The Playoffs are finally here! Here is each first round series ranked eight to one in order of least watchable to can't miss!
by Austin Peters
It's here. After one of the craziest regular seasons ever, we have made it to every body's favorite time of year: the NBA playoffs. All the work of the regular season culminated in one giant slug fest to be crowned champion.
The first round is full of great matchups and some.... not so great matchups. Here is my best effort to rank the first eight series in order of watchability.
SNOOZERS
1 Atlanta Hawks vs. 8 Brooklyn Nets
2 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. 7 Boston Celtics
3 Chicago Bulls vs. 6 Milwaukee Bucks
All of these series should be sweeps. Each higher seed has a head and shoulders advantage over their lower seeded counter part.
Atlanta has had a magical season that no one expected. 60 wins and four All-Stars later, the Hawks have claimed the one seed and home court advantage in the East. They're playing a little gimpy right now. Two-time All-Star Paul Millsap missed a few games because of a shoulder strain, starting wings DeMarre Carroll and Kyle Korver have had to miss time this year, Teague just came back from injury, and Thabo Sefolosha is out for the season after his recent incident outside a night club. This hurts their long term outlook more than their short term chances. The Nets are sputtering into the playoffs after two horrendous losses to Milwaukee and Chicago, followed by barely squeaking out a victory at home against Orlando to clinch the eighth seed. The Nets are in the bottom half in both offensive and defensive efficiency as well as ranking 24th in pace. Unless you love yourself some Joe Johnson isos, the Nets aren't anything fun to watch.
I'm still mad the Celtics made the playoffs. I would much rather have the eleventh pick and take Frank Kaminsky instead of getting humiliated by the Cavs in the first round and taking a risk on someone at 16. All that being said, Brad Stevens is a freaking wizard. The fact that we are in the playoffs with this roster is incredible. The Celtics' spacing is so good and their motion is perfect. I can't wait until we actually get good players in that system. Unfortunately, that's not this year and Cleveland is going to beat us by 20 every game.
The Bucks haven't been the same team since the Brandon Knight trade, seeing as Michael Carter-Williams doesn't give them the spacing or off the dribble threat that Knight gave them. I said on our trade deadline podcast that I love the long term outlook of this team with MCW in the fold, but it will take a summer and training camp for him to get integrated. The Bulls are peaking at the right time, winning four straight heading into the postseason. It's tough to see any scenario where Milwaukee makes it a competitive series.
Predictions: Hawks in 4, Cavaliers in 4, Bulls in 4
WORTH WATCHING ONE GAME
1 Golden State Warriors vs. 8 New Orleans Pelicans
This series will still probably be a sweep, but the Warriors alone are worth watching at least one game. The best team in the league just finished one of the best regular seasons in the history of basketball, with a point differential that ranked as one of the highest ever. They finished in the top two in both offensive and defensive efficiency while also leading the league in pace. That's just not even possible. Throw in the fact that New Orleans' Anthony Davis might be the best player in the league (I'm saying this with as straight of a face as I possibly can), and this series is going to be worth some of your time.
Prediction: Warriors in 4
SEVEN GAME SLUG FEST
4 Toronto Raptors vs. 5 Washington Wizards
Both of these teams have had roller coasters for seasons, which is the main reason why this series intrigues me so much. Since the All-Star break, the Wizards are 15-20 and the Raptors are 13-16. The backcourt matchups are sensational. Wall vs. Lowry and Beal vs. DeRozan. Two of the best backcourts in the league on both ends of the floor going head to head will be fun. Watching Dwayne Casey coach against Randy Wittman is going to be a treat. This series could get ugly for all the wrong reasons and I'm going to love it. The homecourt advantage in Toronto is just enough of a difference for me.
Prediction: Raptors in 7
UPSET ALERT
2 Houston Rockets vs. 7 Dallas Mavericks
4 Portland Trailblazers vs. 5 Memphis Grizzlies
Now we are getting into the good ones. Houston and Dallas play two different styles. Houston lives at the free throw line and runs everything through James Harden's incredibly playmaking skills. Dallas is a rim running, pick and roll juggernaut. The Rockets are banged up right now, with key role players Donatas Montiejunas and Patrick Beverley out for the playoffs. If those two were healthy, I would be more inclined to take Houston in five. Since their depth is now a concern, it levels the playing field with an equally anemic Dallas team in terms of bench production. The difference will most likely come on the defensive end, where Dallas ranks in the bottom half of the league. Rondo vs. Harden will be fun to watch, but the Rockets can abuse the Mavs with Howard/Harden pick and rolls. Chandler can't hedge because Harden will find Dwight on the roll and you can't go under because Harden will bury you. He is an absolute matchup nightmare.
The Blazers have had the worst injury luck of any team not named Miami this season, and the Matthews injury ruined their legitimate title chances. On top of that, Arron Afflalo might miss this series, LaMarcus Aldridge and Nic Batum have been playing through a malady of injuries, and Dorell Wright is pretty questionable for the playoffs as well. They still could give Memphis a run for their money because the Grizzlies are close to being just as equally banged up. Mike Conley and Tony Allen both missed the last couple games of the season and the Grizz defense isn't the same without their two headed ball pressure monsters. Both should be ready to go for the playoffs, which is bad news for Blazer guards Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. We saw last year, however, that LaMarcus Aldridge can legitimately carry a team in a first round series, and Zach Randolph is not an ideal matchup to be guarding LMA for the Grizz. I expect Gasol to guard LaMarcus and the injuries are just too much for the Blazers to overcome.
Predictions: Rockets in 7, Grizzlies in 6
IF YOU MISS THIS SERIES YOU HATE BASKETBALL
3 Los Angeles Clippers vs. 6 San Antonio Spurs
Holy cow this might be the best first round series in the history of the league. I've been thinking about this matchup for the last 48 hours non stop. Both teams are top six in offensive efficiency, with the Clippers holding down the top spot as the best offense this year. The individual matchups are insane. Parker vs. Paul. Reddick vs. Green. Duncan vs. Jordan. Pop vs. Doc. The only word that I can think to even say right now is incredible.
The most intriguing part of this series to me is going to be who guards who. I fully expect Kawhi to guard CP, which could be the best thing to watch in any first round series. Green will have the task of chasing Reddick around all the screens the Clips set for him, and Duncan will have to guard DeAndre. The major spot that the Clippers have to exploit is whoever guards Griffin. Tiago Splitter normally would be fine, but he isn't 100% right now. Boris Diaw is going to have to chase Griffin up and down and that is a serious problem for San Antonio.
The chess match between Pop and Doc this game is going to be nuts. I am kind of expecting Pop to go Kawhi at the four a decent amount to try and neutralize the Griffin advantage the Clips have and then just have Patty Mills hound CP. I think the Spurs can get away with hiding Parker on Matt Barnes so they don't have to make Tony chase around CP on a bad hammy. In the NBA, cross matches are interesting because when you transition from one end of the court to the other, you have to find a completely different man that you were matched up with on the other end. It's difficult, and teams can take advantage of this.
San Antonio, even with their rash of injuries this season, is still far deeper than LA's painful bench, and that's going to be the difference for me. But man, are we in for a wild ride. Not just in this series, but for the whole playoffs. Enjoy the games everybody!
Prediction: Spurs in 7
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