Eastern Conference
(1) Chicago Bulls V (5) Atlanta Hawks.
The Atlanta Hawks pulled of the first upset of the 2011 NBA playoffs, beating the Orlando Magic in 6 games. On the other hand the Bulls had a hard-fought series with the young Pacers, but outlasted Indiana in 5 games. One of the biggest stories in this series will be the play of Carlos Boozer. Boozer didn't show up in the Indiana series, and will need to show up this series, facing off against Atlanta's one-two punch of Josh Smith and Al Horford. If Boozer can't step up, the Bulls will need to do out they have done for most of the season......trust Derrick Rose to make the right plays, not a bad idea. With Kirk Hinrich out for the Hawks, Rose shouldn't have too much problem against either Jamal Crawford or Jeff Teague, depending on who Larry Drew starts. Rose will be the best player in the series by far, but it will be interesting to see if Joe Johnson can carry Atlanta to a couple of wins. Johnson will need to score at least 25 points a game this series for the Hawks to have any chance.
My Prediction: Bulls in 5.
(2) Miami HEAT V (3) Boston Celtics.
This is going to go down as one of the greatest playoff series in NBA history. The star-studded team of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh taking on Boston's big 4 of Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. The Celtics beat the HEAT 3-1 in the regular season but Miami bet Boston late in the season at home by 23 points. This series will come down to match-ups. Will Rajon Rondo take over against Miami's weak line of point guards, will Dwayne Wade chase Ray Allen around all of them screens, will Pierce's offense take a hit while guarding LeBron, will Bosh choke against KG and will Shaq be healthy for the series. Also what team's role players will come up with the goods? Will Jeff Green finally show his talent with Boston, will Glen Davis be the spark for the Celts or will James Jones hit big 3's for Miami and can big Z take care of the rebounds for the HEAT. Will the home court advanage make a difference in the series? This series if full of questions, and all we can do is wait and see what happenes.
My Prediction: HEAT in 7.
Western Conference
(4) Oklahoma City Thunder V (8) Memphis Grizzlies.
The Memphis Grizzlies pulled of one of the biggest upsets in NBA history, knocking off the number 1 seed, San Antonio Spurs. It was the franchise's first ever playoff series win and sent the city of Memphis in a frenzy. Meanwhile Oklahoma City took care of them tough Denver Nuggets in 5 games. This is going to be the most entertaining series out of the 4, and it's going to be great to watch the NBA's future in action. Both teams have young legs who love the run up and down the floor. The thing that Memphis will need to do to win the series is shut down Durant and Westbrook....easier said than done. While Mike Conley is a great player, he in no-where near the level that Westbrook is. Westbrook should get the better of Conley in the series, unless Conley can use his speed to beat Westbrook up and down the floor. With KD, the Grizz are going to go to their two best defenders....Tony Allen and Shane Battier. But KD is still the NBA's leading scorer, and Memphis can throw everything they want at KD, it's not going to work. While in the paint the Gasol/Randolph V Perkins/Ibaka match-up will be massive. Will Memphis' pair take care on offense or will OKC's pair shut them down on defence?
My Prediction: Thunder in 6.
(2) Los Angles Lakers V (3) Dallas Mavericks.
Pau Gasol. That one player is either going to win the series for the Lakers or he is going to lose the series for the Lakers. Pau failed to show up in the Hornets series but the Lakers still prevailed. If he fails to show up again, the Lakers won't win this series. The reason? If Kobe isn't shooting well the Lakers give it to Gasol and Pau will be facing one of the best power forwards of all time, Dirk Nowitzki. Dirk can always score when he wants and he can take Pau out to the 3 point line, which will give Gasol problems. Meanwhile, will Kobe's ankle be healthy for the series? Even if it isn't, the Lakers shouldn't need to worry that much, seeing that it is Kobe. For Dallas, they will be hoping that Jason Kidd can continue shooting the lights out from downtown, like he was in the Portland series. Also will Lamar Odom give the Lakers the spark they will need at one time during the series or will Jason Terry find his shooting touch and give Dallas the spark? This seems to be a very intriguing series between two of the NBA's oldest teams.
My Prediction: Lakers in 6.
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