2012 Playoffs

Richelieu

Richelieu

Fly Eagles Fly
With tonight's games finished (well, the relevant ones), the NBA seedings are finally set. It's been a crazy regular season, and the playoffs promise to be so as well. This is one year where I could see maybe two big upsets along the way.

Here are the seedings:
Eastern Conference
1. Chicago
2. Miami
3. Indiana
4. Boston
5. Atlanta (has home-court for first round vs. Boston)
6. Orlando
7. New York
8. Philadelphia

Western Conference
1. San Antonio
2. Oklahoma City
3. L.A. Lakers
4. Memphis
5. L.A. Clippers
6. Denver
7. Dallas
8. Utah

The one series I have my eyes on in the First Round is OKC vs. Dallas, a rematch of last year's Western Conference Finals. I give Dallas an outside shot at pulling off the upset.

Some potential later-round matchups look interesting:
Second Round: Chicago vs. Boston. I think the Bulls are definitely the East's best team, but the way Boston has been playing since the All-Star break, I could envision an upset.
Second Round: Miami vs. Indiana. I really like the way the Pacers match up with the Heat. I could see Indiana winning, but I could also see Miami blowing them out.
Second Round: San Antonio vs. Memphs. A rematch of last season's First Round series, where the Grizzlies just embarrassed the Spurs. This year the Spurs are healthier, younger, and deeper than last season, but the Grizzlies are also healthier (last season Rudy Gay was out for the playoffs). I think this one could go either way.
Second Round: Oklahoma City vs. L.A. Lakers. Hmm, Metta World Peace will be back for at least some of this series, which makes it interesting already! L.A. matches up well with OKC, but there are so many variables when it comes to the Lakers. If Kobe shoots fairly well, and Andrew Bynum dominates down low, and Metta World Peace keeps playing the way he did in April, then the Lakers will win. My gut tells me they'll fall short, though.

Because of the nature of this season, I'm just going to predict round-by-round. For the First Round:
Bulls over 76ers 4-1
Heat over Knicks 4-2
Pacers over Magic 4-0
Celtics over Hawks 4-2

Spurs over Jazz 4-0
Thunder over Mavericks 4-2
Lakers over Nuggets 4-2
Grizzlies over Clippers 4-2
 
 
Bulls over 76ers
Heat over Knicks
Pacers over Magic
Celtics over Hawks



Spurs over Jazz
Thunder over Mavs
Lakers over Nuggets
Grizzlies over Flop City
 
If Bulls play Atlanta- they won't lose next round.CJ Watson is a really good PG (obviously not Rose) I think they would give Celtics a great series. Possibly even winning it. They would get killed by the Heat, though.
 
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Ton of injuries late in the season and so far in the playoffs. It looks like the compressed schedule is taking its toll.
 
The Bulls' secret weapon is John Lucas. He's a third-string point guard on Chicago, but he's better than almost every other second-string point guard in the NBA, and probably better than a few first-stringers. When Rose plays, Lucas rarely does, but now that Rose is out, Lucas will get lots of playing time.

This isn't like most teams where an injured point guard submarines the whole team. Yes, the Bulls do take a step down, but Watson-Lucas is 75% of Rose-Watson, and I feel that's still enough to beat Miami in a series. True, they will have to play extraordinarily well, but it is possible.
 
Richelieu said:
The Bulls' secret weapon is John Lucas. He's a third-string point guard on Chicago, but he's better than almost every other second-string point guard in the NBA, and probably better than a few first-stringers. When Rose plays, Lucas rarely does, but now that Rose is out, Lucas will get lots of playing time.

This isn't like most teams where an injured point guard submarines the whole team. Yes, the Bulls do take a step down, but Watson-Lucas is 75% of Rose-Watson, and I feel that's still enough to beat Miami in a series. True, they will have to play extraordinarily well, but it is possible.
Click to expand...

Two very insane comments, IMO. I think you are off your rocker on those two.
 
Richelieu said:
This isn't like most teams where an injured point guard submarines the whole team. Yes, the Bulls do take a step down, but Watson-Lucas is 75% of Rose-Watson, and I feel that's still enough to beat Miami in a series. True, they will have to play extraordinarily well, but it is possible.
Click to expand...

I think its strong enough to beat Philly/Boston/Atlanta but not strong enough to beat Miami. Mainly because of how James can shut down Rose, I don't think Rose-Watson would beat Miami.
 
Bulls might not even beat Philly. They got completely dominated in the 2nd half of game 2. Points in the paint, rebounds, and fast break points. Pretty bad considering the Sixers are not a good rebounding team or a good inside scoring team. Not to mention they out-hustled them. Got to wonder how long the Bulls will keep it together emotionally. They looked completely drained by the end of the game. If they don't win game 3 I'd start worrying....if I were a Bulls fan.
 
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I'm with JY. I don't think they get past the 76ers, though I think last night was an exception, as opposed to the rule, with how the Bulls play without Rose. Rich is starting to lose it, IMO.
 
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