"The Stack" 4-14-17
Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors are gearing up for a championship run. Will they be facing the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals for a third straight year? The NBA Playoffs are about to tip off.
The Stack is back on this Friday and it is now time to split up our watching duties and make sure we are following the NBA Playoffs as well as the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It was nice to see the final games of the NBA season played with such integrity…not! What a joke. What happened with all of the players resting is a bad look for the NBA and just plain bad in general. There will be no resting in the playoffs though. The games start this weekend so let’s get right to it and preview the NBA Playoffs in “the stack” for today, Friday, April 14th:
Eastern Conference
#1 Boston Celtics vs. #8 Chicago Bulls (Game 1 Sunday 5:30 PM ET TNT)
The Celtics got the top seed in the east thanks in large part to the Cleveland Cavaliers resting players and just flat out having a bad month of March. Isaiah Thomas is one of the best point guards in the game and overall the Celtics have a lot more better players than the Bulls. Don’t think Jimmy Butler, Rajon Rondo and Dwayne Wade will be able to take down the Celtics in this series.
Prediction: Celtics in 6
#2 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. #7 Indiana Pacers (Game 1 Saturday 3 PM ET ABC)
With all of the rest the Cavaliers had during the regular season, they better be ready for the playoffs. The eastern conference seems very weak this year. The Cavaliers need to prove they can turn that “switch” on and play consistent and play good defense. Wonder how many times Lance Stephenson is going to blow into LeBron James’ ear. My guess is one time tops. He remembers his lesson from a few years ago.
Prediction: Cavaliers in 5
#3 Toronto Raptors vs. #6 Milwaukee Bucks (Game 1 Saturday 5:30 PM ET ESPN)
The Greek Freak is tremendous. Giannis Antetokounmpo is the real deal. The Bucks have a team that will be around for a while, especially with Jason Kidd as head coach. That is, if the Greek Freak stays. Going against a playoff test Raptors team though will be tough. DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry and company will just be too strong and I’ll say this series goes the distance even though I think the Raptors could put this one away a lot sooner than that.
Prediction: Raptors in 7
#4 Washington Wizards vs. #5 Atlanta Hawks (Game 1 Sunday 1 PM ET TNT)
Call me crazy, but I think the Wizards are perhaps the biggest threat to the Cavs in the eastern conference. John Wall and Bradley Beal are two really good players. The Hawks have shown flashes at times that they can be a difficult team to play against and I really don’t want this series to go the distance, but I think Atlanta will make things a little more difficult than it should be for the Wizards. Wizards still come out on top though.
Prediction: Wizards in 7
Western Conference
#1 Golden State Warriors vs. #8 Portland Trailblazers (Game 1 Sunday 3:30 PM ET ABC)
Damian Lillard from the Trailblazers says his team will win in six games. Before we get too far, he was only given two options in a television interview, Blazers in 6 or Blazers in 7. No need to freak out over this people. Let’s see how lethal Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant are during the postseason. My guess is they’ll be pretty dominant.
Prediction: Warriors in 5
#2 San Antonio Spurs vs. #7 Memphis Grizzlies (Game 1 Saturday 8 PM ET ESPN)
I get that the regular season series between these two teams was tight. I don’t know what it is, but the Grizzlies just haven’t impressed me a whole lot. Maybe it’s old man Vince Carter. Maybe it’s an aging Marc Gasol. I like Mike Conley a lot. Either way, Kawhi Leonard and the Spurs were made for the postseason. This is their time and they’ll take quick care of the Grizzlies though I am probably wrong.
Prediction: Spurs in 5
#3 Houston Rockets vs. #6 Oklahoma City Thunder (Game 1 Sunday 9 PM ET TNT)
The two favorites to win MVP and former teammates at that facing off against one another in this series. It’s going to be great James Harden versus Russell Westbrook. This is without a doubt the best series of the first round in either conference. Westbrook has carried the Thunder on his back all season long. I can see it just not being enough in the playoffs and the Rockets winning a fairly quick series, but since I’m indulging on this series I want it to go the full distance.
Prediction: Rockets in 7
#4 Los Angeles Clippers vs. #5 Utah Jazz (Game 1 Saturday 10:30 PM ET ESPN)
The Clippers are playing really good basketball to end the season. Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, DeAndre Jordan and company mean business, but the Jazz have flown under the radar largely all season long. May be a bit of an upset, but I like Rudy Gobert, Gordon Hayward and the Jazz to show just how good they are. Prove me right Jazz and don’t prove me right Clippers.
Prediction: Jazz in 6
Eastern Conference Finals
#2 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. #4 Washington Wizards
I think the Wizards give the Cavaliers the biggest run for their money. John Wall and Bradley Beal are really good. I like what Scott Brooks has done coaching this team this year. Unfortunately I think they will come up just short against the LeBron and the Cavs.
Western Conference Finals
#1 Golden State Warriors vs. #2 San Antonio Spurs
A Rockets-Spurs second round series scares me to death because the Rockets could very well beat the Spurs. They have the offense to be able to do it. The Warriors are going to have an easy time getting here. Let’s go Spurs. We were deprived of this series last year. We’ll get it this year. Hopefully the Spurs can pull off the upset too.
NBA Finals
#1 Golden State Warriors vs. #1 Cleveland Cavaliers
I really hope the Cavs don’t make it as a way of karma coming back to bite them in the ass for how they played this season and I really hope the Warriors don’t make it, because Kevin Durant doesn’t deserve to win an NBA championship and be called one of the greatest of all times. Win it in OKC KD. This is the most likely series though and it will be happening for a third straight year. The Warriors dish out the revenge.
NBA Champions: Golden State Warriors
Enjoy the NBA Playoffs everyone. They will hopefully be pretty good. We’ll be watching what is happening on the court and on the ice.
Coming up Monday: NHL & NBA Playoffs reaction plus other top stories in sports from the weekend
Listen to this week's "The Sports Block" podcast here.
