Atlantic Division - 1. Boston 2. Philadelphia 3. New York 4. New Jersey 5. Toronto
Central Division - 1. Chicago 2. Milwaukee 3. Indiana 4. Detroit 5. Cleveland
Southeast Division - 1. Orlando 2. Miami 3. Atlanta 4. Washington 5. Charlotte
He Here are what I believe the playoff seedings will be:
1. Orlando 2. Boston 3. Chicago 4. Miami 5. Milwaukee 6. Atlanta 7. Philadelphia 8. Indiana
Below are my predictions for the first, second, and third rounds of the playoffs.
FIRST ROUND:
•Orlando Magic defeat Indiana Pacers 4-1. The East’s best team easily takes care of the Pacers, with the Pacers winning one at home to avoid being swept.
•Boston Celtics defeat Philadelphia 76ers 4-2. Though Boston beats the 76ers, they look to be tired, hence losing two games in Philadelphia.
•Atlanta Hawks defeat Chicago Bulls 4-3. In a mild upset, the Atlanta Hawks beat the Bulls in a thrilling seven-game series.
•Miami Heat defeat Milwaukee Bucks 4-2. Though the Bucks made the vaunted Heat “Fear the Deer” for a couple of games, the Miami offense under the leadership of Dwayne Wade takes the reins in the series, winning in six.
SECOND ROUND:
•Orlando Magic defeat Atlanta Hawks 4-1. Much like last season, the hot magic easily disposes of their division rivals the Atlanta Hawks.
•Miami Heat defeat Boston Celtics 4-3. Though the aging Celtics grind it out to a game seven at home, the star-studded Miami Heat is too quick for the veteran Celtics, winning in an upset in Boston.
CONFERENCE FINALS:
•Orlando Magic defeat Miami Heat 4-2. Coming off a long and tough series, the Heat have to face a fresh Orlando team that had no trouble in the previous round. Because they are unable to match-up with Dwight Howard, the Heat fall short of media hype and fail to deliver a ring.
So there you have it. Ed B’s forecast for the Eastern Conference. Are you surprised that I don’t have Chicago making it into the second round? Or that the Celtics get beat by an unproven team? Or that the Orlando Magic somehow beat a heavily-favored Heat team?
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The only issue is that the NBA playoffs don't work like hockey. The Hawks winning and being the lowest seed does not, matter, the winner of the 3 vs 6 game plays the winner of the 2/7 game.
ReplyDeleteNow, if you put Miami 4th just because they are in Orlando's division, you do not have to do that. The winner of each division is only guaranteed a 4th place finish. Therefore, Orlando, Chicago, and Boston are guaranteed at least 4th. New-ish rule.
Dude, just because the heat are the most douchetastic team in the history of sports doesn't mean you should underestimate how good they are. They are going to be RIDICULOUS. They have to come out right away and try to prove that this wasn't all a big mistake. There is no way they don't have the best record in the league. They'll be going balls out every night, just to be able to say "we told you so." However, teams like the C's have proved that it doesn't matter what your record is in the regular season as long as you make the playoffs. The C's are FAR more likely to finish in that 4 spot. What happens in the playoffs, I don't really know, but I guarentee the Heat finish with the best record in the east. And this wouldn't evn be a discussion if we didn't hate how they went about assembling their team.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to make it clear that I have a huge dislike for the Heat, and LeBron James. I'd love to see their season go up in flames, but logic tells me that they're going to be a great team.
The douche factor doesn't matter. I, like Ed, honestly don't think this team will finish with the best record in the league. Having a chip on their shoulder shouldn't factor in at all. I think a team with this much YOUNG star-power won't have the consistency (or maybe even chemistry) to have the best record. Basketball is highly a team game,and their bench/role players aren't up to par. Lebron is going to suffer a little from criticism, as I feel he is too young to accept that Dwayne is the leader and NOT him. Bosh will transition easier because he is a prototypical side-kick; Lebron is not, and that WILL cause chemistry problems.
ReplyDeleteThere's a great story from the '08 Olympics. When US was struggling late in a game, leaders like Lebron and Wade clashed because they both wanted to be alpha dog. Then Kobe Bryant came over and said, "Give me the ball." And the Black Mamba won the game for the team.
I almost guarantee they DON'T have the best record, because this team SO FAR is just pomp and circumstance.
Crap, and I knew the NBA had a different system,but I couldn't recall what it was. In that case,the Celtics defeat the Hawks and Orlando beats Miami, and Orlando wins (still) in the conference finals.
ReplyDeleteAnd I knew that the division winners don't auto get 1, 2, 3. I just feel Chicago will have a better regular season than Miami. All speculative though. Not an expert here.
If that's the case and you feel the Heat will actually finish 4th, I'm gonna go with Shane on this one.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, I was saying that the douche factor shouldn't matter. I feel like Ed B was letting the fact that the Heat are now, "The Evil Empire" and everyone wants to see them lose, cloud his judgement. I think chemistry is so overrated too by the way. The NBA is a star driven league. Look at the past few championships. Celtics, (KG, RAY, Pierce) Lakers, (Kobe, Gasol) Spurs, (Duncan, Manu, Parker) Lakers, (Kobe, Shaq). If you have stars together on one team it equats to wins.
ReplyDeleteWe all are just seaching for any little reasons to say why the Heat won't succeed rather than the 100 reasons staring us in the face why they will win.
And anonymous, the fact that they have something to prove absolutly 110% plays a factor in how they do in the regular season. For example, the celtics have nothing to prove in the regular season. The older players arent't gonna be playing 40 min a night, they're just biding their time for the playoffs. The heat however will be going all out, because they have everything to prove. Can you imagine the media scrutiny if come mid season they're say only a few games over .500? LeBron's ego won't allow him to be like the celtics and plan for the furture. He just want to go out there win the first 20 games and be able to say "HA. All you racist assholes can't keep us down, this was such a good decision." They're absolutly going to try harder than any other team in the regular season.
I don't think they'll win a championship this year (the playoffs are a whole different monster), but 65ish wins isn't out of the question
The Heat without a doubt have the chance to win 65. I think too many things have to happen for 65 wins to be possible. Those teams Shane mentioned with stars also had very good role-players, something that the Heat don't currently have.
ReplyDeleteThe Celtics "Big 3" also had James Posey, PJ Brown, Leon Powe, and Rajon Rondo contributing. This current Lakers team has/had Artest, Trevor Ariza, Derek Fisher, and Jordan Farmar. Look at all the teams you listed and you will find formidable role-players for all of them. The Heat is pretty weak in depth because of the spending for the trifecta.
The difference between say Gasol/Kobe and Miami's Trifecta is that Kobe is the leader, end of story. Gasol accepts it. Lebron probably won't, as Anonymous said. It's Wade's team, he's been there longer and he's proven he can win the big one. And once Kobe started becoming a superstar, people questioned who was the true leader, Kobe or Shaq, which lead to the team's demise and Shaq being traded.
And I have to contest the point that this is a star-driven league. Look no further than the 2004 NBA Finals. The Lakers had a stacked team of Kobe, Shaq, Karl Malone, and Gary Payton, stars and future HOFs, who had no chemistry. Then look at their opponents, the Detroit Pistons. NO true "superstars" but a solid starting 5 offensively and defensively, and a true "team," hence why they won in the end.
Not to sound like a dweeb, but the douche-factor in no way, shape, or form factored in to my predictions, because as a blogger, I can't be biased. Otherwise the I'd have the Celtics winning every game, the Lakers and Heat losing every game, and Cleveland beating the Heat 345-0, with each Cavalier scoring exactly 23 points to spit in Lebron's face.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if anyone is still commenting on this post I'm a few days late here... but I just thought I would point out that Tim Legler picks Miami to finish 4th in the Eastern Conference this year too.
ReplyDeleteI'm way late checking this, but tim legler is a pussy.
ReplyDeleteBut to expand on what sam said, I think that star players (like the ones i listed from NBA championship teams) guarentee you a great regular season, but pairing those star players with great role players leads to playoff success.
Therefore, Heat=Great regular season team, but will struggle severely when teams turn it on in the post season.