It's that time of the year again, NBA regular season is over and playoff's are on the way in a few days.
To recap, these are the final regular season standings and these are the playoff pairings.
Any thoughts on who's favorite for the title? Heat? Lakers? Boston? Chicago?
Whatever your answer is to that, it's sure going to be an interesting two months until the Finals
Also, last years thread is here if anyone's interested.
I'd like to claim Orlando, but eh. The attempt to patch the roster after Lewis fell flat and Carter showed his age wasn't impressive, and I don't think we'll be real contenders this year. Frankly our only hope to keep Dwight in the City Beautiful is if Otis Smith pulls off a big, maybe risky trade and brings Chris Paul or someone else of star/superstar caliber to Orlando.
That's the way the NBA's going to be now, I guess. A half-dozen or so major contenders with the superstar talent concentrated in them and a bunch of cannon fodder teams for the regular season and playoffs. It'll be like baseball.
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My predictions for first round:
East: Chicago, Heat, Boston, and, though my friend will probably be mad at me, Atlanta over Magic.
West: Supersonics, Blazers, Lakers, and Spurs.
I can't make an actual prediction for the final, but a Lakers/Chicago final would be nice to see.
Being a Laker fan, I'm glad Bynum's knee injury doesn't appear to be serious enough to keep him from going in the playoffs. However, the way the team ended the season does have me concerned. Still, they ought to be able to put the Hornets away. After, that, things will get dicey.
As for the rest of the league? I like the Bulls, Heat, Celtics, Magic, Spurs, Mavericks, and Thunder. Not exactly going out on a limb, I know. I've been hearing that the Knicks are a fashionable pick to upset the Celtics, but if the Celtics play anything close to their best, the Knicks are done. I think the most entertaining first-round series will be the Thunder-Nuggets.
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2011.04.16
Chicago Bulls vs Indiana Pacers 104:99 (1:0)
Miami Heat vs Philadelphia 76ers 97:89 (1:0)
Orlando Magic vs Atlanta Hawks 93:103 (0:1)
Dallas Mavericks vs Portland Trail Blazers 89:81 (1:0)
Anyone see that game of Bulls vs Pacers, I heard it was a thriller?
2011.04.17 Boston Celtics vs New York Knicks 87:85 (1:0)
San Antonio Spurs vs Memphis Grizzlies 98:101 (0:1)
Los Angeles Lakers vs New Orleans Hornets 100:109 (0:1)
Oklahoma City Thunder vs Denver Nuggets 107:103 (1:0)
They won the first one in their series ... unlike Spurs and Lakers
2011.04.19 Boston Celtics vs New York Knicks 96:93 (2:0)
Orlando Magic vs Atlanta Hawks 88:82 (1:1)
Dallas Mavericks vs Portland Trail Blazers 101:89 (2:0)
2011.04.20 Los Angeles Lakers vs New Orleans Hornets 87:78 (1:1)
San Antonio Spurs vs Memphis Grizzlies 93:87 (1:1)
Oklahoma City Thunder vs Denver Nuggets 106:89 (2:0)
2011.04.21
Indiana Pacers vs Chicago Bulls 84:88 (0:3)
Philadelphia 76ers vs Miami Heat 94:100 (0:3)
Portland Trail Blazers vs Dallas Mavericks 97:92 (1:2)
2011.04.22 New York Knicks vs Boston Celtics 96:113 (0:3)
Atlanta Hawks vs Orlando Magic 88:83 (2:1)
New Orleans Hornets vs Los Angeles Lakers 100:86 (1:2)
2011.04.23 Indiana Pacers vs Chicago Bulls 89:84 (1:3)
Denver Nuggets vs Oklahoma City Thunder 94:97 (0:3)
Portland Trail Blazers vs Dallas Mavericks 84:82 (2:2)
Memphis Grizzlies vs San Antonio Spurs 91:88 (2:1)
2011.04.24 Philadelphia 76ers vs Miami Heat 86:82 (1:3)
New York Knicks vs Boston Celtics89:101 (0:4)
Atlanta Hawks vs Orlando Magic 88:85 (3:1)
New Orleans Hornets vs Los Angeles Lakers 93:88 (2:2)
2011.04.25 Denver Nuggets vs Oklahoma City Thunder 104:101 (1:3)
Dallas Mavericks vs Portland Trail Blazers 93:82 (3:2)
Memphis Grizzlies vs San Antonio Spurs 104:86 (3:1)
2011.04.26
Chicago Bulls vs Indiana Pacers 116:89 (4:1)
Orlando Magic vs Atlanta Hawks 101:76 (2:3)
Los Angeles Lakers vs New Orleans Hornets 106:90 (3:2)
2011.04.27
Miami Heat vs Philadelphia 76ers 97:91 (4:1) Oklahoma City Thunder vs Denver Nuggets 100:97 (4:1)
San Antonio Spurs vs Memphis Grizzlies 110:103 (2:3)
Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder advance to the next round.
2011.04.28
Atlanta Hawks vs Orlando Magic 84:81 (4:2)
New Orleans Hornets vs Los Angeles Lakers80:98 (2:4)
Portland Trail Blazers vs Dallas Mavericks96:103 (2:4)
Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks advance to the next round.
Okay, Supersonics over the Grizzlies, Lakers, Bulls and Heat.
Then we get the Lakers beating the Supersonics, as prophesied by the great Oracle Ice Cube (It Will Be A Good Day), and because I want to dream, Bulls over the Heat and a Lakers/Bulls final.
