The NBA Playoffs are here. 16 teams are prepped for what should be a very exciting spring. The Western Conference is basically a list of championship contenders, and the Eastern Conference has looked a little tougher than some may have expected.
Here is a preview for each of the 16 playoff bound teams and what to expect from them come playoff time:
Atlanta Hawks
Record: 60-22
Match-Up: Brooklyn Nets
Storyline: How did this even happen?!?
Coming into the season, the Hawks were anything but a stable franchise. The team was up for sale after an allegedly racist email from the majority owner surfaced. General Manager Danny Ferry was suspended due to racist remarks made during a scouting report, and the team hadn’t made any impressive upgrades over the summer.
The vast majority of NBA fans expected the Hawks to do what they have always done: make the playoffs as a low seed, play four to seven games and go home for the summer. But this year was stunningly different.
The Hawks have the best record in the Eastern Conference by far, and have risen to a whole new level on the basketball court. A huge part of this transformation has been head coach Mike Budenholzer, who has made a solid case for coach of the year. He has created such a perfect pass-first, unselfish offense that even Gregg Popovich must be jealous. Of course it helps to have a group of excellent players too.
The Hawks’ starting lineup has been an overwhelming force this year. At the point is Jeff Teague, an underrated guard, who has quietly put up 16 points and 7.1 assists per game this season. Shooting guard Kyle Korver is one of the most spectacular and efficient three-point shooters in the game. Paul Millsap has had another all-star caliber season, and center Al Horford, who originally looked shaky after missing ten months with a torn pectoral muscle, quickly found his footing and has anchored the Hawks’ defense. All four of these players were named to the All-Star team this year, and there is also small forward Demarre Carroll, a valuable defender and efficient scorer. The starting lineup has been so good they were even awarded Player(s) of the Month honors in January.
Prediction: A recent Bleacher Report article said that the Hawks have “stumble(ed) into the playoffs” and that the Cavs are practically guaranteed a spot in the Finals. Really? Just like how the Lakers were guaranteed a spot in the Finals in 2013? When has a team ever stumbled through a 60-win season? This team is built to win and they are built to win now. Oh, and they also beat the Cavs 3-1 during the regular-season. This squad is Finals-bound.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Record: 53-29
Match-Up: Boston Celtics
Storyline: “We played terrible basketball for half the season, but now everyone loves us again!”
Lebron James has been back in Cleveland for less than a year and I’m already as sick of the Cavs as I was of the Miami Heat. At least Miami was fun to hate. Cleveland is just annoying.
It’s astounding to me how bad this team is without Lebron. Kyrie Irving is supposed to be a franchise cornerstone and Kevin Love is supposed to be at least a starting-caliber forward. But when Lebron took off for a couple weeks to recharge, the Cavs — with two supposed all-stars – went 1-6. Cleveland fans better hope Lebron is as durable as he looks because if he goes out with injury, this team is done.
I get why so many people expect the Cavs to win it all this year. They have really come together for the second half of the season and actually look like a competent basketball team. The offense is flowing, the defense is effective, and midseason trades to acquire Timofey Mozgov, Iman Shumpert, and J.R. Smith have payed off in a big way. And also, Lebron!
Can the Cavs win it all this year? Of course they can. They are clearly capable of a deep playoff run and play in the weaker conference.
Will the Cavs win it all this year? Nope. There are too many other good teams. The Hawks style of play is tough to match, and may be just a little bit too much for Cleveland to handle. Don’t get me wrong, that will likely be a close series that can go either way. However, if Atlanta has just one or two of those games where everything clicks and they turn into an unstoppable force of nature (which has happened more times than you think this season) then the Cavs might be in trouble.
But let’s say that the Cavs manage to defeat the Hawks and secure a trip to the NBA Finals. Then they play the Warriors! Or the Spurs! The Cavs actually played fairly well against the Warriors, where they split the series 1-1. However, expect Golden State to play at a whole other level in the playoffs and if Steph Curry, the new face of the NBA, plays as well in the playoffs as he has during the regular season, then Cavs owner Dan Gilbert may want to hold off on scheduling the championship parade.
The Cavs have the same 1-1 split with the Spurs, but San Antonio has been reborn as of late and is a completely new team. Can the Cavs handle the defending champs in the West in a seven-game series? Maybe. Or maybe not. The Cavs rely way too much on Lebron, much like last year’s Heat. So, when the Spurs met Miami in the finals last year, it was embarrassing. San Antonio ripped them to shreds, despite great play from James. The strategy: Let Lebron be Lebron, but shut down everyone else. I know that this year’s Cavs are much better than last year’s Heat, but the same strategy could work, especially since neither of Lebron’s sidekicks have played a single minute in the playoffs.
Prediction: This team is incredibly talented and will be a threat to any team in the playoffs. However, I think that their inexperience and reliance on Lebron will weigh them down, and they will lose to the Hawks in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Chicago Bulls
Record: 50-32
Match-Up: Milwaukee Bucks
Storyline: Grant Hil- oops, I mean Derrick Rose’s health.
It has been quite a season for the Bulls. Free agent acquisition Pau Gasol has rejuvenated his career this year, putting up 18.5 points and 11.8 boards en route to a start for the East in the All-Star Game. Jimmy Butler has made an impressive case for Most Improved Player, almost doubling his scoring from last season and becoming a much more efficient shooter. Derrick Rose also returned from his second major injury, hoping to step back into the role of franchise player. But that may not be possible anymore.
Rose has looked shaky at best this season. He’s averaged 7 points and 2.7 assists less than he did during his MVP season, and has shot the ball horribly. He has also only suited up for 50 games this season, after suffering a third knee injury in three years.
Rose will never be a star again. It’s time for the Bulls to accept this. The team spent too much of the season waiting for their franchise point guard to emerge, and he never will. History has told us that much. All that Rose can hope for now is to be a solid starting point guard who can hopefully play 55-60 games at 25-30 minutes per game.
I wish that this wasn’t the case. He was so good in his prime, and he was so close to leading the Bulls into another championship era. I hope for the best for Rose and I hope that he proves me wrong and recovers his former greatness. Maybe he can. But Grant Hill, Brandon Roy, and Tracy McGrady may disagree with that.
Prediction: This team is good, and if not for injuries I think that they could have turned into a true championship contender. But the Bulls just aren’t there yet, and they probably aren’t durable enough for a deep playoff run. Their season will likely end in the second round.
Toronto Raptors
Record: 49-33
Match-Up: Washington Wizards
Storyline: Almost good enough to be good.
The Raptors have come quite a long way these last couple of years, and couldn’t have done it without the emergence of a few key guys. Kyle Lowry started for the East during All-Star weekend this year, and he has elevated his play to the tune of 17.7 points and 6.8 assists per game. Demar Derozan has also had a superb season, averaging 20.1 points, 3.5 assists, and a career-high 4.6 rebounds.
Another important piece of the Raptor’s roster is Lou Williams, who has elevated himself into Sixth Man of the Year conversation in his first season in Toronto. He’s scoring a career high 15.5 points per game in only 25.2 minutes, and has been the focal point of the bench. Williams is also an excellent player come crunch time, hitting the game winner against the Orlando Magic last week.
I really want to like the Raptors. They are fun to watch, have just enough star power to satisfy the average viewer, and it’s always fun to root for a perpetually mediocre franchise finding its footing. They even looked like contenders earlier in the season, before injuries to Derozan and Lowry downgraded them to “maybe next year” status. They came very close to a 50-win season, but this team is going nowhere fast in the playoffs.
One important thing to remember is that Toronto got to play 16 of their games against their division foes: The Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, and New York Knicks. That’s about as easy as it gets. Subtract their wins against those teams and Toronto is only a 40-win team, which is good for seventh seed in the East and a lottery ticket in the West.
Prediction: I’m expecting the Raptors to improve upon their success this season next year and maybe if their players all stay healthy, they can become true championship contenders. For now, trying to make it to the second round is a much more realistic goal.
Washington Wizards
Record: 46-36
Match-Up: Toronto Raptors
Storyline: Will Washington ever win 50 games in a season?
2014 was a great year for the Wizards. They made the playoffs last season for the first time since 2008 and upset the Bulls in the first round, before pushing the Pacers to six games. Then, the team signed Paul Pierce in the offseason, a reliable and productive veteran who could teach the Wizards how to be champions. Then, Washington erupted to a 22-9 start to the season and, at times, looked like they could beat the Hawks for the Southeast Division title.
2015 hasn’t been as great. The Wizards have gone 24-26 and didn’t even look like a playoff team at times. Part of this was due to injury, with Bradley Beal missing significant time, but this team, whom many labeled a dark horse contender coming into the season, has looked shaky at best since January.
The Wizards have one of the more bright futures in the league, with John Wall(24) and Beal(21), both already good players, are still a couple years away from their primes. So, Wizards fans can expect their team to punch quite a few more playoff tickets for the next decade. I’m really excited to see what this team will become in the next few years, especially if they can find an excuse to fire Randy Wittman and hire a better coach.
Prediction: This could be an interesting series. The Raptors won all three games of their season series, but two of those games were very close, including one that went to overtime. I’m going to give the advantage to the Raptors because I think that they are more motivated than the Wizards, who are going to need more than a new logo to rejuvenate their second-half slump.
Milwaukee Bucks
Record: 41-41
Match-Up: Chicago Bulls
Storyline: Just happy to be here.
Honestly, Lebron’s decision 2.0 didn’t surprise me as much as the Bucks making the playoffs did. They won 15 games last year. 15! How does a team improve by 26 wins even after losing Jabari Parker, their prized draft possession, in December? It also isn’t just that they made the playoffs, but that they convincingly made the playoffs.
The Bucks hovered around the middle of the conference standings pretty much all season, despite the typical up-and-down streaks of a young team. Giannis Antetokounmpo has improved significantly this year (I’m still not sold on the idea of him turning into a legit all star, but he sure has looked like he can get there), and new head coach Jason Kidd has done a masterful job turning a roster of oversized players and misfits into a cohesive team that can compete with any team at its level.
The Bucks also made a questionable trade at the deadline, shipping point guard Brandon Knight to Phoenix in order to acquire point guard Michael Carter-Williams in Philladelphia. It’s too bad the Sixers aren’t in the playoffs, because I really want to rant about the MCW trade (Sam Hinkie has no idea what he’s doing. He is literally trading players he drafted with lottery picks for future lottery picks. He and Jacque Vaughn should go found a D-League franchise together and leave the NBA alone). It was pretty clear that the Bucks did this to save money, since Knight is a restricted free agent this summer and MCW is still on a rookie deal.
But the deal actually worked. Carter-Williams, a lanky point guard who can’t shoot, is now being coached by Jason Kidd, who came into the league with a similar skill set. This might actually work out! Carter-Williams could use the help too because he is an awful shooter. It’s pretty frightening that a group of educated journalists who cover the league selected a Rookie of the Year winner with clearly inflated stats from the fastest paced offense in the league, and who also shot 40-26-70.
Prediction: I’m pretty confident that Chicago will win this series… but Milwaukee feels like one of those young teams that are jus motivated enough and just dangerous enough to cause an upset. I’m not saying that will happen… I’m just saying that it might.
Boston Celtics
Record: 40-42
Match-Up: Cleveland Cavaliers
Storyline: Brad Stevens, you da real MVP
GM Danny Ainge must hate Stevens right now. The Celtics needed a year of tanking so that they could snag a draft pick and get back on track. Instead, Stevens has lead Boston to a post-season appearance. By Sixers/Magic/Lakers standards, that’s some pretty bad coaching.
Seriously though, the Celtics actually had a pretty solid season. They were even one of the best teams in the East after the All-Star break. Also, I’m really enjoying how all of the Celtics fans who wouldn’t even commit to a playoff appearance three weeks ago have now determined that the Celtics will easily defeat the Cavs. But let’s face it Celtics fans: Awful teams with great coaches don’t unseat King James in the first round.
The Celtics are now also at that dangerously tricky crossroad of where to go as a franchise following this season. Do they keep the roster the same and hope the players get better together? Do they chase free agents and try to solidify themselves as a lower-seed playoff contender. Or do they hit the panic button, trade away anyone over the age of 23 and try to win the lottery?
Luckily for the Celtics, they have multiple Brooklyn Nets picks that could become very valuable over the next couple years. But are a few late lottery picks enough to turn a team into a contender? That’s the scary thing about Boston now: They could be a contender five years from now, or they could still be the seventh seed, getting hyped about playing Lebron for 4-5 games.
Prediction: You’ve got to think Stevens has at least a couple secret plays for the playoffs that can give the Celtics a little momentum. There is no way that Boston upsets the Cavs, but they could at least make them sweat a little.
Brooklyn Nets
Record: 38-44
Match-Up: Atlanta Hawks.
Storyline: Who cares?
The Nets are so boring. I really wish that Indiana had made it to the playoffs instead. A recovered Paul George guiding his team into the postseason is a much more entertaining storyline than Brook Lopez guiding a horrifically-managed team to an early postseason exit.
I really don’t even have anything to say about the Nets. General Manager Billy King traded away his team’s future for ineffective veterans and overpaid duds. King’s next management strategy is to convince owner Mikhail Prokhorov to give him money to build a time machine so he can stop himself from making so many stupid mistakes.
Prediction: I would be more surprised if the Nets won this series than I would if Lebron leaves Cleveland this summer to pursue his dream of playing pro soccer.
Golden State Warriors
Record: 67-15
Match-Up: New Orleans Pelicans
Storyline: Steph Curry is the future of basketball
The Warriors are the best team in the NBA, and it isn’t even close. They have completely and utterly destroyed any competition, en route to defeating every team in the NBA at least once. They blow out teams on a regular basis, rip their opponents to shreds on both ends of the floor, and set all kinds of records in the process.
Head coach Steve Kerr set the record for most wins as a rookie head coach. Klay Thompson had the most prolific quarter in NBA history, lighting up the Kings for 37(!) points in the third quarter. Steph Curry, the most exciting player in the league, set the record for most three-pointers in a season. There is no word in the dictionary to describe how good this team is. Seriously, I can’t think of any way to say it.
Amazing isn’t enough because they are way past that. Astounding isn’t right, because they don’t surprise anyone when they walk onto the court and incinerate their opponents. Maybe the best word is historical. Everyone will remember the 2014-15 Warriors, one of the most impressive teams to ever play the game.
None of this could have happened without Curry. It’s pretty funny to think how upset so many fans were a year and a half ago, when Curry got the starting nod in the All-Star game over then-league best point guard Chris Paul. Now, everyone understands that Curry is a once-in-a-generation player. He has transcended his fellow players to a whole new level of basketball, a level that only Lebron, Durant, and maybe Harden or Westbrook has reached these last few years.
Prediction: I was just a little kid when Michael Jordan was wrapping up his career, so I never really got to see him play. When I asked my dad what it was like to watch Jordan, he said that it was surprising when he missed. That’s where Curry is at now. When he takes a three, you know that it’s going in. When he breaks CP3’s ankles and drives to the basket, you know the Warriors are about to add two more points to whatever ridiculous lead they have amassed. And when Curry takes to the court this June, you know that he’s bringing the Larry O’Brien Trophy home.
Houston Rockets
Record: 56-26
Match-Up: Dallas Mavericks
Storyline: James Harden does it all.
In case you’re not familiar with Houston’s roster, here it is: James Harden and some other guys. Harden is the only reason that the Rockets are even in the postseason. The only other respectable player on the roster is Dwight Howard, but he has missed most of the season with injuries and is nothing like the All-Star center that he once was. So, it has been up to Harden to carry this group of average players to the second seed in the West.
Harden is a pretty fantastic player. He’s averaging 27.5 points to go along with 5.6 boards and 6.9 assists. Those are Lebron-esque numbers, and he’s done it on a team much worse than James’s Cavs. Harden is firmly in the MVP conversation and it looks like only Curry can beat him.
Now that Harden has secured a spot in the top tier of the West, he better start worrying about how to elevate his game even more. The playoffs are brutal, especially in the West, and Houston’s roster may not be fit to compete with even the Mavericks in the first round. If Harden wants to avoid another first round upset, like the one Portland handed Houston last year, then he needs to fight hard.
On a personal level, I love how bad Houston is. Did you know Dwight hasn’t won a playoff series since he requested a trade out of Orlando? What can I say? Karma’s a b—h.
Prediction: I think that the Rockets are more than capable of beating the Mavs, but they are going to have serious issues if they meet the Clippers or Spurs in the second round. As far as contending for a championship… maybe next year.
Los Angeles Clippers
Record: 56-26
Match-Up: San Antonio Spurs
Storyline: The good guys became the bad guys.
Last season, the Clippers were one of the feel-good stories of the NBA. Doc Rivers had taken over as head coach, and the forever-horrible franchise looked like it was ready to take the leap into true contention. LA won 57 games with All-Star performances from Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, as the Los Angeles Lakers, whose shadows the Clips had lived in for decades, suffered through one of their worst seasons to date. The Clippers were supported even more once owner Donald Sterling’s racist remarks were revealed during the playoffs. Now the Clips, already underdogs, were fighting against their owner and constant criticism for his comments.
The story didn’t last long, as the Clippers once again failed to make it to the Conference Finals, losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder. This season, you would expect Lob City to continue to be one of the most popular teams in the league.
But things have changed.
Somehow, the loveable, highlight reel Clips have turned into the bad guys. Part of this change is the bullying and outspoken style of ball the team has played this year. They lead the league in technical fouls, including a game where the Clips were given five techs and an ejection in three quarters. LA then lived up to its bad-guy persona after the game, when Chris Paul called out the female referee who called the techs, suggesting that she didn’t belong in the league.
Another problem is that the best rivalry in the league belongs to the Clippers and Warriors. There is nothing friendly about this rivalry. These two teams hate each other, especially after their seven-game series in the first round of the playoffs last season. But now, the Warriors are one of the most popular teams in basketball, and it’s probably hard for the casual fan to get behind the mortal enemy of Steph Curry and co.
Prediction: Luckily for the Clips, hated or not, they are still a top three seed in the West, with a good chance to make a deep playoff run. Please, basketball gods, please give us a Western Conference Finals against the Clips and Warriors. I would pay any price to watch those two clubs rip each other to shreds with a Finals trip on the line.
Portland Trailblazers
Record: 51-31
Match-Up: Memphis Grizzlies
Storyline: The Basketball Gods hate the Blazers.
Poor Portland. The city should consider declaring a state of emergency over the injuries that have plagued the Blazers this season. Lamarcus Aldridge hurt his thumb, Wesley Matthews tore his Achilles, Arron Afllalo sprained his shoulder, Dorell Wright fractured his hand, Nicolas Batum hurt his knee, and CJ McCollum sprained his ankle. Honestly, it’s impressive that this team managed to get to the 50-win mark.
The worst part of all of these injuries is that Portland looked like a true contender when healthy. Damian Lillard was an All-Star along with Aldridge, and they lead their team to a 26-7 record heading into 2015. Then the injury bug struck again, and the Blazers will have a tough time getting past the Grizzlies in the first round. I really hope that Portland can stay healthy next year. I want to see what this team can do at full strength come playoff time.
Prediction: The Blazers might be able to stop Memphis in the first round, but I don’t know how much fight is left in the players. It must be hard to go through half of a potential championship season and then watch it all fall apart.
Memphis Grizzlies
Record: 55-27
Match-Up: Portland Trailblazers
Storyline: A season of ups and downs.
The Grizzlies have had a hard time staying consistent this season. While having a dominant first half of the season that resulted in a 23-8 record, things have fallen apart a little since then. Memphis has gone 14-11 since February, which is not much of a record in the West.
However, thanks to a win over the Pacers on Wednesday and by virtue of a tiebreaker over San Antonio, the Grizzlies have the fifth seed and will face the injury-riddled Blazers in the first round of the playoffs. Memphis will also have home court advantage since Portland only won 51 games.
The Grizzlies wouldn’t be anywhere near where they are in the standings without Marc Gasol. He is one of the league’s elite centers, and averages 17.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. The Grizzlies went out in the first round to the Thunder last year in a very close seven-game series, so you can imagine that they are eager to eliminate Portland.
Prediction: Portland has too many injury issues and simply isn’t as good as Memphis. However, I don’t expect the Grizzlies to put up much of a fight against the Warriors in Round 2.
San Antonio Spurs
Record: 55-27
Match-Up: Los Angeles Clippers
Storyline: We forgot about the Spurs again.
How do they do it? How do they do it year after year after year? This was the year San Antonio was supposed to finally unravel! This was the year injuries to Kawhi Leonard and other key players was supposed to derail their season! How did they sit in seventh place all season, then jump up to second place with one more game to go?
The Spurs are amazing. They have had 16 straight 50-win seasons and have won five championships in that time. This year was just like any other, as they repeated their annual tradition of playing dead for five months and then exploded into a huge win streak and rocketed up the standings. However, a loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on the final night of the season dropped them to the sixth seed where they will face a very dangerous LA Clippers squad. This is the must-watch series of the first round. How often is it that two championship contenders meet this early in the Playoffs?
Prediction: I wrote this team off two months ago, and now the idea of San Antonio making a third straight Finals appearance isn’t completely out of the question. The Clippers series will be tough, and it will only get tougher from there. But I believe that the Spurs can do it, as long as they play the same level of basketball that we have seen from them these past couple months.
Dallas Mavericks
Record: 50-32
Match-Up: Houston Rockets
Storyline: Rondo ≠ Contention
The Dallas Mavericks came into the 2014-15 season with lofty expectations. The team had stolen free agent Chandler Parsons from the rival Houston Rockets, brought back center Tyson Chandler, from their 2011 championship run, and had also signed Jameer Nelson who was expected to be a reliable starting point guard.
Then the Mavs made a trade. They gave up Jameer and reliable back-up center Brandon Wright for Rajon Rondo. Owner Mark Cuban and Mavs management expected that this move would allow the team to move into the West’s elite. It has been nowhere near that simple.
Rondo has not mixed well at all with the team Dallas has assembled. He’s used to dominating the ball, and has had a difficult time playing with shooting guard Monta Ellis. Rondo has also been inconsistent, disappearing during whole games and rarely playing above average.
So, the Mavs find themselves pretty much exactly where they were last year: The bottom of the West with a chance of an upset.
Prediction: Can the Mavs make it out of the first round? Sure. Will they? Probably not. Can they make it to the Conference Finals? Only if Curry, Duncan, CP3, Gasol, and Harden retire before the playoffs.
New Orleans Pelicans
Record: 45-37
Match-Up: Golden State Warriors
Storyline: Westbrook Who?
One of my favorite storylines at the end of this season was Thunder vs Pelicans. For weeks, both teams were locked in a duel for the eighth and final spot out west. Russell Westbrook turned into a demigod for the Thunder, snagging the scoring title with 28 points per game and recording 11 triple doubles. Despite his effort, old memories came back to haunt the Thunder, since New Orleans owns the tiebreaker between the two teams. So, for this first time since 2010, the Thunder will be watching the playoffs at home.
Meanwhile, a whole new era is beginning for New Orleans. Anthony Davis has already developed into a legitimate superstar and he’s only going to get better. If the Pelicans can fit the right team around him in the coming years, then New Orleans will become a force to be reckoned with sooner rather than later.
Prediction: As good as Davis is, he can’t stop the Warriors. The young Pelicans should see this series as an opportunity to gain some playoff experience, but they shouldn’t expect anything close to a series victory.