2014 NBA Playoffs 2nd Round Preview and Predictions

We have come down to the final eight teams standing in the National Basketball Association playoffs for the 2013-14 season, after a very exciting first round now in the books. It was a fun first round to watch, a round in which we saw the only sweep in Miami beating Charlotte. There was also a five game series in which the Wizards took down the Bulls, a result which surprised a few people. Then there was the one six game series that saw Portland take down the Houston Rockets. Every other series in the first round went seven games, series in which Indiana pulled it out against the Hawks, the Nets just got by the Raptors, the Spurs edging it out over Dallas, the Thunder getting big performances from Kevin Durant late in the series to pull it out against the Grizzlies, while the Clippers pull out a very hard fought series win over the Warriors. So with all that excitement taking place, we have now come down to the start of the 2nd round.

We kick off our preview of the round in the Eastern Conference.

First up its the top seed in the East the Indiana Pacers taking on the 5th seeded Washington Wizards. Indiana is coming off a struggle at the start of the series against the Atlanta Hawks, but managed to come back and take the series in seven games. They came close to becoming just the 6th team in league history to lose to the 8th seed in the opening round. Indiana pulled it out and moved on to the 2nd round for the 3rd straight year. Meanwhile the Wizards are coming off a big five game series win over the Chicago Bulls, a series in which they held the Bulls in check and dominated the entire series. Washington is now playing in the 2nd round of the playoffs for the first time since 2005. This is the third playoff meeting for these two teams, with each team winning one of the previous series. The last time these two teams met was in the 2005 Eastern Conference First Round, a series in which Washington won 4–2.

Here's the dates and times for every game in this series:
May 5 7:00 pm Washington Wizards vs. Indiana Pacers Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
May 7 7:00 pm Washington Wizards vs. Indiana Pacers Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
May 9 8:00 pm Indiana Pacers vs. Washington Wizards Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.
May 11 8:00 pm Indiana Pacers vs. Washington Wizards Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.
May 13 TBD Washington Wizards vs. Indiana Pacers* Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
May 15 TBD Indiana Pacers vs. Washington Wizards* Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.
May 18 TBD Washington Wizards vs. Indiana Pacers* Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana

Indiana won two of the three games played between these two teams during the regular season. Ironically enough the home team won every game of the three this season. Indiana is coming off a scare from the Hawks in the opening round, but they found their game during the tail end of that series, allowing them to roll into this series on a bit of a wave of momentum. Same thing can be said for Washington, who is coming in after rolling over the Bulls in five games. But the difference is depth on their teams. Sure Washington is good I'm not taking that away from them, but the Pacers are still a much deeper basketball club. And just as important, they have proven they can play at this level, whereas the Wizards haven't been tested at this stage of the season in almost ten years. There's no denying that Washington is going to put up a fight, but the Pacers may have turned the corner at the end of the last round, and it could be a huge help.

The Pick: Pacers in 7

Next up we have the #2 seed the Miami Heat getting set to take on the #6 Brooklyn Nets in a very exciting matchup. The Heat are coming off the sweep of the Charlotte Bobcats in the opening round, proving that the slide they had at the end of the regular season was a possible fluke, and that they are back on their game. This marks the fourth year in a row that Miami is making it to the 2nd round of the playoffs. Meanwhile the Nets are coming off a slugfest seven game series against the Raptors, which they managed to pull out a bigtime victory. Joe Johnson and Deron Williams stepped up big in this series and were able to help power the Nets to their first round victory. They got contributions from everybody including Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. This is the third playoff meeting for these two teams, with Miami winning both previous series, the last one coming in the 2006 Eastern Conference Semifinals, a series which the Heat won in five games.

Here are the date and times for every game in this series:
May 6 7:00 pm Brooklyn Nets vs. Miami Heat American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida
May 8 7:00 pm Brooklyn Nets vs. Miami Heat American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida
May 10 8:00 pm Miami Heat vs. Brooklyn Nets Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York
May 12 8:00 pm Miami Heat vs. Brooklyn Nets Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York
May 14 TBD Brooklyn Nets vs. Miami Heat* American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida
May 16 TBD Miami Heat vs. Brooklyn Nets* Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York
May 18 TBD Brooklyn Nets vs. Miami Heat* American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida

Miami is going to have a handful in this series. The Nets won all four meetings between these teams during the regular season, which wasn't a fluke. Brooklyn was built for a series like this. We all know that James Wade and Bosch are the three best players in the league and they have a supporting cast that is gaining confidence and really coming into its own in the last series over the Bobcats. The Nets, though, have a way of being able to get under the Heat's skin. Paul Pierce has done that to Lebron James for quite a while now, so it can be done. The Nets are going to be posing a problem to Miami in this round, its going to be a tough series and a lot of fun to watch. Brooklyn is good but they are going up against a better basketball team in this round.

The Pick: Heat in 7!

Now we shift our focus over to the Western Conference

First up is the top seed the San Antonio Spurs taking on the 5th seed Portland Trail Blazers. San Antonio is coming off a hard fought seven game series against Dallas, a series which pushed the Spurs to the absolute limit, with Tony Parker leading the charge for the Spurs in the opening round. This marks the 3rd straight year that the Spurs will play in the 2nd round. Meanwhile the Trail Blazers pulled off the "upset" as the beat the Rockets in six games. Thanks to a big series from Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge, who helped power Portland to the victory. This is the deepest that Portland has gone in the playoffs since 2000. This is the fourth playoff meeting for these two teams, with San Antonio winning the last two of them. The last time they played in the playoffs was the 1999 Western Conference Finals, the series which the Spurs won in a sweep.

Here's the dates and times for every game in this series:
May 6 9:30 pm Portland Trail Blazers vs. San Antonio Spurs AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas
May 8 9:30 pm Portland Trail Blazers vs. San Antonio Spurs AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas
May 10 10:30 pm San Antonio Spurs vs. Portland Trail Blazers Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
May 12 10:30 pm San Antonio Spurs vs. Portland Trail Blazers Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
May 14 TBD Portland Trail Blazers vs. San Antonio Spurs* AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas
May 16 TBD San Antonio Spurs vs. Portland Trail Blazers* Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
May 19 TBD Portland Trail Blazers vs. San Antonio Spurs* AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas

Portland has had a little time to rest, thus could lead to potential rust, but then again the rest could be a good thing. San Antonio is coming off their hard fought series against Dallas, and are still one of, if not, the deepest team in the league. San Antonio still has the experience factor on their side, something that the talented Portland team doesn't.  Portland is going to make it a fun series but they are no match.

The Pick: Spurs in 6

Finally we have the #2 Oklahoma City Thunder taking on the #3 Los Angeles Clippers. Both teams coming off hard fought seven game series, the Thunder taking down the Grizzlies, while the Clippers dispatched the Warriors in a hard fought seven games. This is the first time that the Thunder and Clippers have played each other in the playoffs. The teams split the regular season series, each team winning two games.

Here's the dates and times for games in this series:
May 5 9:30 pm Los Angeles Clippers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
May 7 9:30 pm Los Angeles Clippers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
May 9 10:30 pm Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Los Angeles Clippers Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
May 11 3:30 pm Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Los Angeles Clippers Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
May 13 TBD Los Angeles Clippers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder* Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
May 15 TBD Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Los Angeles Clippers* Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
May 18 TBD Los Angeles Clippers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder* Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma


This series is going to be the most even matchup of the 2nd round. Its Griffin and Paul taking on Durant and Westbrook. We know this is going to be a great head to head matchup. What's going to be the deciding factor is the supporting cast, which in this case the Clippers have the advantage. Going to be a great series never the less

The Pick: Clippers in 7!

So there you have it our preview and predictions for the 2nd round!