Post by donatello2424 on Apr 13, 2010 19:47:03 GMT -5
For this installment, I will take a look at the first round playoff matchups for the eastern conference.
#1 seed Indiana Pacers v.s. #8 seed Toronto Raptors
Indiana won the award last year and this year looks to be no different as they cruise to the best record in the league. The championship team is still intact and is lead by their point guard Michael Redd in a very fast, run and gun style offense. They have three pure scorers with Redd, Hamilton, and Anthony. Marion gives them defense and rebounding with a bit of a scoring touch and Darko is there to do the dirty work with his rebounding and shot blocking. Their main piece of depth is Brian Grant, who played starter minutes. Grant gives them options as well as being able to replace Darko or Anthony and in a sense Marion (Anthony moves to the 3). But outside of him, they don’t have much. All of their starters played over 35 mpg, so if a big injury strikes it could cause some changed to be made and a lineup in turmoil. If a team can slow down their offense and provide some great perimeter defense, they will have a chance.
Toronto barely snuck into that last playoff spot. They have been playing round table with their lineup trying to find something that works. The only mainstays have been Lauderdale and West in the middle. Lauderdale is a very good inside scorer and rebounder that can cause match-up problems due to his sheer size. The rest of their lineup is a mix of Grant Hill, Trevor Ariza, Kobe Bryant, and Bob Sura. Kobe can play the point some as he has been before he went down with an injury. Hill and Bryant are the two mains corers on this offense besides Lauderdale and both can hit the 3 as well as inside. Talking about them brings up their depth and that is with Bob Sura at the point, Morrison as a wing, and Josh Powell as their bench big. None of these guys are great but Morrison can hit the outside shot and Sura allows them to tinker with their lineup. The key to beating them is forcing Lauderdale into foul trouble. Since he is so big he has a tendency to bowl people over. Force Hill and Kobe to take over where they are better fitted.
Key Match-up: Michael Redd v.s. Kobe Bryant
I pick this match-up because if Kobe starts at the point for them, it would be their two main offensive weapons squaring off. Both can defend so a match-up between these two starts would be great. It isn’t a question of who can stop who, whether who can contain who. I don’t really think this is a close match-up. The Raptors do have Priest, but I think Darko can contain him. I just don’t think the rest of the Raptors crew can contain two other 20 ppg scorers.
Prediction: Pacers 4, Raptors 0
#2 seed Washington Bullets v.s. #7 seed Philadelphia 76ers
Washington takes advantage of the division winner getting a top two seed by winning the Atlantic. Washington is lead by a bunch of veterans in 29 year olds Chris Mihm and Elton Brand, 28 year old Tracy McGrady, and 32 year old Ray Allen. This team has struggled with finding the right depth chart and settings, but game on strong with a perfect last sim. The leader of this team has been often injured shooting guard Ray Allen who scored 26 ppg this season. Joining him on the wing is Tracy McGrady, giving the Bullets two players who can hit the outside shot but also take the ball inside and play defense. That duo accounted for almost 50 points a game and 3 turnovers, a great ratio. The other scorers are 2nd year point guard Chris Paul who is averaging 17 ppg and 9 assists, and power forward Elton Brand with 18 ppg and 10 rpg. Each of these two have their own problems with Paul’s being his turnovers and Brand being his foul situation. Rounding out the lineup is Chris Mihm who provides rebounding and shot blocking for the team. Their depth is interesting and quite traditional compared to the Pacers and Raptors. Rozier has been a solid bench big man showing that he can score, rebound, and play some defense if called upon. Tony Dumas is showing that he could return to his 2004 form with his offensive game scoring 9 points for the team. Their weakest link may be their bench point guard where bust Baron Davis plays, while he has had some solid games, he is a liability. To beat the Bullets a must is to get Brand into foul trouble. If Brand is in foul trouble and you have a good defense 1-2-3, the Bullets can be shut down with very streaky performances from their stars.
Philadelphia snuck into the playoffs as the 7th seed in an interesting twist that left three teams with identical records and only two playoff spots. They are lead by a duo of guards in Deron Williams and Larry Hughes. Both are very good scorers who can play either guard position, and that will come in handy when we talk about their bench in a minute. Both are their main scorers and also give them some defense. Their big man rotation is about defense. Sene came over in a trade and gives them shot blocking and post defense at the power forward position. Jermaine O’Neal is a great rebounder and shot blocker and can score if needed. To round out their starting 5 is Gerald Green who has been a wildcard on this team. He has the potential to go off scoring but not the per game totals to back it up. Their bench is summed up by two players: Zach Randolph and Ricky Davis. Randolph changed the dynamics of their team completely. Zbo is a great inside scorer who can rebound, but is a serious defensive liability. He will score you 20 ppg in a starting role, but might give up 21 ppg. He is a wildcard player but is an explosive one at that. Ricky Davis is their other main bench guys and Davis is a scorer. He gives them another offensive weapon when he starts. He is flexible by being able to play either wing spot which allows them to move Hughes to the point if needed and Davis can fill in. Another liability with him is his defense, which seems to be a trend with backups. To beat the 76ers a team needs to exploit their weaknesses. Play defense against Hughes and force him to take bad shots. A team also needs to play good defense against Deron and exploit his defensive weakness. If they can pick and choose their battles, such as attacking Deron and JO, then they can be defeated.
Key Match-up: Ray Allen v.s. Larry Hughes
Even though Allen is out the first 5 days I still think this could be a solid match-up. Both are their team’s top scorer and both can play defense. They can duke it out to see who is the top dog. Another interesting match-up is the Deron v.s. Paul match-up. Both have defensive liabilities and both can score, the question is can Paul stop Deron at all, which has been a problem this season? I think if the Bullets can win a couple games without Allen, they have a chance. Brand and T-Mac will need to step up and give them offensive firepower, but it will be a close one.
Prediction: Washington 4, Philadelphia 3
#3 seed Cleveland Cavaliers v.s. #6 seed Milwaukee Bucks
Cleveland made a deadline deal that suck their team and sent them into turmoil. The traded two starters for one and gave a bench player starting minutes. Cleveland is lead by Rudy Gay and Stephen Jackson, both of whom are 35 ppg scorer. Jackson gets the edge as the top guy because he can pass the ball and is a great defender. Tony Allen has been pushed into the starting rotation and while he is a good defender, I’m not sure how great he will be against the top guard defenders. Okafor and Bosh are their two big men and both can score, play defense, and rebound the basketball. Okafor is mainly a shot blocker and rebounder, but he can score if needed, just not on a good percentage. Their main backup is Martynas Andriuskevicius. Martynas is a very good rebounder and defender, but he isn’t near the offensive weapon that Okafor or Bosh is. I guess their main backup wing is Bozni, but he doesn’t play enough minutes to get serious consideration. The main thing a team needs to do is try and contain Gay and Jackson, as their two main scorers. Okafor is a threat to go off for some points so playing him hard a must. Exploit their lack of a good SG and rain on the points.
The Bucks have been an interesting team. They shouldn’t have made the playoffs with their lineup, but somehow they did. They really are a ragtag bunch of players. Their main offensive weapons are Donyell Marshall and Al Harrington. Neither are great but can score and defend decently. Eddie Griffin is their main piece and gives them some scoring, defense, and rebounding. I can’t break their team down because I have no idea what offense they run. They are a wild card team because you can’t play for them. They are a match-up nightmare because of the different lineups they can throw at you. Hinrich can play the point or shooting guard position, Harrington can play either forward as can Marshall. Korolev has shown he can play the point some, Griffin and Ibaka both are great shot blockers. What will they put out? Only Kru knows, but you can bet it will be dangerous.
Key Match-up: The Cavs Big Men v.s. Eddie Griffin
Griffin is a stud defender, so he will have a lot cut out for him with defending Chris Bosh and Emeka Okafor. If the Bucks want to have a chance I think Griffin needs to be on Okafor and try to contain him. Okafor is a very solid shot blocker and rebounder, and if Griffin can keep him at bay they might have a chance. I doubt it will happen, but anything is possible. I think the Cavs win in a tough series but their talent is just better than the Bucks.
Prediction: Cleveland 4, Milwaukee 2
#4 seed Boston Celtics v.s. #5 seed Detroit Pistons
The Celtics have been a surprising team after making some big trades. They brought on Vince Carter and Kevin Garnett, giving them a great 1-2 punch. Carter is their main player, a 28 ppg scorer who can score in bunches. He isn’t a great defensive player, but he holds his own decently. On the other hand, KG is a very good defensive big who can rebound and score. He allows them to play the inside/out game with Carter and himself, stretching defenses. Gaining him is Pau Gasol, a slightly undervalued player who does everything KG does, just on a lesser scale. Outside of this 3, the Celtics don’t have much offensive firepower left. Marbury mans the point but isn’t an offensive threat and Matt Barnes doesn’t do much of anything. Off the bench they do have some talent. LaMarcus Aldridge provides them with a solid backup big in case one of their guys goes down. He is very similar to KG and Gasol so they do not lose anything there. Derrick Rose has been getting a lot of minutes backing up Barnes and Marbury. He can score, but that is about it. If Marbury goes down and Rose has to step in, it will be turnover city for the Celtics.
The Pistons were a team that flew under the radar. They don’t have a traditional “star” and have 7 guys all scoring in double-digits. They are lead by the point guard duo of Allen Iverson and Steve Nash. AI plays the 2-guard position while Nash mans the point. Nash and Iverson are dangerous because of how quickly they can go off for a huge scoring streak. Joining them is Ron Artest. Artest has been considered vastly overpaid due to his contract and production. This year he has stepped up his scoring to around 16 ppg, but he still struggles offensively with his percentages. Their two bigs are Marc Gasol and Nazr Mohammed. Nazr has always played under his ratings and this year is no different. Even though he has A- inside, he isn’t a big time scorer. He is a decent placeholder big, but his value just isn’t there. Marc, on the other hand, plays slightly above his ratings. Gasol isn’t a great rebounder, but holds his own defensively. His real value comes with his scoring. He balances out AIs and Nash’s run and chuck up 3’s approach with a slightly balanced inside game. He is a wild card weapon if teams are gunning for AI and Nash. Off the bench they have Wright, another scoring big man. He is a rebounding liability so the team is not very deep there. However, Wright can block a shot or two, increasing his value somewhat. However, if the Pistons are relying on him to play major minutes in relief or Gasol or Nazr, they are screwed. The last player is Mike Miller. Mike is averaging starter minutes and gives the Pistons another offensive weapon off the bench. To go along with the trend, Mike can relief Artest at the 3 and AI at the 2. If Nash goes down, Miller can fill in at the 2 and AI moves to the point. Miller can even backup the point if needed as he has shown in the past. His biggest weakness is his defense, and if it is him and Nash, they are a defensive liability. To beat the Pistons a team needs to pound the ball inside. Nash and AI are very good with ball stealing, so avoiding them and taking advantage of their weakness inside.
Key Match-up: Vince Carter v.s. Ron Artest
I think this is a great match-up. The Celtics have two good scorers inside to take advantage of the Pistons’ and the Pistons have two great scorers at the guard positions to take advantage of the Celtics’ weakness. The key match is just that, the deciding factor. Artest is a good defender but I do not think he has all the tools to stop Carter. I see it as Pau and KG > Marc and Nazr, Barnes and Marbury < AI and Nash, and then Carter is better than Artest. I give the edge to the Celtics however if AI and Nash can really pour it on, this series could go either way.
Prediction: Celtics 4, Pistons 3
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#1 seed Indiana Pacers v.s. #4 seed Boston Celtics
Key Match-up: Carmelo Anthony v.s. Kevin Garnett
This is an interesting match-up. The Celtics have some firepower to go with the Pacers with Carter and KG, but is it enough? I think the interesting match-up is Melo v.s. KG. Melo is a different type of power forward relying more on his outside shot to stretch the defense. KG will force Melo to play inside to guard him, and will likely require double-teams from the help of Darko, leaving Pau open for easy baskets. While I think this is a bad match-up, I can't forget to think about how great the combo of Hamilton and Redd is. I don't think Barnes and Marbury can contain them. It will continue to be more 3's everywhere raining down and I don't think the Boston guard duo is a good match-up.
Prediction: Pacers 4, Celtics 1
#2 seed Washington Bullets v.s. #3 seed Cleveland Cavalier
Key Match-Up: Tracy McGrady v.s. Rudy Gay
I do think this is an very interesting series. They are similar teams in a sense. I think Okafor can abuse Mihm if he is lucky and use that as an advantage for them. But I do think the wild card match-up is T-Mac v.s. Gay. Both are great scorers but can McGrady defend Gay? He has struggled against top small forward in the past. Gay is not a stellar defender either and can he contain McGrady? I am going to give the slight edge to McGrady. I think that Ray Allen will destroy whoever Cleveland puts to guard him and the SJax/Paul match-up is interested. Paul has had some defensive trouble which SJax can take advantage of. I think the Bullets lack of defense where they need it (center and point guard) does them in, but not without a fight.
Prediction: Cavaliers 4, Bullets 3
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#1 seed Indiana Pacers v.s. #3 seed Cleveland Cavaliers
Key Match-Up: Michael Redd v.s. Stephen Jackson
This is going to be a battle of the point guards. Both are at the top of their game and I think the matchup will come down to how they play against each other. Darko can contain Okafor and Melo provides a new test for Bosh. Marion's defense comes in handy against the sharp shooter Rudy Gay. Hamilton will get his points against Tony Allen. So I feel this is the main match-up. If one has a bad day it could mean a loss for their team. I have to go with SJax here because of his ability to score inside as well and a more tuned in handling game. However, just because I pick the winner of the match-up does not mean their team will win the series. I think Hamilton is going to have a great series against Tony Allen and Melo will go for a big game against Bosh's weak perimeter defense in at least on day.
Prediction: Pacers 4, Cavaliers 2
#1 seed Indiana Pacers v.s. #8 seed Toronto Raptors
Indiana won the award last year and this year looks to be no different as they cruise to the best record in the league. The championship team is still intact and is lead by their point guard Michael Redd in a very fast, run and gun style offense. They have three pure scorers with Redd, Hamilton, and Anthony. Marion gives them defense and rebounding with a bit of a scoring touch and Darko is there to do the dirty work with his rebounding and shot blocking. Their main piece of depth is Brian Grant, who played starter minutes. Grant gives them options as well as being able to replace Darko or Anthony and in a sense Marion (Anthony moves to the 3). But outside of him, they don’t have much. All of their starters played over 35 mpg, so if a big injury strikes it could cause some changed to be made and a lineup in turmoil. If a team can slow down their offense and provide some great perimeter defense, they will have a chance.
Toronto barely snuck into that last playoff spot. They have been playing round table with their lineup trying to find something that works. The only mainstays have been Lauderdale and West in the middle. Lauderdale is a very good inside scorer and rebounder that can cause match-up problems due to his sheer size. The rest of their lineup is a mix of Grant Hill, Trevor Ariza, Kobe Bryant, and Bob Sura. Kobe can play the point some as he has been before he went down with an injury. Hill and Bryant are the two mains corers on this offense besides Lauderdale and both can hit the 3 as well as inside. Talking about them brings up their depth and that is with Bob Sura at the point, Morrison as a wing, and Josh Powell as their bench big. None of these guys are great but Morrison can hit the outside shot and Sura allows them to tinker with their lineup. The key to beating them is forcing Lauderdale into foul trouble. Since he is so big he has a tendency to bowl people over. Force Hill and Kobe to take over where they are better fitted.
Key Match-up: Michael Redd v.s. Kobe Bryant
I pick this match-up because if Kobe starts at the point for them, it would be their two main offensive weapons squaring off. Both can defend so a match-up between these two starts would be great. It isn’t a question of who can stop who, whether who can contain who. I don’t really think this is a close match-up. The Raptors do have Priest, but I think Darko can contain him. I just don’t think the rest of the Raptors crew can contain two other 20 ppg scorers.
Prediction: Pacers 4, Raptors 0
#2 seed Washington Bullets v.s. #7 seed Philadelphia 76ers
Washington takes advantage of the division winner getting a top two seed by winning the Atlantic. Washington is lead by a bunch of veterans in 29 year olds Chris Mihm and Elton Brand, 28 year old Tracy McGrady, and 32 year old Ray Allen. This team has struggled with finding the right depth chart and settings, but game on strong with a perfect last sim. The leader of this team has been often injured shooting guard Ray Allen who scored 26 ppg this season. Joining him on the wing is Tracy McGrady, giving the Bullets two players who can hit the outside shot but also take the ball inside and play defense. That duo accounted for almost 50 points a game and 3 turnovers, a great ratio. The other scorers are 2nd year point guard Chris Paul who is averaging 17 ppg and 9 assists, and power forward Elton Brand with 18 ppg and 10 rpg. Each of these two have their own problems with Paul’s being his turnovers and Brand being his foul situation. Rounding out the lineup is Chris Mihm who provides rebounding and shot blocking for the team. Their depth is interesting and quite traditional compared to the Pacers and Raptors. Rozier has been a solid bench big man showing that he can score, rebound, and play some defense if called upon. Tony Dumas is showing that he could return to his 2004 form with his offensive game scoring 9 points for the team. Their weakest link may be their bench point guard where bust Baron Davis plays, while he has had some solid games, he is a liability. To beat the Bullets a must is to get Brand into foul trouble. If Brand is in foul trouble and you have a good defense 1-2-3, the Bullets can be shut down with very streaky performances from their stars.
Philadelphia snuck into the playoffs as the 7th seed in an interesting twist that left three teams with identical records and only two playoff spots. They are lead by a duo of guards in Deron Williams and Larry Hughes. Both are very good scorers who can play either guard position, and that will come in handy when we talk about their bench in a minute. Both are their main scorers and also give them some defense. Their big man rotation is about defense. Sene came over in a trade and gives them shot blocking and post defense at the power forward position. Jermaine O’Neal is a great rebounder and shot blocker and can score if needed. To round out their starting 5 is Gerald Green who has been a wildcard on this team. He has the potential to go off scoring but not the per game totals to back it up. Their bench is summed up by two players: Zach Randolph and Ricky Davis. Randolph changed the dynamics of their team completely. Zbo is a great inside scorer who can rebound, but is a serious defensive liability. He will score you 20 ppg in a starting role, but might give up 21 ppg. He is a wildcard player but is an explosive one at that. Ricky Davis is their other main bench guys and Davis is a scorer. He gives them another offensive weapon when he starts. He is flexible by being able to play either wing spot which allows them to move Hughes to the point if needed and Davis can fill in. Another liability with him is his defense, which seems to be a trend with backups. To beat the 76ers a team needs to exploit their weaknesses. Play defense against Hughes and force him to take bad shots. A team also needs to play good defense against Deron and exploit his defensive weakness. If they can pick and choose their battles, such as attacking Deron and JO, then they can be defeated.
Key Match-up: Ray Allen v.s. Larry Hughes
Even though Allen is out the first 5 days I still think this could be a solid match-up. Both are their team’s top scorer and both can play defense. They can duke it out to see who is the top dog. Another interesting match-up is the Deron v.s. Paul match-up. Both have defensive liabilities and both can score, the question is can Paul stop Deron at all, which has been a problem this season? I think if the Bullets can win a couple games without Allen, they have a chance. Brand and T-Mac will need to step up and give them offensive firepower, but it will be a close one.
Prediction: Washington 4, Philadelphia 3
#3 seed Cleveland Cavaliers v.s. #6 seed Milwaukee Bucks
Cleveland made a deadline deal that suck their team and sent them into turmoil. The traded two starters for one and gave a bench player starting minutes. Cleveland is lead by Rudy Gay and Stephen Jackson, both of whom are 35 ppg scorer. Jackson gets the edge as the top guy because he can pass the ball and is a great defender. Tony Allen has been pushed into the starting rotation and while he is a good defender, I’m not sure how great he will be against the top guard defenders. Okafor and Bosh are their two big men and both can score, play defense, and rebound the basketball. Okafor is mainly a shot blocker and rebounder, but he can score if needed, just not on a good percentage. Their main backup is Martynas Andriuskevicius. Martynas is a very good rebounder and defender, but he isn’t near the offensive weapon that Okafor or Bosh is. I guess their main backup wing is Bozni, but he doesn’t play enough minutes to get serious consideration. The main thing a team needs to do is try and contain Gay and Jackson, as their two main scorers. Okafor is a threat to go off for some points so playing him hard a must. Exploit their lack of a good SG and rain on the points.
The Bucks have been an interesting team. They shouldn’t have made the playoffs with their lineup, but somehow they did. They really are a ragtag bunch of players. Their main offensive weapons are Donyell Marshall and Al Harrington. Neither are great but can score and defend decently. Eddie Griffin is their main piece and gives them some scoring, defense, and rebounding. I can’t break their team down because I have no idea what offense they run. They are a wild card team because you can’t play for them. They are a match-up nightmare because of the different lineups they can throw at you. Hinrich can play the point or shooting guard position, Harrington can play either forward as can Marshall. Korolev has shown he can play the point some, Griffin and Ibaka both are great shot blockers. What will they put out? Only Kru knows, but you can bet it will be dangerous.
Key Match-up: The Cavs Big Men v.s. Eddie Griffin
Griffin is a stud defender, so he will have a lot cut out for him with defending Chris Bosh and Emeka Okafor. If the Bucks want to have a chance I think Griffin needs to be on Okafor and try to contain him. Okafor is a very solid shot blocker and rebounder, and if Griffin can keep him at bay they might have a chance. I doubt it will happen, but anything is possible. I think the Cavs win in a tough series but their talent is just better than the Bucks.
Prediction: Cleveland 4, Milwaukee 2
#4 seed Boston Celtics v.s. #5 seed Detroit Pistons
The Celtics have been a surprising team after making some big trades. They brought on Vince Carter and Kevin Garnett, giving them a great 1-2 punch. Carter is their main player, a 28 ppg scorer who can score in bunches. He isn’t a great defensive player, but he holds his own decently. On the other hand, KG is a very good defensive big who can rebound and score. He allows them to play the inside/out game with Carter and himself, stretching defenses. Gaining him is Pau Gasol, a slightly undervalued player who does everything KG does, just on a lesser scale. Outside of this 3, the Celtics don’t have much offensive firepower left. Marbury mans the point but isn’t an offensive threat and Matt Barnes doesn’t do much of anything. Off the bench they do have some talent. LaMarcus Aldridge provides them with a solid backup big in case one of their guys goes down. He is very similar to KG and Gasol so they do not lose anything there. Derrick Rose has been getting a lot of minutes backing up Barnes and Marbury. He can score, but that is about it. If Marbury goes down and Rose has to step in, it will be turnover city for the Celtics.
The Pistons were a team that flew under the radar. They don’t have a traditional “star” and have 7 guys all scoring in double-digits. They are lead by the point guard duo of Allen Iverson and Steve Nash. AI plays the 2-guard position while Nash mans the point. Nash and Iverson are dangerous because of how quickly they can go off for a huge scoring streak. Joining them is Ron Artest. Artest has been considered vastly overpaid due to his contract and production. This year he has stepped up his scoring to around 16 ppg, but he still struggles offensively with his percentages. Their two bigs are Marc Gasol and Nazr Mohammed. Nazr has always played under his ratings and this year is no different. Even though he has A- inside, he isn’t a big time scorer. He is a decent placeholder big, but his value just isn’t there. Marc, on the other hand, plays slightly above his ratings. Gasol isn’t a great rebounder, but holds his own defensively. His real value comes with his scoring. He balances out AIs and Nash’s run and chuck up 3’s approach with a slightly balanced inside game. He is a wild card weapon if teams are gunning for AI and Nash. Off the bench they have Wright, another scoring big man. He is a rebounding liability so the team is not very deep there. However, Wright can block a shot or two, increasing his value somewhat. However, if the Pistons are relying on him to play major minutes in relief or Gasol or Nazr, they are screwed. The last player is Mike Miller. Mike is averaging starter minutes and gives the Pistons another offensive weapon off the bench. To go along with the trend, Mike can relief Artest at the 3 and AI at the 2. If Nash goes down, Miller can fill in at the 2 and AI moves to the point. Miller can even backup the point if needed as he has shown in the past. His biggest weakness is his defense, and if it is him and Nash, they are a defensive liability. To beat the Pistons a team needs to pound the ball inside. Nash and AI are very good with ball stealing, so avoiding them and taking advantage of their weakness inside.
Key Match-up: Vince Carter v.s. Ron Artest
I think this is a great match-up. The Celtics have two good scorers inside to take advantage of the Pistons’ and the Pistons have two great scorers at the guard positions to take advantage of the Celtics’ weakness. The key match is just that, the deciding factor. Artest is a good defender but I do not think he has all the tools to stop Carter. I see it as Pau and KG > Marc and Nazr, Barnes and Marbury < AI and Nash, and then Carter is better than Artest. I give the edge to the Celtics however if AI and Nash can really pour it on, this series could go either way.
Prediction: Celtics 4, Pistons 3
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#1 seed Indiana Pacers v.s. #4 seed Boston Celtics
Key Match-up: Carmelo Anthony v.s. Kevin Garnett
This is an interesting match-up. The Celtics have some firepower to go with the Pacers with Carter and KG, but is it enough? I think the interesting match-up is Melo v.s. KG. Melo is a different type of power forward relying more on his outside shot to stretch the defense. KG will force Melo to play inside to guard him, and will likely require double-teams from the help of Darko, leaving Pau open for easy baskets. While I think this is a bad match-up, I can't forget to think about how great the combo of Hamilton and Redd is. I don't think Barnes and Marbury can contain them. It will continue to be more 3's everywhere raining down and I don't think the Boston guard duo is a good match-up.
Prediction: Pacers 4, Celtics 1
#2 seed Washington Bullets v.s. #3 seed Cleveland Cavalier
Key Match-Up: Tracy McGrady v.s. Rudy Gay
I do think this is an very interesting series. They are similar teams in a sense. I think Okafor can abuse Mihm if he is lucky and use that as an advantage for them. But I do think the wild card match-up is T-Mac v.s. Gay. Both are great scorers but can McGrady defend Gay? He has struggled against top small forward in the past. Gay is not a stellar defender either and can he contain McGrady? I am going to give the slight edge to McGrady. I think that Ray Allen will destroy whoever Cleveland puts to guard him and the SJax/Paul match-up is interested. Paul has had some defensive trouble which SJax can take advantage of. I think the Bullets lack of defense where they need it (center and point guard) does them in, but not without a fight.
Prediction: Cavaliers 4, Bullets 3
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#1 seed Indiana Pacers v.s. #3 seed Cleveland Cavaliers
Key Match-Up: Michael Redd v.s. Stephen Jackson
This is going to be a battle of the point guards. Both are at the top of their game and I think the matchup will come down to how they play against each other. Darko can contain Okafor and Melo provides a new test for Bosh. Marion's defense comes in handy against the sharp shooter Rudy Gay. Hamilton will get his points against Tony Allen. So I feel this is the main match-up. If one has a bad day it could mean a loss for their team. I have to go with SJax here because of his ability to score inside as well and a more tuned in handling game. However, just because I pick the winner of the match-up does not mean their team will win the series. I think Hamilton is going to have a great series against Tony Allen and Melo will go for a big game against Bosh's weak perimeter defense in at least on day.
Prediction: Pacers 4, Cavaliers 2
