Bridget O’Donnell

Could any of these four guys be in the Finals?

This post may seem out of place. But in case you didn’t know, I am a HUGE NBA fan. Day one of the playoffs is like Christmas for me.

I try not to pretend to be an NBA analyst, but sometimes, you have to make those picks. So without further adieu, here’s who I pick to win this year*:

*I intend to make new picks after each round, just in case my first round picks are completely off.

First Round

Eastern Conference

Boston (1) over Atlanta (8) in 4
Detroit (2) over Philly (7) in 5
Orlando (3) over Toronto (6) in 5
Washington (5) over Cleveland (4) in 7

Western Conference

LA Lakers (1) over Denver (8) in 5
Dallas (7) over New Orleans (2) in 6
Phoenix (6) over San Antonio (3) in 7
Houston (5) over Utah (4) in 7

Notes: I’m not as knowledgeable about the Western Conference as I am the Eastern Conference, so I’m fully aware that my picks for the West could be completely wrong…Atlanta has its first playoff berth since 1999. Too bad they’re playing Boston…Sans Gilbert Arenas, I still think Soulja Boy, er, the Wizards finally have it in them to beat the Cavs this year. Besides, I’ve already forgotten who won the Eastern Conference last year…I hate to pick the Mavs, but that chip on their shoulder after losing to Golden State last year is pretty heavy…Why does the best series of the entire playoffs have to be in the first round? (I’m looking at you Suns-Spurs). And what could be more of an x-factor in determining the winner — the fact that the defending NBA champs want to avoid the embarrassment of a first round loss or the fact that the Suns were robbed of a championship last year? Hence, 7 games…Sure Utah got to the conference finals last year, and sure, Houston is without a certain Yao Ming, but does that 22-game winning streak mean nothing? How about the fact that Yao didn’t play in 11 of those wins?

Second Round

Eastern Conference

Boston over Washington in 5
Detroit over Orlando in 6

Western Conference

LA Lakers over Houston in 6
Phoenix over Dallas in 5

Notes: Not much to note here except for the fact that I expect Boston to roll through the first two rounds and Detroit to struggle against Orlando before the inevitable Eastern Conference Finals matchup.

Conference Finals

Eastern Conference

Detroit over Boston in 7

Western Conference

Suns over LA Lakers in 7

Notes: As much as I love KG and Boston, and as much as I can’t deny the fact that they’ve been dominant this year, KG, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen have very little Conference Finals experience. Plus, Detroit has a lot to prove after losing to Cleveland last year…Sure, Phoenix is a #6 seed. But they’ve been hungry for a championship for YEARS.

NBA Finals

Detroit over Phoenix in 7

Notes: (Biased Detroit fan speaking).

This post is tagged basketball, NBA, playoffs, Sports