2015 NBA Playoffs Semifinals Predictions

Here are my predictions for the Semifinals round of the 2015 NBA playoffs.

Eastern Conference
(E1) Atlanta Hawks vs (E5) Washington Wizards: This is actually a pretty good series. Atlanta knocked out Brooklyn in six and Washington surprisingly swept Toronto. Atlanta played outstanding in the second half of their series clinching win at the Barclays Center. Washington throughout their entire first round series played up to the level their capable to. The point guard matchup between Jeff Teague and John Wall will be fun to watch as well as the front court matchup between Atlanta's Paul Milsap and Al Horford and Washington's Nene and Marcin Gortat. Atlanta has the clear-cut coaching edge with Mike Budenholzer over Washington's Randy Wittman, who may get a pink slip if his team loses this series. Like I said, this is a good series that will be better than people think and I believe it goes to distance with Atlanta taking it.
Prediction: Hawks in seven games.

(E2) Cleveland Cavaliers vs (E3) Chicago Bulls: This is most anticipated matchup in the second round with many intriguing story lines. Cleveland is coming off a sweep of Boston, even though they lost Kevin Love for the rest of the season with a dislocated shoulder and JR Smith is suspended the first two games for hitting Boston's Jae Crowder in game 4. Chicago is coming off a six game series win over Milwaukee, in which they dominated in game 6 of that series on both ends. The point guard matchup between Kyrie Irving and Derrick Rose is going to be fun to watch. I am very curious to see what JR Smith shows up: the one that made big shots for Cleveland ever since he got there or the one that pretty much cost the Knicks big time after elbowing Jason Terry in 2013. LeBron James and Irving are facing immense pressure here with Love's injury and Smith's suspension. This is going to be a fascinating series and I'm calling the upset here because it has all the makings of it considering Cleveland's issues and that Chicago is healthy and they also have a coaching advantage with Tom Thibodeau over David Blatt.
Prediction: Bulls in six games.

Western Conference
(W1) Golden State Warriors vs (W5) Memphis Grizzlies: This is going to be fun series to watch with Golden State's up and down, fast pace play and Memphis's identity of "Grit N Grind". Golden State is coming off a sweep of New Orleans, although it was a competitive series. Memphis is coming off a five game series win over a banged up Portland team. Speaking of banged up, Mike Conley got hit in the face in game 3 against Portland and has missed the last 2 games because of it. Memphis needs him back or else they have about no chance at an upset here. Either way, this should be a great and competitive series. It won't be easy, but expect Golden State to advance to the Conference Finals.
Prediction: Warriors in six games.

(W2) Houston Rockets vs (W3) Los Angeles Clippers: This should be a very fun series here. Houston is coming off a five game series win over Dallas. The Clippers are coming off a thrilling seven game series win over the defending champion Spurs. Chris Paul hurt his hamstring in game seven and he continued to play through it to help the Clippers advance here. Paul needs to be close to 100% if the Clippers want to advance. I'm interested if Doc Rivers has Paul defend James Harden and if he does, boy that would be something to watch. Expect many high scoring and overtime affairs in this series. Also expect a lot of "Hack-A-DeAndre's" and "Hack-A-Dwight's" throughout this series since both DeAndre Jordan and Dwight Howard are poor free throw shooters. I feel that the Clippers are the better team here and they should advance to the Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history.
Prediction: Clippers in six games.