With only one series left to wrap up (the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Memphis Grizzlies currently stand at 3-3), both the Eastern Conference Finals, and the Western Conference Finals, are soon to be underway. But before I touch up on how I see those matchups going down, let me recap the past few weeks.
The Playoffs began on April 16th, with the Chicago Bulls vs. the Indiana Pacers, the Miami Heat vs. the Philadelphia 76ers, the Boston Celtics vs. the New York Knicks and the Orlando Magic vs. the Atlanta Hawks for the East, and the San Antonio Spurs vs. the Memphis Grizzlies, the Los Angeles Lakers vs. the New Orleans Hornets, the Dallas Mavericks vs. the Portland Trail Blazers and the Oklahoma City Thunder vs. the Denver Nuggets for the west.
The Bulls took the Pacers 4-1, the Heat doing the same 4-1 show over the Sixers, the Celtics swept the Knicks 4-0, and the Hawks were victorious over the Magic 4-2. The East was then left with series of Bulls vs. Hawks and Heat vs. Celtics.
On the other side of the nation, the Grizzlies cleaned up the Spurs 4-2, the Lakers also came up on top 4-2 over the Hornets, the Mavs followed the 4-2 pattern against the Blazers and the Thunder went 4-1 with the Nuggets. Therefore the West was then split into Grizzlies vs. Thunder and Lakers vs. Mavs.
During the next round the Bulls (fortunately) took the Hawks out after a 4-2 series, the Heat (most unfortunately) also being crowned winners, 4-1 against the Celtics. And though the west isn't quite figured out just yet, what is set in stone is that whoever pulls through the Grizzles-Thunder set will play the Mavs, who in a surprise twist wiped out the Lakers 4-0.
Starting with the Bulls vs. the Heat...my bias heavily influencing my words, I see the Bulls taking it in 5 or 6. As long as they are able to take the first game, which is tomorrow at 7pm central time, here in the lovely city of Chicago, and no more injuries such as Derrick Rose's ankle tweak or Carlos Boozer's turf toe arise, the Bulls should be ok. Its true that Dwyane Wade has been unstoppable lately, and though he may not be as fast as Derrick, definitely has a more defined jumper, not to mention years of experience over him. And yes, I'm still figuring out whose task it will be to defend Lebron James, as Keith Bogans may know the tricks of the trade but Luol Deng has a size advantage. But with the rest of the Heat not consistently showing up, a handful of possible matchups seeming even humorous to me at the present time (Mike Bibby and Derrick Rose anyone?), I think its far from a lost cause. 10/14 ESPN analysts may have chosen the Heat to take this one but I'm sticking to my beliefs. The Bulls are certainly the underdogs but this is the NBA. If the Grizzlies advancing this far isn't enough proof that anything can happen in this league, I don't know what is.
Now as for the west, even though I'm going to root for anyone but the Mavs (no disrespect intended, I'm a huge Jason Terry fan and I think Mark Cuban is a genius, I just can't seem to like the team as a whole and avoid watching them as much as I can), it all depends on what the final duo will be. The Grizzlies may have surprised everyone so far, but it is no secret they they are tired, are missing one of their best players in Rudy Gay, and are inexperienced. So do I see them coming out on top if they take on the boys in blue? No. The Mavs have been playing incredible ball and want the ring more than ever. Dirk Nowitzki is intent on leading his team all the way and older ballers like Jason Kidd are driven to show the world they still have what it takes. Do I see it as a sweep? No, probably not. The Grizzlies aren't going to surrender that easily. But I'd say the Mavs in 5. Now if the Thunder are in the mix, this becomes a different story. Unfortunately I could still see the Mavs winning, mostly in my mind depending on whether Russel Westbrook can have solid games back to back or not, and if they can get key big men like Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka to stay out of foul trouble, but I think the Thunder have a better chance than the Grizzlies. And I predict the series being stretched out to 7. Its truly too bad that the Lakers couldn't stand their ground because even though I didn't want to see them three-peat, I'd much rather watch a conference final and/or final with them in the mix, but the past is in the past. So now its time to wait out the last conference semi-final game and see who is moving on.
Its been an exciting post-season thus far, and despite it being halfway over, I still see surprises coming our way. Its obvious I will be backing my Bulls but nevertheless I look forward to some intense play by all teams. Ah the Playoffs, you have to love them.
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