THE WESTERN CONFERENCE
(M): Let's start with the West: San Antonio Spurs (1) vs. Utah Jazz (8)
Here's where it's a shame Utah is in at all. Do they even have any good players? Minnesota should have been here. Poor Rubio. I think San Antonio is going to crush this. Tony Parker is playing great, so is Tim Duncan, and whatever spell that's keeping them all alive hasn't worn off yet.
(C): Utah has a very solid frontcourt. Definitely one of the more underrated c/pf combinations in the league with Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap. I think Utah wins one game in Utah to make it remotely interesting but this series is more or less over before it starts. San Antonio makes it to round two where they promptly lose to the grizzlies for the second year in a row.
(M): Agreed. If anything the Spurs will try to rest some people for part of the series. 4-1 sounds good. The next round is going to be the big trouble for the Spurs. I think they'll fall apart.
Oklahoma City Thunder (2) vs. The Dallas Mavericks (7)
(C): This is a sexy matchup on paper. Dallas has certainly not resembled the defending champions for much of the season due to a variety of factors: Dirk showing up out of shape, Lamar Odom doing Lamar Odom like things, and the existence of Vince Carter. The ultimate X-Factor in this series is Russell Westbrook. If westbrook elects to shoot 56 shots per game then the Thunder will not advance to the second round. Fortunately for OKC, Harden is back to balance out Westbrook's craziness so I think they win the series in six hard-fought games.
(M): I don't think it even matters what shape Westbrook is in, the Mavericks have looked like a mess this season. Dirk taking a month or two to work off his championship gut? Lamar Odom freaking out on everyone? And their big gamble - dropping Tyson Chandler for better chances in the long run - has not worked out at all so far. The Knicks definitely improved with him. I don't really think the Mavericks have a chance. But you can't count Dirk out of the playoffs, I suppose. I'm more likely to believe OKC crumbles than Dallas steps up, but I think Westbrook is going to be just fine. He knows what happened last year. He knows what people said. He has a big chip on his shoulder, and Durant knows how to feed it in the right, non-destructive way. Look out for RussWes to drop the hammer. In fact, I think all of OKC is going to be hungry. They looked great most of the season, but fell apart in the last month or so. It's time to regroup, and I say they stomp this 4-0.
(C): 4-0? That's completely ridiculous. Do you think before you type?
(M): Ah, I was hoping to say something that got you fired up. Do you know how good OKC is this year? Don't let the last month fool you.
(C): There is going to be at least one game where Durant completely shoots them out of the game. While Durant is the best scorer in the game of basketball, he is certainly capable of having a Kobe Bryant type of night (6-24). There is no way that Dallas gets swept. No way. No how.
(M): You really think they can summon up that much willpower after not caring all season when they're down 0-2 after OKC rocks them at home? Doubt it. Regroup for next season.
(C): I would love for Denver to wave a giant middle finger in Carmelo's direction by pulling off a huge upset in this matchup. With that being said, absolutely no chance of that happening. The Lakers frontcourt (even without MWP) is about 96 times better than anything Denver can throw at them. Denver is certainly the deeper team but depth is not going to overcome playing against 3 of the top 20 players in the NBA. Lakers in 6.
(M): My money is on the Lakers too. I feel like there might be room here for an upset. Denver has so many reasonably not-terrible players, and they play a pretty up-tempo game that they might just be able to run the Lakers off the court. But I doubt it. Kobe wouldn't allow it, even if Bynum breaks down. Over/under on Kobe shooting 25% or less in these games? I'll set the line at 2.5.
(C): 25%? No, that's too low. Denver is not a solid defensive team so I would be surprised if Kobe drops below 35% for any individual game.
(M): A battle of my two upset teams, which is too bad. While I have a hard time thinking Memphis is going to lose this, I really think the Clippers have a legit shot at taking this. They have a great bench, the best point guard in the country (not to mention possibly the most dominant fourth-quarter player alive right now), a great transition offense, and a team that can rain threes if they get hot...it can happen.
I don't know how good of shape Z-Bo is in right now, but I still don't think he can handle Blake Griffin, and the Clippers bench can chew into the Grizzlies. I'd say the Grizz have a 55% chance of winning this series. I'll give it to them 4 - 3. But it will be a bear of a match! Ha.
(C): He can't handle Blake Griffin? That's a joke right? Blake Griffin is not some dominant player in the post. Blake Griffin is a slightly less skilled version of Dwight Horward on offense without any of Dwight's defensive prowess. Blake Griffin is arguably the most overrated player in all of basketball. The series will be competitive if Chris Paul can play because he is Chris Paul but the Grizzlies ultimately pull it off in 7. Seven feels like a stretch to me but I'll acknowledge that Lob City is not totally terrible.
In terms of odds, I will put this series at 65-35 Grizzlies.
(M): You realize Chris Paul took the Hornets on his back and took two games from the Lakers last year, right? The Clippers are about 5,000x better than the the Hornets, and they match up pretty well with the Grizzlies. The most overrated player in all of basketball belongs to Chris Bosh, which we'll get to. Blake is developing a post game and a reasonable 15-footer. You know, the more I talk about this, the more I'm convincing myself. Who is going to stop Chris Paul?
(C): The idea of stopping a player is ridiculous but if Chris Paul starts to destroy the Grizzlies then the Grizzlies have the luxury of putting one of the best defenders in the league on him in Tony Allen.
(M): Leaving the vaunted combo of Mo Williams, Eric Bledsoe, Nick Young and Randy Foye to drop approximately 300 3s from deep all over them.
If anyone can handle Tony Allen, it's CP3.
(C): Lmao. Vaunted combo? Nick Young? Mo Williams?
L O L
Check Nick Young's shooting percentages for this year. Better yet, check Mo williams history as a playoff performer. Mo Williams is charminesque. The man wanted to retitre from basketball after Bron left Cleveland. Mo Williams will wilt under the bright lights.
(M): Last I checked, Williams and Young are still professional basketball players. They can hit spot up open 3s, and those WILL be there if Tony Allen is being ground into dust by Chris Paul.
Look for Mo to totally prove you wrong too, and completely shred the Grizzlies second team’s defense. 15 pts a game, easy.
(C): Mo Williams is currently averaging 13 ppg. You are telling me that a guy who has proven time after time (Cyndi Lauper style) that he cannot be trusted in the playoffs is actually going to increase his average in the postseason? We cannot have a rational discussion while you are under the influence. I vote to suspend this discussion immediately.
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