The NBA playoffs are off into the next stage of the race as the teams who advanced on to the second round are set to start the next series on Sunday.
Surprisingly most of my predictions were right on the winners of the first round series' but the number of games were off badly. (Thanks to my belief I am a true "NBA analyze.")
Although the biggest surprises of the first round was the San Antonio Spurs being knocked out by the Memphis Grizzles and the Atlanta Hawks defeating the Orlando Magic.
So lets get started and lets see if I still have potential to be a NBA analyze.
The follow are the Eastern Conference semi-finals series' and my predictions:
No. 1 Chicago Bulls vs. No. 5 Atlanta Hawks: This is going to be a interesting series. The Bulls had a scare a few times in the series against the Indiana Pacers, as the Bulls nearly lost a few games including Game 1.
The Bulls looked great either way, they were able to handle the Pacers and Derrick Rose had a monster series.
As for the Hawks they had a great series against a mediocre Magic team. Joe Johnson did not have a terriffic series against the Magic but the Hawks were able to play great team ball and hold down Dwight Howard in a few games.
As for the series I think it will be hard for the Hawks to guard Rose. Without Kirk Hinrich for sometime, the Hawks will have trouble keeping up with Rose and with a loose Rose roaming the floor--the Bulls will be able to get anything they want.
I have the Bulls winning the series: 4-2.
No. 2 Miami Heat vs. No. 3 Boston Celtics: This series is going to be the best second round series. These two teams are building a somewhat rivalry--mainly for this season.
The Celtics own the regular season series, 3-1, and the Celtics were able to handle the Heat well in the three wins. The series against the New York Knicks helped the Celtics regain their energy and confidence to play anyone they face.
The sweep on the Knicks should jump start the Celtics to go off on another run to the finals.
As for the Heat, they were able to hold off the Philadelphia 78ers without breaking a sweat. Without a post game and size in the middle, I highly doubt the Heat can survive in the postseason as they face better teams.
The Celtics are short handed too in the middle but if they can get something out of their bigs in the series than they should be able to hold off the Heat with their big four: Rajon Rondo, Ray Allan, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett.
I have the Celtics winning the series: 4-2.
Moving from the East to the West, the Spurs will not be moving on after the Grizzles amazingly defeated them in six games. The Grizzles might be a low seed but the Oklahoma City Thunder should not take them lightly.
The following are the Western Conference semi-finals series' and my predictions:
No. 2 Los Angeles Lakers vs. No. 3 Dallas Mavericks: This series is second best to the Boston/Miami series.
In the last regular season match, Lakers' Matt Barnes and Mavericks' Jason Terry caused a huge fight after a altercation between Terry and Lakers' Steve Blake. The two teams build a rivalry after that incident and they action picks up again when the two teams face off in this series.
The Lakers started of their first round series slow after dropping Game 1 to the New Orleans Hornets but after Kobe Bryant's great performance in Game 5, the Lakers are on their A-game and are looking like an championship team again.
The Mavericks are looking great as well after taking out the Portland Blazers in six games. The Mavericks are the closes team to match the Lakers length but it is going to take a lot more to take out the champs.
The Lakers are gong to be too hard to control when they have Bryant and Pau Gasol on top of their games while having Andrew Bynum, Lamar Odom and the supporting cast adding on to that success.
I have the Lakers winning the series, 4-2.
No. 4 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. No. 8 Memphis Grizzles: I am pulling for the Grizzles in this series. They match well with the Thunder. The Grizzles won the regular season series 3-1 and they are dangerous.
Memphis has a solid team although a lot of them are underrated including Zack Randolph. They have a underrated defender in Shane Battier who will be able to keep Kevin Durant under control.
Memphis has a great center, Marc Gasol and a up and coming star, Mike Conley who is making a name for himself in these playoffs.
A lot of people are going to say that the Thunder are too good with Durant and Russell Westbrook leading the way but they are becoming overrated.
This team is still young like the Grizzles and this team is filling in shoes that are too big for them. I doubt there is a difference between the Grizzles and Thunder.
Both teams have a equal chance to win the series and the winner will be determined by who has the most heart and whose bench shows up.
I have the Grizzles winning this series: 4-2.
Stay tuned as the NBA playoffs continue and lets see if my dreams of being a NBA analyze can stay alive.
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