NBA PLAYOFFS PREDICTIONS (ROUND 2)
NBA PLAYOFFS PREDICTIONS (ROUND 2)
By Muntradamus
BEAST DOME NATION.
What a painful loss it was for the Lakers nation a week ago. A series where they were the most dominant team for 80% of the entire series, yet lost 4-1 in all games where they led at halftime. Who is to blame for the loss? It is the role players not stepping up, it was not even Ham’s fault at this point. Darvin Ham may have been the scapegoat early on when he was having D’Lo come off the bench, but now it was Rui/DLo/Reaves and the rest of the bench. Reaves had a nice game 3-4-5, but they needed him earlier on.
The 76ers had a brutal loss to the Knicks also, a series they should have won. Embiid was a monster, but once again not enough help from the supporting cast, Maxey took a nice leap forward, but this 76ers team was nothing short of disappointing.
WEST
OKC vs. MAVS
Luka is playing Hall of Fame basketball right now. Kyrie is as well. The Mavs bench is deep and strong and everyone is playing their role. OKC has no chance to compete in this series. Derrick Jones is the perfect person to stop SGA and the rest of the OKC stars are going to get handled. Gafford and Lively are the two perfect players to dominate Chet, and the Mavs are going to roll on to the next round.
NUGGETS vs. T’WOLVES
Jamal Murray suffered a calf injury in Game 4 against the Lakers, and it is still bothering him against a T-Wolves team that really is a problem for Jokic. If there was one team that can shutdown Jokic, it is a combo of Gobert/Kat/Reid. Gordon is not good enough on offense to carry the squad, and while MPJ is always dangerous, Jaden McDaniels is the only defender who can make things very tough. T’Wolves won game 1, and they will win this series.
EAST
CELTICS vs. CAVS
Celtics are not at 100%, neither are the Cavs. If Jarrett Allen can return for Game 1, the Cavs are going to dominate this series. Horford and Kornet cannot guard Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley. Though Mobley is looking more trash by the week. Spida Mitchell is playing like a MVP and Jayson Tatum is already showing that he is ready to choke in these playoffs as he has not looked like a superstar in a while. If Allen returns, Cavs win.
KNICKS vs. PACERS
Two scrappy teams with no real MVP star, though that narrative can change for Brunson. Knicks have one problem in this series, the Pacers can score a ton of points and the Knicks are not really capable of that. Brunson is going to have to carry this team on his shoulders and score 40+ Points a game for the Knicks to win. I do not see that happening, Pacers are too deep, while the Knicks only carry two players off their bench. Pacers win the series.