Western Conference:

Warriors vs. Trailblazers: Warriors in 4 – I do not see this series being close at all. I think the Warriors are fired up and peaking at the right time, as they played their best basketball at the end of the regular season. Kevin Durant has just come back, but he is looking great. The Blazers, on the other hand, limped their way into the playoffs. The only way for the Blazers to steal a game is to, (1) have Jusuf Nurkic back from his injury at 100%, or (2) Lillard and McCollum are both going to have to play phenomenal.

Spurs vs. Grizzlies: Spurs in 5 – The Grizzlies have been so underrated all year, and I would say this series would be a lot closer if Tony Allen was not injured. I think this will be a lot similar to the Cavs-Pistons series last year, where the Cavs swept them, but all 4 games were extremely close. This will be a competitive series, with the Grizz stealing a game, but the Spurs will pull it out under the coaching excellence of Gregg Popovich.

Rockets vs Thunder: Rockets in 6 – And here we have the two leading MVP Candidates. As I said before in my last article, I believe that James Harden will go off this series, on a mission to prove who the real MVP is. Of course it helps that he has a better team, and I think that the Rockets will prove to be just too much for OKC. I think the two games that the Thunder will get will be on the back of Westbrook, who will put up some monster numbers before going down.

Clippers vs Jazz: Clippers in 7 – This will be the closest and best series of the first round. These two teams are very equal skill-wise, and I think it will go all the way down to a Game 7. It will be tough for the Clippers, who have been riddled with injury all year, but I think the fact that they have 3 All Star caliber players and a good bench will help them prevail. I think the MVP for the Jazz will by Gordon Hayward, as he will not have to spend much time on the defensive end, as he will be guarding Luc Mbah A Moute.

 

Eastern Conference:

Celtics vs. Bulls: Celtics in 6 – Matchups between the 1 seed and the 8 seed are often not close, but I believe this one will be. The Bulls matchup well with the Celtics, and the Bulls have all the experience with Jimmy Butler, Dwyane Wade, and Rajon Rondo. Meanwhile the Celtics are relatively young, and if the Bulls can find a way to make Isaiah Thomas struggle, they can pull of an upset.

Cavaliers vs. Pacers: Cavaliers in 5 – The first few games of this series will be very important. We will see if the Cavs can really “flip the switch” and if Tyronn Lue’s secret defensive plan is really part of the gameplan. We will also get the see what Paul George can do to carry this Indiana team. I think he will have one of “those” games, but I think the Cavs will quickly rap this one up.

Raptors vs. Bucks: Raptors in 6 – I might have had the Bucks winning this one if Jabari Parker was still playing, but he is not and I think the Raptors guard duo will take the team past the Bucks. The only reason I have Milwaukee winning two games is because of Giannis. Nobody on the Raptors can guard Giannis, so I think we might see him get a triple double in this series, but it won’t be enough to beat Toronto.

Wizards vs Hawks: Wizards in 5 – The Hawks have been extremely hot lately, beating the Cavs twice, but I really do not see them beating the Wizards. They might be able to steal one game in Atlanta, but Wall and Beal is just too much for the Hawks to handle.

 

1. There is at least one upset in the first round. – Anything can happen in the NBA playoffs, and I believe there will be at least one upset this year. The term “upset” means a lower seed beating a higher seed. It is very possible that, in the Oklahoma City Thunder vs Houston Rockets series, the MVP favorite Russell Westbrook puts the Thunder on his back, and carries them into the 2nd round. Milwaukee could also pose a problem for Toronto, and while it will take a lot of this young Bucks team to make it to the 2nd round without Jabari Parker, it is very possible. No one on Toronto can match up with the Greak Freak Giannis Antetokounmpo. There will be many tough series for higher seeded teams though, like the Spurs going up against the tough Memphis Grizzlies, or the Clippers going up against the Jazz.
2. At least 50 players will score over 50 points in a game. – We are in a scoring era of basketball. It has become a three point shooting league. Teams are scoring a lot more points than they did back in the 80’s. And this is why, in this NBA Playoffs, there will be a 50 point explosion from at least 5 players. Just to put it into perspective, there were a record 10 players this season who scored over 50 points. It is likely Westbrook has at least one 50 point game, along with Damian Lillard, who will not go down without a fight against the Warriors. Others, like Isaiah Thomas, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant or Paul George, all have the ability to score 50 in a game.
3. James Harden outplays Russell Westbrook. – I think James Harden is on a mission to prove he is the real MVP, and I think he will show it against Russell Westbrook this series. After Russell Westbrook ended this regular season historically, Harden has to outplay him to get some MVP votes back. I believe Harden will be a nightmare on the floor for any player to guard, as he will average over 15 assists a game and over 30 points per game. While I do believe Westbrook won’t go down without fighting back and pulling a game or two for the Thunder, I still think Harden will carry the Rockets to the next round.
4. The Cavaliers do not make the NBA Finals. – Ahhhhh, this Cavaliers team. So unpredictable. We are all asking the same question in our minds: Can they flip the switch? After a underachieving season, finishing as the 2nd seed, with only 51 wins, they certainly have not looked like a championship team. In their last 46 games, they are at .500 with a 23-23 record. That is not what you want to be doing going into the playoffs. And their 22nd ranked defensive rating is not helping their case either. Their roster has not been assembled well, with their many scorers, hence their 3rd ranked offensive rating, but a lot of bad defenders, in Irving, Love, Korver, Frye, and others. It is going to take an all-time performance from LeBron James to carry the Cavs all the way to the NBA Finals.
5. Nobody puts up a fight against the Warriors. – This Warriors team is just too good. They have a 1rst ranked offense, AND a 2nd ranked defense. Its unbelievable, and they are riding into the playoffs off a 14-1 record in their last 15 games, exactly where they need to be. This has been without Kevin Durant a majority of the time, who has looked great coming back from his injury. It is hard to see any team put up a fight against them. They will most likely sweep the Blazers, and in the 2nd round, they will face the Jazz or Clippers. They have not lost to the Clippers all year, and the Jazz series will be tough with having to guard Rudy Gobert, but it will not go past 6 games. Then, it will most likely be Houston or San Antonio. The Rockets do not have a good enough defense to stop the Warriors. The toughest series for the Warriors will be San Antonio, but they have already beaten the Spurs without Kevin Durant. Then they will head to the Finals. Cleveland is the only hope of beating this team, but the Cavs have not looked great all year, and the 35 point loss on MLK day did not help. As of now, it does not look like anyone will beat the Warriors, and they will be crowned NBA Champions.

 

 

The same thought was going through people’s minds after All Star Weekend 2017: Was this one of the worst All Star Weekends in NBA history. Let’s look at each contest and see what made this weekend that bad.

First was the Skills Challenge. Now with the new addition of Bigs vs Smalls, this was definitely more exciting than year’s before. And to be honest, it was not too bad. The contest scaled down to the final two contestants, Gordon Hayward and Kristaps Porzingis. Porzingis took home the trophy after knocking down the three point shot, but still, it was clear this was not as exciting as last year, where Karl Anthony Towns beat Isaiah Thomas in an amazing win for the bigs. But, all in all, the Skills Challenge might have been the most interesting contest that Saturday night.

Next was the three point contest. Last year proved to be one of the best contests ever, with both the Splash Brothers, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, heating up, getting very high scores. Thompson almost hit all of this shots, but this year, it was very different. Klay failed to show up, and there was no Steph to save the show. The highest score we were treated to was 25 from the eventual winner, Eric Gordon. But nothing came close to that, as the second highest score was 21. We did get to witness an overtime battle between Kyrie Irving and Gordon, but Irving, who went first, only put up 18, an easy score for Gordon to beat. Again, last year’s three point contest beat out this years’.

And now, the very disappointing dunk contest. Nobody believed that this year could top last years’, where we saw an amazing duel between Zach Lavine and Aaron Gordon, where they had to make up dunks during the contest. Zach Lavine eventually won in a battle where it seemed like Gordon was robbed. So, everyone thought Aaron Gordon would come out with some amazing dunks, blow the world, and reclaim the trophy that should have been his. But that was exactly what did not happen. There was a promising intro, where he brought out a drone, and the ball dropped from it, but Gordon was not able to finish the dunk, doing it on his third try. On his second dunk, he just couldn’t do it under the spotlight, and he was out the competition early. Then there was Deandre Jordan, but he is more a force-dunker, and his dunks were not as impressive. Now, the two finalists, two “nobodies”, in Derrick Jones Jr. and Glenn Robinson III. Both did decent first dunks, which got everyone slightly interested, but Jones “killed the crowd” when he couldn’t complete his second dunk. Robinson then won the Dunk Contest with a good dunk to finish it off, but, still, not a dunk contest people will want to remember.

None of the contests were able to top the previous ones. The Skills Challenge did pretty much get as exciting as it could be. There were no high scores in the three point contest, and the Dunk Contest, which got so much hype, was a disaster. This leaves many wondering, does the NBA need to change up All Star Saturday Night?

Our first big trade before the trade deadline is a huge one. It brings arguably the best center in the league, in Demarcus Cousins, to the New Orleans Pelicans, who have the best power forward in the league, in Anthony Davis. The Sacramento Kings, Cousins’ former team, are receiving Buddy Hield, Langston Galloway, and Tyreke Evans, in addition to two picks in upcoming drafts. Let’s look at this shocking trade from both sides.

For the Pelicans, they just got a top 10 player, and gave up very little. They now have the two best big men in the league, each averaging around 27 and 11. So the Pelicans frontcourt is settled. But what about the backcourt? After this trade, the Pelicans only have three guards on their roster: Tim Frazier, Jrue Holiday, and E’Twaun Moore. It has been reported, though, that the Pelicans front office is looking to trade Terrence Jones from another solid guard. It will be interesting to see how Cousins and Davis can play together. Neither have ever played together, although they were both Kentucky Wildcats, but not at the same time. There are not many teams with two exceptional big men, so it might be something we have not seen in awhile. Many Pelicans fans have been pleading the front office to get Davis some help, and this might be the move that can push them into that 8th seed, as teams are going to find it tough to stop both Demarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis.

For the Kings, the same question is going through most people’s minds: What were you thinking? It seems they are trying to start rebuilding, but they could have gotten more for Demarcus Cousins. The Kings organisation did not want to have to deal with Cousins, who led the league in technicals, and also got a suspension for it. In return for Cousins, they got a few new players. One was Tyreke Evans, who has had three knee surgeries in the past 18 months, and seems to be fading in the NBA. Second was Langston Galloway, a decent but nowhere close to All-Star caliber player. Lastly is Buddy Hield, who the owner is reportedly very fond of, but Hield has not produced as much has people thought he would. The Kings owner has also said that Hield has the potential of 2-time MVP Stephen Curry, but it certainly does not look that way.

The Kings definitely lost this trade, showing another low point in a frustrating season. As for the Pelicans, we are going to find out whether Anthony Davis and Demarcus Cousins can play well enough to make the their team a dark horse in the playoffs.