NBA PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS ROUND 3
NBA PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS ROUND 3
By Muntradamus
BEAST DOME NATION.
I am on my A+ game. All 4 predictions were correct in the previous article, I have been watching every second of every NBA playoff game and I am ready to give you this years NBA Finals. Before I give you my Finals Prediction, I want to point you to a special article.
BEAST THE ODD$ (2/9/24)
HOW THE WEST WAS WON
The Mavericks were the 8th/9th seed when they made the trades for PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford. Before I wrote the article on them, I was going to write an article on the T-Wolves as the team to beat. I placed on both of them.
Regardless that I have the Mavericks to win based off of my February NBA All-Star Break plays. I am still going to give my honest reaction on who should win.
MAVERICKS vs. T-WOLVES
This series we will see if Kyrie Irving is a legend, or just a superstar. Jaden McDaniels is maybe the one player that can stick with Luka. NAW sort of can, but McDaniels has the length, the athleticism, and just enough strength where he will not be bullied. Luka did put up 34 Points and 39 Points against McDaniels this season on 27-53 shooting, but I still see McDaniels being able to contain Luka somehow someway in some games this series.
The real truth about this series is, if you put Gobert & KAT on the Mavericks, replace them with Gafford/Washington. You would say the Mavericks would sweep this series. The T-Wolves bigs are playing big, and even though Gafford does play big, I do not see PJ Washington being able to stop KAT much at all. Derrick Jones can definitely give Anthony Edwards a though time, but the T-Wolves are very big and the Mavericks could have trouble with that.
In the end, it comes down to Kyrie. If Kyrie can drop 40 Points a game with dimes on high efficient shooting nights, the Mavericks can win this series. If these games turn into slug fests, T-Wolves can win this series. At the end of the day, Luka & Kyrie are capable of taking any game over, while Anthony Edwards is going to have a lot of trouble with Derrick Jones. In fact, Derrick Jones held Anthony Edwards under 10 Points twice in the four games he played against Dallas. On the other hand, Edwards dropped 44 and 36 Points in the two other games.
MAVERICKS ADVANCE
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PACERS vs. CELTICS
The Celtics have had a cupcake walk this NBA playoffs. The Heat without Butler, the Cavs without Jarrett Allen and Don Mitchell when series was still 2-1 Boston. Now the Celtics are playing a real team, and this is a deep team. In the Round 2 Prediction article, I said the Pacers would win because they score a lot of points, the real reason the Pacers won was because OG got injured. Knicks looked great and he was balling out, without him, they lacked anyone that could slowdown Pascal Siakam and here we are.
Jayson Tatum vs. Siakam is going to be a great matchup. There is no doubt that both players are going to be able to get off their shots, but both players are going to make each other work heavy on both ends of the court. Maybe game 1 and game 2 Tatum really has an edge, but in the end the Pacers are going to have the advantage the longer this series goes.
Nesmith is a great defensive player and Jaylen Brown is a player he went up against in practice nearly everyday when he was with Boston his first two years in the NBA. Last time Nesmith played against Boston in Boston he went for 26 Points/12 Rebounds/7 Assists. Similar to how Obi had some good moments against his former Knicks in Round 2, we should see Nesmith have some big moments against the Celtics.
Jrue Holiday is the one guard that can give Haliburton a very tough time, while Derrick White absolutely manhandles Nembhard and Sheppard. The Celtics could definitely control games when Jrue and White are dominating the guard combos.
The big difference maker that can lead to the upset in this series is if there is no Porzingis for the Celtics. Last round Evan Mobley looked like Tim Duncan, so you know that Myles Turner is going to look like Dwight Howard who can drain 3s. Al Horford is way too slow and old, and not strong enough to really effect Myles Turner at all. Kornet can jump, but Myles Turner is a far superior player. If there is no Porzingis in this series, the Pacers can win the rebound battle very easily and they can also run in transition with the best of them.
Game 1 and Game 2 should goto Boston. Pacers need to make this a 6-7 game series, the longer the series goes (if Porzingis does not return) the better chance the Pacers have of tiring out the Celtics. If the Celtics had the Pacers bench, this series would be a sweep for the Celtics, but the Pacers bench is the bi X-Facor and they should win games for them this series. The Pacers starters can definitely ball out enough to compete with the Celtics on a nightly basis.
PACERS ADVANCE
(if Porzingis does not return)
HOW WILL I HEDGE?
I essentially can win $5K if it is Boston vs. Dallas. I can win $6.5K if it is Dallas vs. Indiana.
If Minnesota is in the Championship vs. Boston. I either win $1500+ or nothing at all.
For now I will let the Pacers lose to the Celtics in game 1. After that, I will put maybe $200 (win $600) on Minnesota ML to win Championship since Boston’s odds will increase and Minnesota should jump to +300. It is really too early to say if the Celtics are going to for sure be in the Championship, yet alone win it. For one they are not healthy, and most important they do not have a bench which are two reasons they could lose to the Pacers this round.
I will wait to sprinkle more on Minnesota after watching game 1. If Dallas wins game 1, then I am happy to lose that $200 as they are the heavy favorites to win the series. In that case I would potentially put more on Minnesota just because the odds could jump to +900.