2013 NBA Playoffs thread

The fun starts Saturday ... really wish Kobe was playing because he had a chance to steal a game or two by himself against the Spurs. Still, three of the West series ought to be really interesting. The Houston-OKC series could be played in the 120s.

The East ... meh, Brooklyn-Chicago will be fun. New York-Boston will be OK. The other two series, ugh.

Anyway, picks everyone?

EAST
Miami over Milwaukee in 4
Chicago over Brooklyn in 6
Indiana over Atlanta in 5
New York over Boston in 6

WEST
Oklahoma City over Houston in 5
L.A. Clippers over Memphis in 7
San Antonio over L.A. Lakers in 5 (hey, Tracy McGrady might finally get to the second round ...)
Golden State over Denver in 6

 

I'll go Denver over the Warriors in 5, Memphis over LAC in 7, and Brooklyn over Chicago in 6. I agree with your other picks.

 

Part of me wants Chicago to win just because I think the Bulls will be a tougher out for Miami than the Nets will be.

 

Wish I could be that optimistic about the Warriors, but Denver is one of those teams that's been flying under the radar all season.

 

Miami from the East.

OKC-Spurs will be a 7-game dogfight in the West finals.

Miami over Thunder in rematch. LeBron MVP.

 

Denver has not flown under the radar in the slightest for those who have been paying attention. No team that goes 37-3 at home is flying under the radar. Until the Gallo, Lawson, and Faried injuries, people were speculating about whether or not they could take down the Spurs and/or OKC for the West crown. Lawson is back, but Faried looks like he'll likely have lingering issues, and their ceiling now is probably making it to the WCF.

 

Denver is very good ... just seemed weird going with chalk all the way through the first round, and with a few key injuries down the stretch, I could see Steph Curry getting hot and stealing that series, that's all. Of the "upsets" that seems the most likely.

The entire Indiana-Atlanta series should be on NBAtv2.

 

If Kobe was healthy I could see the Lakers maybe pulling off an upset. Spurs are reeling a bit and the last few years they've been the Patriots of the NBA, former champs who dominate regular season and then run into troubles in the playoffs. Plus, Lakers are actually 28-12 the last 40 games, a pretty decent clip for half a season. But...now I can see them winning maybe 1, possibly 2. Definitely a better matchup than OKC, who would have destroyed them either way, with or without Kobe.

Nuggets-Warriors will be a blast to watch because it will be like a series from 1985 as far as the pace. The East again is blech. Hopefully Celtics-Knicks is a good series though. But right now I don't see anyone beating Miami or OKC.

 

Exactly ... but as stated, have to be paying attention in this world where what LeBron and Kobe tweet passes for NBA coverage.

 

Lakers went from +1200 to +700 to advance past the Spurs.