What a first round we had! So many thrillers, buzzer beaters, overtime games, etc. Hopefully we have more of that because it was just fantastic! All of these match ups here are excellent. So onto my predictions for the semi-finals.
Eastern Conference
(1) Indiana Pacers vs (5) Washington Wizards: The Pacers survived their series against the Atlanta Hawks, but give the Hawks credit because they put up a fight. The Wizards on the other hand, played outstanding against the Chicago Bulls, who were not good offensively. The match ups I like in this series are the David West vs Nene and Marcin Gortat vs Roy Hibbert (who showed up and played well in game seven against the Hawks). I find this series is very intriguing because of the match ups and whether the Pacers are "back" or not. The Pacers defense was outstanding in game seven, but their offense concerns me a little bit and I wonder if Frank Vogel makes some changes to the rotation because of match ups. For the Wizards, their three-point shooting needs to be great because the Pacers were mediocre defending the three in their series against the Hawks. This series should go to distance, but most teams with deciding games in their own building tend to win those games, which has me leaning toward the team with home court. Pacers in 7.
(2) Miami Heat vs (6) Brooklyn Nets: I love this series and it has "classic" written all over it considering that every game these two played against each other in the regular season were just fantastic with all the close games. The Nets needed a block from Paul Pierce to knock off the Toronto Raptors in their game seven. If it weren't for an Al Jefferson injury, the Heat probably don't sweep the Charlotte Bobcats in the first round. Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett gave LeBron James issues in the past in the playoffs when they played for the Boston Celtics. For the Nets, Joe Johnson and Paul Pierce have had big moments against the a Raptors. For the Heat, the big three has been great as well as some of their role players. Expect a lot of close games with big name players coming up clutch from both teams. This series should also go to distance as well and expect LeBron James to carry the load again. Heat in 7.
Western Conference
(1) San Antonio Spurs vs (5) Portland Trail Blazers: It took a series-clinching buzzer beater by Damian Lillard for the Blazers and a game seven blowout for the Spurs to set up this matchup. Damian Lillard is emerging as a superstar in this playoffs and LaMarcus Aldrige has been the playoffs MVP so far. The rest of the Blazers starting five is underrated with the likes of Wesley Matthews and Nicolas Batum and they played excellent against the Houston Rockets. The Spurs (the big three in particular) put on a clinic in game seven against the Dallas Mavericks, who deserve credit for pushing the defending western conference champs to seven games. Expect a big series from Kawahi Leonard and Danny Green for San Antonio and expect Lillard and Aldridge to have an impact for Portland. Expect a lot of points to be scored in this series and the leagues best team at this point to move on. Spurs in 6.
(2) Oklahoma City Thunder vs (3) Los Angeles Clippers: This is probably the best second round matchup in sometime. Expectations are through the roofs for both teams and the loser of this series, no matter who it is, their season will be considered a failure. The point guard matchup between Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook will be just incredible. League MVP Kevin Durant was absolutely outstanding in games six and seven against the Memphis Grizzlies, who pushed the Thunder to seven games deserve credit for that. Who knows if the Thunder would be here if Zach Randolph was not suspended for game seven for the Grizzlies. The Clippers are coming off a tumultuous week with their owner Donald Sterling being banned for life and it looks like they put that behind them and it showed in their game seven thrilling victory over the Golden State Warriors. This will be a high scoring series with many dramatic finishes and expect some toughness from both teams. I think two things are the difference in this series: bench play and coaching and the team that has the edge in both categories will win the series. Clippers in 6.
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