| It is playoff time. The monotonies of the NBA regular season are history, and the excitement of best-of-seven (or, in the first round, best-of-five) series is upon us. Thus, it is time for predictions to be made. Surprisingly enough, I did not pick the Lakers to go all the way (wishful thinking?), though there is absolutely no doubt that the Western Conference Finals might as well be the NBA Finals. Perhaps next year the NBA could consider making the Eastern Conference playoffs as a consolation prize. I'll have to talk to David Stern about that one. |
| ROUND ONE |
| The Picks: |
| Nets over Pacers in five games |
| Pistons over Raptors in four |
| 76ers over Celtics in five |
| Hornets over Magic in four |
| Kings over Jazz in three |
| Spurs over Supersonics in three |
| Lakers over Blazers in five |
| Mavericks over Timberwolves in four |
| The Logic: |
| I nearly went with the Pacers, based solely on the now-legendary playoff heroics of Reggie Miller, and the Jermaine O'Neal Factor. And in the East, the eighth seed beating the first would not be a huge surprise. But I couldn't see the Pacers winning game five in New Jersey. |
| I am actually expecting Detroit to win in three, but I had to give the Raptors, as my favourite team, a token win. Ben Wallace is just unstoppable, and Jerry Stackhouse will come through when it counts. |
| I really would hate to see Boston lose to the 76ers, which is why I have to pick Philadelphia. Picking the Celtics and then seeing them lose would be twice the agony; I just would not be able to take it. |
| I really couldn't care less about the Hornets or the Magic, but I would like to see Tracy McGrady lose. |
| Stockton and Malone just aren't getting any younger, and while they can still play with the best of them, Sacramento should have no problem sweeping the Jazz this year. |
| I may be underestimating Seattle here, but Tim Duncan should be able to dominate the Sonics inside. It would be nice to see Seattle make things interesting here, but does not seem likely. |
| One of the best rivalries in the game is L.A. vs. Portland. Do they meet in the first round every year? The Lakers have looked more vulnerable this season than at any other time over the last three years, and the Blazers have been playing very well, and yet somehow it will still probably not be enough. Los Angeles has Portland's number. |
| Without Terrell Brandon, the Wolves won't be able to give Dallas the fight they normally would. Garnett will play well, but the Mavericks have too many weapons to be beaten by Garnett alone. |
| ROUND TWO |
| The Picks: |
| Nets over Hornets in five |
| Pistons over 76ers in six |
| Mavericks over Kings in seven |
| Lakers over Spurs in six |
| The Logic: |
| It doesn't seem right that the Nets will advance to the Eastern Finals, does it? If they make it to this round though, the Magic or Hornets should not pose huge problems. Charlotte will be more dangerous because they have the players inside (Elden Campbell, P.J. Brown) and outside (Baron Davis, David Wesley) to match New Jersey's talent, but the Hornets are too inconsistent to make it past the second round. |
| I really like what Detroit is doing this year. With any luck on their part, Iverson will be too banged up to walk by the second round, but still healthy enough to hoist up thirty shots a game, making about ten. This should play right into the hands of Wallace and the Pistons. |
| If the Mavericks and Kings hook up in round two, it could very well be the most exciting and watchable series that we will be treated to in the 2002 NBA Playoffs. Don't miss it. I predict that game seven will end with Chris Webber missing a buzzer beater, giving Dallas a Western Conference Finals berth, and adding another entry into the Playoff Mishaps of the Sacramento Kings file. |
| The Spurs cannot touch the Lakers. That will not change anytime in the near future. |
| CONFERENCE FINALS |
| The Picks: |
| Pistons over Nets in six |
| Mavericks over Lakers in seven |
| The Logic: |
| I feel very uncomfortable about this. The Pistons are good, but Eastern Conference champion good? Hopefully, this says more about the lackluster state of the conference than of the lackluster state of my predictions. |
| Okay, so I am just picking against the Lakers to be different. But if there is one team who I would choose as having the best chance to defeat them this year, Dallas would be that team. The deciding factor could very well be Shaquille O'Neal's injured toe. He will, of course, be playing, but if his mobility is at all limited, the Mavericks should take advantage of it as best they can. |
| NBA FINALS |
| The Pick: |
| Mavericks over Pistons in five |
| The Logic: |
| The only reason I am saying that this series goes five games instead of the expected four is that Dallas will be pretty fatigued after two seven-game series against Sacramento and Los Angeles, respectively. Detroit will still be no match for the sheer talent of Nowitzki, Nash, Finley, Van Exel, and LaFrentz. |
| Besides, this way Mark Cuban will get as much airtime as possible, and you know that the deeper the Mavericks get into the playoffs, the more animated he will become. I am looking forward to it. |
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