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i know i have celtics 4-1 over the hawks but i think the hawks match up well. whoever is hot, whether it be allen or pierce, josh smith can guard him. horford can body up garnett and slow him a bit. and the back court of bibby and johnson can be a handful for cassell, allen, and rondo.
i wouldnt be surprised if the hawks put up a good fight. they have been playing well as of late
You have the Rockets losing to the Jazz. But have LA playing the Rockets
Thanks... didn't catch that typo.
Since i'll get some hate from the SoCal crowd... i'll explain my picks regarding LA:
Lakers will drop a game or two against the Nuggets, probably in Denver, due to lack of energy & less than average defense.
Jazz will win w/o home court because of Alston injury but will not have enough offensively and give up too much turnovers on the road to beat the Lakers.
Suns played the Lakers when the Lakers were playing their best ball and still played a really tight good game even before they fixed the problems integrating with Shaq. Since then, they've improved and the Lakers defensively have waned a bit. A very efficient, high % offense and reduced turnover problems will give the Lakers close games.
Combine that with a possible edge in rebounding and I see the Suns edging out the Lakers... that is... if they beat the Spurs. I see them beating the Spurs even w/o home court and a close to 100% Ginobli, but who knows with that series. Bowen could try to injure someone again or try and instigate a fight against Amare, knee someone in the nuts, etc...
Since i'll get some hate from the SoCal crowd... i'll explain my picks regarding LA:
Lakers will drop a game or two against the Nuggets, probably in Denver, due to lack of energy & less than average defense.
Jazz will win w/o home court because of Alston injury but will not have enough offensively and give up too much turnovers on the road to beat the Lakers.
Suns played the Lakers when the Lakers were playing their best ball and still played a really tight good game even before they fixed the problems integrating with Shaq. Since then, they've improved and the Lakers defensively have waned a bit. A very efficient, high % offense and reduced turnover problems will give the Lakers close games.
Combine that with a possible edge in rebounding and I see the Suns edging out the Lakers... that is... if they beat the Spurs. I see them beating the Spurs even w/o home court and a close to 100% Ginobli, but who knows with that series. Bowen could try to injure someone again or try and instigate a fight against Amare, knee someone in the nuts, etc...
Alston will be out for the 1 game I believe. But I feel like the Rockets have a better chance this year with Landry and Scola. Our bench has alot more depth than last year.
Suns played the Lakers when the Lakers were playing their best ball and still played a really tight good game even before they fixed the problems integrating with Shaq. Since then, they've improved and the Lakers defensively have waned a bit. A very efficient, high % offense and reduced turnover problems will give the Lakers close games.
Combine that with a possible edge in rebounding and I see the Suns edging out the Lakers... that is... if they beat the Spurs. I see them beating the Spurs even w/o home court and a close to 100% Ginobli, but who knows with that series. Bowen could try to injure someone again or try and instigate a fight against Amare, knee someone in the nuts, etc...
I don't think anyone expects the Suns to be a cake walk, but first, I'm not 100% convinced they can't beat the Spurs, and I'm especially not convinced they can beat the Lakers. We've seen what Kobe can do when there's a lot of pride on the line, and while yes, that includes the occasional costly brain fart, the tendency has been to set things ablaze. Against the Suns, he's going to want to prove: (1) the Suns can't do it to the Lakers again; and (2) he can win against Shaq. Additionally, if the Suns get past the Spurs, it'll take 7 games, whereas the Lakers are likely to take the Nuggets in 6 (but 7 if they use the first round to ease Bynum in, assuming he is game-ready by Game 2). In any case, a Suns-Lakers matchup will be watched with great intensity in the Southland.
A Spurs-Lakers matchup, on the other hand, will generate great interest from the writers, especially since it would be the reigning champs versus the best team (albeit just barely) in the West. I don't think the Spurs would fare as well against the Lakers as the Suns would, because getting past Phoenix in the first promises to exhaust the Spurs. Although they've got old hands that will figure out a way around Amare without tripping the Big Trap (sorry, Cactus), the effort will cost them. If it's Spurs-Lakers for the second round, I expect the Lakers to take it in 6.
Assuming, of course, the Lakers don't brain fart two in a row against Denver.
This playoff race is going to be crazy, especially in the West with no clear dominant team. The Lakers, Spurs, and Suns are my picks for teams that can possibly come out on top in the West. In the East it will be Detroit or Boston. So we'll see what happens. I LOVE THIS GAME!
NBA Play off brackets
//Cowboys 2012 Superbowl Champs//Phoenix Suns 2012 NBA Champs
