portland series, and I like what I see.
I expect the Bulls to play better than they did in the first round, so I'm picking them over Atlanta, but it could be a close series. The pick is dependent on Derrick Rose's health. I like the Heat over the Celts. I realize I'm writing this after they already won Game 1 today, but I have a $10 bet with a friend that says I felt this way before today. I wouldn't be surprised if it goes seven, but I feel like the Celtics are just on the wrong side of the age equation, and the fact remains that the Heat have the two best players in the NBA wearing their uniform. I think they prevail.
In the West, I'm sticking with the Thunder, even though they obviously match up badly with Memphis, being 1-4 against them this year after today's convincing loss. I guess I just refuse to believe that Zach Randolph is suddenly the key to making a run at an NBA title. In the other series, it's impossible to be objective, because I'm a big Mavericks fan. Even taking that into account, I can't remember a 57-win team getting less respect than the Mavs have this year, especially in playoff predictions. And I get it. They've had two legendary chokes in recent years, against the Heat and the Warriors. (The refs get a big assist in the Heat example, though the Mavs folded like babies in the face of it; the Warriors just weirdly whipped them. I think the Mavs put way too much energy into the regular season that year, playing every game like it was a finals game after collapsing to the Heat the year before.) So, they've choked. And Jason Kidd is 472 years old. And after Dirk, there isn't a clear No. 2 guy. I get all that. I'm still going to pick Dallas to win it. Kobe might prove to be human, and the Mavs might prove that choking is not a genetic thing, it's a circumstantial thing. I look at the way they picked themselves up after an awful loss in Game 4 of the Portland series, and I like what I see.
posted by JMW at 8:01 PM
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