The end of the NBA regular season was last night, and even though it went by fast, I’m glad it’s over. Now it’s time for the playoffs to begin.
Let’s take a look at the match-ups:
Eastern Conference
(1) Miami Heat, 66-16 vs (8) Milwaukee Bucks, 38-44
(2) New York Knicks, 54-28 vs (7) Boston Celtics, 41-40
(3) Indiana Pacers, 49-32 vs (6) Atlanta Hawks, 44-38
(4) Brooklyn Nets, 49-33 vs (5) Chicago Bulls, 45-37
Western Conference
(1) Oklahoma City Thunder, 60-22 vs (8) Houston Rockets, 45-37
(2) San Antonio Spurs, 58-24 vs (7) Los Angeles Lakers, 45-37
(3) Denver Nuggets, 57-25 vs (6) Golden State Warriors, 47-35
(4) Los Angeles Clippers, 56-26 vs (5) Memphis Grizzlies, 56-26
The postseason has plenty of interesting series, such as Clippers-Grizzlies part two, James Harden against his former team, the Knicks against the Celtics and the Kobe-less Lakers against the banged-up Spurs. There is also others like the Pacers vs the Hawks that probably belongs on NBA TV, so no one outside of those places will complain about it.
The Kobe-less Lakers beat the Spurs last week at the Staples center, but that win won’t even matter now. The intensity of the playoffs is not the same as the regular season, and you know head coach Gregg Popovich will have his team ready. Tony Parker was abysmal during that game and Manu Ginobili was out. Heck, even Tracy McGrady, who was just recently signed, wasn’t around.
The Warriors and the Nuggets will average a ton of points between the two, and it will come down to health. Forward Danilo Gallinari will be out for the Nuggets and point guard Ty Lawson was dealing with injuries of his own despite playing and hitting a game-winner against the Bucks on Monday. Also, forward Kenneth Faried rolled his left ankle four days ago. The Warriors' only chance will be to win a game at the Pepsi Center, where Denver only lost three times all year.
The 2012 NBA champions in the Heat will face the Bucks in the first round, a team that has played them pretty close the last couple of seasons. However, Miami is a different animal in the postseason. The Nets-Bulls match-up should be a close series; however, Chicago will miss Derrick Rose to close out games.
