NBA Playoffs 2nd Round Preview

Well kids the 1st round is over. We are down to eight teams left standing in the NBA Playoffs. The opening round saw three sweeps, Golden State taking out New Orleans, Cleveland sweeping Boston (even though they Cavs lost Kevin Love for the rest of the playoffs with a shoulder injury) and Washington knocking off Toronto. Two series ended in five games, Houston over Dallas and Memphis beating Portland. Two more series ended in six games, Atlanta over Brooklyn and Chicago over Milwaukee. The final series, Los Angeles taking out the defending Champions the Spurs went the full seven games. Seems to me that the four seeds in the opening round, Toronto and Portland really couldn't seem to find their groove in the opening round. Everybody else seemed to play to the script as it were. That's part of what makes the playoffs so interesting. With that being said, here's what the 2nd round looks like for the NBA Playoffs.

 

First up is the top seed in the East the Atlanta Hawks taking on the 5th seed the Washington Wizards. Washington's sweep of Toronto in the opening round marks the first time the Wizards have swept a series in the playoffs since 1982. This also marks the 2nd year in a row Washington has made it pass the 1st Round, but the team has yet to win a series in round two since 1979. Atlanta comes in after beating the Nets in six games in the opening round. This now marks the first time since 2011 that the Hawks have survived to play in the 2nd round. Atlanta has yet two win more than two rounds in the playoffs in franchise history, despite winning an NBA title in 1958. This is the fifth playoffs meeting between these two teams, with the Wizards (Bullets) winning three out of the first four meetings. The last time these two teams met in the playoffs was in 1979, a series in which Washington (the Bullets at the time) won the series in six games). During the regular season Atlanta took three of the four games.

Here are the dates and times for the games in this series:
May 3:00 p.m.Washington Wizards vs. Atlanta Hawks Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
May 5 8:00 p.m. Washington Wizards vs. Atlanta Hawks Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
May 9 5:00 p.m. Atlanta Hawks vs. Washington Wizards Verizon Center, Washington, D.C
May 11 7:00 p.m. Atlanta Hawks vs. Washington Wizards Verizon Center, Washington, D.C
May 13 TBA Washington Wizards vs. Atlanta Hawks* Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
May 15 TBA Atlanta Hawks vs. Washington Wizards* Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.
May 18 TBA Washington Wizards vs. Atlanta Hawks* Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia

One factor that could come into play here is the rest factor. Washington had swept in the first round, so they are a little more rested than Atlanta, who was pushed to six games by the Nets. Paul Pierce had a big series for Washington, proving that he still has something left in the tank and still be a big factor in an NBA playoff series. It wasn't just Pierce who had a big series. They got scoring from Marcin Gortat, Nene, Bradley Beal and others. It was a balanced attack from Washington in that series. But the extra time off could hurt the Wizards a little. Sure the Hawks had to go six games with the Nets, but that could just mean it was a little more fine tuning that had to be do. DeMarre Carroll and Paul Millsap had big series from a scoring point of view, while Jeff Teague also had a good series in his own right. Its going to make for a good matchup. The battle between John Wall and Jeff Teague should be very entertaining, this series going at least six games. Atlanta has the more balanced team, as they were still the top seed in the East. Washington is going to push the Hawks to the limit, but at the end of the day Atlanta is just going to be too deep a team.

Pick: Hawks in 6!

Next up its the two seed Cleveland Cavaliers taking on the three seed Chicago Bulls. Cleveland is coming off their sweep of the Celtics in the opening round, something that the Cavs haven't done since the swept the Hawks in the 2nd round in 2009. Cleveland hasn't won a playoff series since beating this same Bulls team in the opening round of the 2010 playoffs, which was the last time the Cavs made the playoffs and won the division. Cleveland is looking to get past the 2nd round for the first time since 2009. Chicago comes in after a six game series win over the Bucks. Chicago has made it to the 2nd round for the first time since 2013. The Bulls are looking to get out of round two for the first time since 2011. This is the seventh playoffs meeting between these two teams, with the Bulls winning five out of the first six meetings. The last time these two teams faced off in the post season was 2010, a series which the Cavs won in five games. During the regular season this year, Cleveland took three of the four games.

Here are the dates and times for every game in this series:
May 4 7:00 pm Chicago Bulls vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
May 6 7:00 pm Chicago Bulls vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
May 8 TBA Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Chicago Bulls United Center, Chicago, Illinois
May 10 3:30 pm Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Chicago Bulls United Center, Chicago, Illinois
May 12 TBA Chicago Bulls vs. Cleveland Cavaliers* Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
May 14 TBA Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Chicago Bulls* United Center, Chicago, Illinois
May 17 TBA Chicago Bulls vs. Cleveland Cavaliers* Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland got the sweep in the opening round but it came at a price. Kevin Love injured his shoulder in game four of the Boston series and is lost for the rest of the playoffs. With Love being hurt, it makes this series a little more even between the two teams. With Cleveland, since Love is hurt more pressure is on Timofey Mozgov and Tristan Thompson. Those two guys really need to step up big in this series. Chicago has more of an advantage in regards to health, even though Joakim Noah and Nikola Mirotic seemingly aren't quite at 100 percent. The Cavaliers don't have a lot of depth, at least not by comparison to the Bulls. What the Cavs do have are guys who are versatile and can do different things. They have to avoid foul trouble and they need LeBron and Kyrie to be extraordinary. As good as Jokim Noah is, I really am not convinced yet that he is capable of 32 great minutes for four games and Taj Gibson's relief off the bench might not be enough. The interior help of the Bulls scares the hell out of me. If all else fails, LeBron won't beta-male enough to let this slide. He will exploit it enough. At the end of the day, when all is said and done, I think the Cavs stars will outshine that of Chicago.

Pick: Cavaliers in 7!

To the Western Conference we go and its the top seeded Golden State Warriors taking on the fifth seed the Memphis Grizzles. Memphis comes in after downing Portland in five games. In the five straight years now that the Grizzlies have made the playoffs, this is only the 2nd time that they have won a series in less than six games. Memphis is looking to get out of the 2nd round for the 2nd time in three years.  Golden State comes off a sweep of the Pelicans in the opening round, the first time they have swept anybody in the playoffs since 1989. Golden State bounced back and made it to the 2nd round of the playoffs for the 2nd time in three years. The Warriors haven't made it out of the 2nd round since winning the NBA crown in 1975. This is the first meeting in the playoffs between the Warriors and Grizzlies. Golden State took two of the three regular season meetings between the teams.

Here are the dates and times for games in this series:
May 3 3:30 pm Memphis Grizzlies vs. Golden State Warriors Oracle Arena, Oakland, California
May 5 10:30 pm Memphis Grizzlies vs. Golden State Warriors Oracle Arena, Oakland, California
May 9 8:00 pm Golden State Warriors vs. Memphis Grizzlies FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee
May11 9:30 pm Golden State Warriors vs. Memphis Grizzlies FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee
May 13 TBA Memphis Grizzlies vs. Golden State Warriors* Oracle Arena, Oakland, California
May 15 TBA Golden State Warriors vs. Memphis Grizzlies* FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee
May 17 TBA Memphis Grizzlies vs. Golden State Warriors* Oracle Arena, Oakland, California

Golden State was a team that dominated during the regular season, and it looks like they started that way again in the playoffs with the sweep of New Orleans. If the idea was to put teams away early instead of winning by a blowout, then the Warriors did a fantastic job in the opening round of the playoffs.  With the sweep, it gave the Warriors a week off between the end of the 1st round and the start of the 2nd round. Sometimes having an extended time off can be a good thing, while at other times it turns around to bite a team in the rear end. I don't think that's going to happen with the Warriors. With the splash brothers playing at full tilt, Andrew Bogut and Draymond Green having an outstanding series, the Warriors are firing on all cylinders at the right time. Memphis is a good basketball team, with a solid starting lineup with Courtney Lee, Jeff Green, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. One guy who really makes this basketball team go is Mike Conley. The big question with this team is Conley's health. It's the biggest thing between knowing whether or not the Grizzlies will have a quick exit or an epic battle on their hands. On the surface, this Grizzlies team looks ready to challenge the Warriors. The Warriors were historically good at home, but the Grizzlies also had the fifth best road record in the NBA and are not afraid of a hostile environment.  Regardless of Conley's health, its not going to really matter.

Pick: Warriors in 5!

Last but not least its the two seed Houston Rockets taking on the three seed Los Angeles Clippers. Houston is coming off a five game series win over the Mavericks in the opening round, the first tiem they've won an opening round series since 2009. Houston hasn't won a series in this short a time since a three game series sweep of the Timberwolves in 1997 (three game sweep) Houston is looking to get out of the 2nd round for the first time since 1997. As for the Clippers, they knocked off the defending champion Spurs in a tough seven game series, making it the 2nd year in a row and 3rd time in last four years they have won their opening round matchup. One down side is that the Clippers have never been able to get out of the 2nd round in franchise history. This is the second playoffs meeting between these two teams. The only other time they have played each other was the 1993 Western Conference First Round a series in which Houston won in five. During the regular season, the teams split the four meetings.

Here are the dates and times for games in this series:
May 4 9:30 pm Los Angeles Clippers vs. Houston Rockets Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
May 6 9:30 pm Los Angeles Clippers vs. Houston Rockets Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
May 8 10:30 pm Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Clippers Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
May 10 8:30 pm Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Clippers Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
May 12 TBA Los Angeles Clippers vs. Houston Rockets* Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
May 14 TBA Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Clippers* Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
May 17 TBA Los Angeles Clippers vs. Houston Rockets* Toyota Center, Houston, Texas

Houston has plenty of depth to go around. Outside of Harden and Howard putting on a clinic, Smith, Corey Brewer, Jason Terry, Trevor Ariza, Terrence Jones and Pablo Prigioni stepped up to offer additional scoring, passing, rebounding and perimeter defending.  LA is no slouch. With a rotation that generally goes eight men deep, the Clippers need to lean on Paul, Griffin, Jordan, Redick and Barnes to do nearly all of the heavy lifting. LA can hold its own, hell they just knocked off the champs in the opening round in a seven game series, so they won't be a pushover here. But what could hurt LA here is their bench. They have a short one, something which Houston is going to try and take advantage of said bench. Houston has had a tendancy at times to have an inefficient offense, something that the Clippers are going to try and take full advantage of. This series is going to go the distance and I think Houston has what it takes to get the job done.

Pick: Rockets in 7!

So there you have it, the predictions for the 2nd round of the NBA Playoffs!