This should be one of the best post-seasons in NBA history. In the Eastern Conference, I foresee two competitive first round series: Cleveland vs. Washington and Orlando vs. Toronto. In the Western Conference, I think there will be four competitive first round series: Los Angeles vs. Denver, Utah vs. Houston, New Orleans vs. Dallas and Phoenix vs. San Antonio. Then, from the second round on, all of the playoff series should be competitive. This will be a lot of fun to watch.
In the East, Detroit seems to have the easiest road to the Conference Finals because the Pistons get to avoid the winner of Cleveland/Washington in Round 2. The Cavaliers give the Pistons fits, and the Wizards are the most underrated team in the Conference (Arenas, Jamison and Butler are a dangerous offensive trio.) For similar reasons, I'm a little worried about Boston's chances in the second round; the Celtics went 1-3 against the Wizards and 2-2 against the Cavs (one of the wins against Cleveland coming on a night when LeBron James didn't play.) I think the Celtics are the best team in the East when everyone plays up to potential, and I'm hopeful that in each 7 game series, that talent will deliver 4 wins for Boston. The Celtics finished an astounding 50 games over .500, one of just eleven teams to ever accomplish that feat. All they have to do now is finish a collective 4 games over .500 to win the NBA title.
In the West, all of the teams have it tough. If the Nuggets suddenly decide to play team defense, the Lakers could be pushed to the brink in the first round. Iverson and Anthony can outscore Kobe and Gasol. And Camby is a monster on the defensive glass. I could see the Nuggets upsetting the Lakers, and the Mavericks upsetting the inexperienced Hornets. If those two things were to happen, that would pave the way for the Utah Jazz to win the Western Conference. The tired Spurs and injury-riddled Suns will beat up on each other in the first round, and neither team will have enough energy left to make it through the second round. Utah will be a tough out in the playoffs because Jerry Sloan is a terrific coach and he has a well-balanced team with Deron Williams at the point, Carlos Boozer as the dominant post presence, and the mercurial Andrei Kirilenko and Mehmet Okur as solid third and fourth options. I watched a fair number of Jazz games this year and I like the way that team plays.
Without further ado, here are the First Round match-ups:
Eastern Conference
(1) Boston Celtics
(8) Atlanta Hawks
(4) Cleveland Cavaliers
(5) Washington Wizards
(2) Detroit Pistons
(7) Philadelphia 76ers
(3) Orlando Magic
(6) Toronto Raptors
Western Conference
(1) Los Angeles Lakers
(8) Denver Nuggets
(4) Utah Jazz
(5) Houston Rockets
(2) New Orleans Hornets
(7) Dallas Mavericks
(3) Phoenix Suns
(6) San Antonio Spurs
Round 1 Television schedule:
NBA.com: At a Glance 2008