It’s here! The 2013 NBA Playoffs have arrived. Basketball fans around have been waiting for this time to come, and now that it has come, let’s take this opportunity to talk about the teams we’re rooting for.
I’m sure a lot of you have placed your bets on the Oklahoma City Thunder, the San Antonio Spurs, the New York Knicks or, of course, the Miami Heat. And it’s hard to argue with your choice, considering the damage these teams have done during the course of the regular season. As for me, I’ve been rooting for the Los Angeles Lakers the past 13 years and despite our extremely suckish season, I am still rooting for them this year.
Here are my predictions for this year’s playoffs, and a simple analysis of each series (again, I am a hardcore LA Lakers fan and I have my biases, but I will try to remain neutral and objective during the discussion):
Western Conference
(1) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (8) Houston Rockets
I pick OKC over Houston in 5 games.
This is a series to look out for because of the drama that comes with it. Before the season started in October, OKC traded its prized 6th Man, James Harden to the Houston Rockets for Kevin Martin and a couple of chip-in pieces. As you all may recall, OKC went to last year’s NBA Finals (against the Miami Heat) thanks to the terrible trio of Kevin Durant, Harden and Russell Westbrook. Now that Harden is gone, can does OKC have enough firepower to make a second straight Finals appearance? Or will Harden fuel the Rockets to an upset of OKC? The Rockets are a young team with no substantial playoff experience while Durant is one bad dude who happens to be extremely hungry for revenge against the Heat. I think OKC will steamroll it’s way to the second round, but Houston will go down swinging.
(2) San Antonio Spurs vs. (7) LA Lakers
I pick the LA Lakers in 7 games (before violently reacting, please read my explanation first)
Like I said, I’m rooting for the LA Lakers, so this may seem pretty biased. However, I have some objective reasoning behind my choice. Number one. These San Antonio Spurs aren’t the same San Antonio Spurs that have been dominating the West for much of the season. They’re tired, they’re bruised, and finished the regular season by losing 7 of its last 10 games. Tim Duncan seems to have defied Father Time, Kawhi Leonard has been stellar but the Spurs lack firepower because of injuries to Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. The Lakers on the other hand have been through a lot this year. Their Fab Four in Kobe, Dwight, Gasol and Nash (these are the Lakers; I expect you all to know them on a one-name basis) have only played together for 22 games because of injuries. Myriads upon myriads of injuries have slowed this team at the start of the season, but the Lakers have finished this season strong. Yes, Kobe is out for 6-9 months, but with a rejuvenated Pau Gasol and the stifling defense the Lake show have shown in April, coupled with San Antonio’s apparent demise, I believe the Purple-and-Gold squad have a legitimate chance at moving on to the conference semis. Beyond that, I’m not so sure. This does not mean I’m counting the Spurs out. San Antonio is still a dangerous team. It’s going to be a brutal fight between two old teams, but I’m picking LA over San Antonio.
(3) Denver Nuggets vs. (6) Golden State Warriors
I pick Denver over Golden State in 6 games.
The Nuggets season has been 2013’s Cinderella Story. Who would expect a team with no real superstar player(I’m sorry, Iggy) would win 15 straight games from February through March and end up as the third seed in an ultra-competitive Western Conference? But who needs superstars when you have a cohesive unit composed of talented, young individuals playing with great chemistry as though they’ve been playing together for 10 years? And the fact the Denver has The Manimal in its roster helps its cause. The Nuggets have lost forward Danilo Gallinari to injury, though, which could put a damper in the team’s aspirations to go deep into the playoffs. Golden State on the other hand, is also a surprise team this season but unlike Denver, they have been inconsistent mid-season. Leading the Warriors is the NBA’s new 3-Point King, Stephen Curry. This guy has a sweet shooting stroke and when he’s on a role, there’s little opposing teams can do. In this series, though, I think Denver’s defense will suffocate Golden State. They will miss Gallinari’s offense, but they have enough firepower to fill in that hole. The Warriors will hurt the Nuggets with the 3-ball led by Curry, but that over-reliance on the three will come back to haunt them though. There is a saying in basketball that goes, “Live by the three, die by the three.”
(4) Los Angeles Clippers vs. (5) Memphis Grizzlies
I pick the Clippers over the Grizzlies in 7 games.
This is a tough series to call because the two teams are evenly matched in a lot of ways. The Clippers are known as “Lob City” because of all the absurd alley-oops between Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. They employ a high-octane offense that involves a lot of running and jumping. Conversely, the Grizzlies,extremely boring to watch on offense, are defense-oriented. They have one of the best defenses in the NBA, and when you put that on a head on collision with the Clippers’ offense, you now have a very interesting match up. The reason why I’m picking LA’s Other Team is that the Clippers themselves play stifling defense, too, which could give Memphis a hard time scoring, something it already is mediocre at. This series is going to be a fight though. The Clippers may be freaks on offense and defense, but the Grizzlies have a Gasol on their team, Marc (Pau’s younger brother) and basketball fans know what great passers the Gasol brothers are. Marc is also a defensive anchor and a difference maker. Somebody to watch out for if you’re rooting for Memphis is Zach Randolph. Look for the Grizzlies to run the offense through him most of the time.
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Tomorrow, we talk about the Eastern Conference’s first round scenarios.
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