(1) San Antonio Spurs vs. (8) Utah Jazz
Season Series: Spurs won series 3-1
Key Player: Tony Parker
Even though the Utah Jazz have a great young core of big men, they are no match for this experienced Spurs team. Jefferson, Millsap, Favors, and Kanter are all 27 years old or younger, and if the Jazz can get some good guards they are going to be a very dangerous team in the next few years. But they don’t have those guards now, and C.J. Miles is not going to be able to stick with Ginobili and Parker during this series. The Spurs lost in the first round last year as the top seed, but I don’t see that happening again.
Prediction: Spurs win in 5 games.
(2) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (7) Dallas Mavericks
Season Series: Thunder won series 3-1
Key Player: Dirk Nowitzki
We get to see a rematch of last year’s Conference Finals in the first round this year. Dirk led the Mavericks on an amazing run last season, and I picked against them every round of the playoffs. Well let’s see if he can do it again. Durant and Westbrook have been struggling lately, but it is playoff time. The Thunder just have to0 much firepower for the Mavericks, and without Chandler in the middle of that Dallas defense, Westbrook should be able to get to the basket at will. Because if the Mavs think that Carter, West, or Marion can cover Westbrook they are sadly mistaken.
Prediction: Thunder win in 5, only because Dirk wins one game by himself.
(3) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (6) Denver Nuggets
Season Series: Lakers won 3-1
Key Player: Danilo Gallinari
I LOVE this series. It will all depend on which Lakers team shows up though. Kobe proved that he cares more about a championship than a scoring title by sitting out the last game of the season, but without Metta World Peace somebody needs to step up on defense. (Maybe Matt Barnes…) This is going to be an example of superstar vs. team, and I think that Kobe is still good enough to win the series with the help of his big men. But like Utah, Denver is another team on the rise, and if Danilo never got injured this season they might have gotten a better seed.
Prediction: Lakers win in 7.
(4) Memphis Grizzlies vs. (5) Los Angeles Clippers
Season Series: Clippers won 2-1.
Key Player: Zach Randolph
If Zach Randolph plays like he did last year in the playoffs, when he average 22 points and 11 rebounds, the Grizzlies will not have too much trouble in this series. But Randolph isn’t the same player this season after his injury, and the Clippers have a lot of talent that could cause him trouble. Chris Paul is a true superstar and he can take over a game at any point. If the game is close at the end of the game you have to give the advantage to the Clippers since they have Paul. But I picked the Grizzlies to make the Finals before the season, and I am going to keep them going through to the next round since they are so deep and have better big men than the Clippers. DeAndre Jordan will not be a factor at all in the series because Marc Gasol will dominate him down low.
Check out my Eastern Conference Playoff Preview as well!
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