NBA Playoffs

As I was in Canada riding a bike all weekend, I missed out on the beginning of the NBA Playoffs Conference Semifinals. So my predictions will be a bit late, but you will just have to believe this would have been what I picked anyway.

In the first round, I went 7 of 8 as I missed out on the Golden State upset. Can't say I necessarily saw that coming. I also picked four players to break out. Here is how they did versus their season averages:

Devin Harris, DAL
Season: 10.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 3.7 apg
Playoffs: 13.2 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 5.0 apg

Leondro Barbosa, PHX
Season: 18.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 4.0 apg
Playoffs: 21.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.8 apg

Luol Deng, CHI
Season: 18.8 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 2.5 apg
Playoffs: 26.3 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 3.0 apg

Deron Williams, UTAH
Season: 16.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 9.3 apg
Playoffs: 16.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 8.4 apg

Williams put up 20 points and 14 assists in Game 7 against Houston. Barbosa played great in the Lakers series and Deng dominated Miami. I missed on Harris as no one played well for Dallas.

Here are my predictions for this round.

Utah (4) vs. Golden State (3)
It will be really hard for either team to win on the road. Golden State has the best crowd in the league right now and Utah plays so much better at home. Utah matches up much better than Dallas did. They can pound the ball inside to Boozer taking advantage of the mismatch if Jackson/Richardson guards him. Kirilenko can guard any of the Warrior players and Jerry Sloan is the best coach in the league. Utah will also pound the Warriors on the boards.

Phoenix (3) vs. San Antonio (4)
I love Phoenix. I hope they win. I just think San Antonio is going to win it all. They have a great defense, a dominant big man, and great role players. The winner of this series will win the NBA title.

Chicago (2) vs. Detroit (4)
Chicago does not go inside to anyone. They shoot jump shots all day. This works against Miami who did not play any defense. This will not work against a great defensive team like Detroit.

New Jersey (3) vs. Cleveland (4)
Time for LeBron to step it up. I have a hard time believing that Collins and Boone will stop the Big Z and Drew Gooden. New Jersey beat a "rookie" playoff team in the opening round. The lack of inside game will catch up to them as the jumpers stop falling. Unless of course they just throw alley-oops all game.