Post by springs on Jan 26, 2015 3:15:33 GMT
1. Toronto Raptors (57-25) vs 8. Miami Heat (45-37)
The Raps were strong as hell this year, taking down the best record in a packed East and going 31-10 at home, 26-15 on the road. They do almost everything well – score over 100, hold teams to 94, turn it over only 12 times a game, and get over 9 blocks and steals. Having said that, they aren't super strong on the glass, pulling down 51.2 rebounds a game, bottom 10 in the league. So if there's a team that's going to upset them, it'll be a team that can control the glass. That's where Miami comes into play, pulling down 54.4 boards a game this year, good for second in the league. Oscar pulls down 6 a game at the PG position, Gervin 7 a game as a SF. This team is dangerous.
Unfortunately Gus Williams is hurt for 13 days which really hurts their chances. He shot .474/.806/.480, so they lose some major fire power and might find it hard to keep up with the Raps offense. It looks like Bagley has been getting starters minutes in their latest boxes which doesn't fare well for Miami since he sucks ass. They only lost by 3 at home to the Raps on day 118 however with King holding Pippen to 8/28 shooting and Oscar outplaying Cousy. Miller was the difference dropping 26 on 11/19 shooting. If they can control Miller, you never know.
This could be a good series. Very unlikely to be a sweep for the Raps imo. More likely Raps win 4-2 or something.
2. Orlando Magic (54-28) vs 7. Chicago Bulls (46-36)
Both teams finished the season 5-5 which is interesting, neither playing their best ball of the season going into the Offs. Orlando had the best Home record in the league at 32-9, but a mediocre 22-19 on the Road. Chicago was also very strong at Home going 29-12 with a 17-24 record on the Road. So logic would tell you this is going 7 with both teams winning all their games at home. But wait..
71 Bulls (bloop) 110, MAGIC (SHORTY) 93
95 Bulls (bloop) 108, MAGIC (SHORTY) 103
100 BULLS (BLOOP) 103, Magic (shorty) 102
The Bulls have taken the last 3 meetings, including 2 in Orlando. They dropped 100+ in all 3 despite Orlando only giving up 94.7 a game this year. Are the Bulls the favorites in this series? Problem for Bulls is their offense has been inconsistent going into the Offs. 40% shooting in a 20 point loss @ Charlotte where they only got to the stripe 9 times. 37% in a 35 point loss @ Cleveland. Orlando might be too much to overcome with Malone, Barkley and West all putting up over 20ppg.
On the other hand Orlando has been inconsistent on the offensive end as well recently. They shot 38% in a 1 point loss @ Cleveland on day 116. The next game on day 118 they had Cleveland at home, they turned it over 19 times and only shot 60% from the stripe, falling by 10.
This will be a great series to follow out East. Two very strong teams, but two teams that finished with inconsistent play and could easily fuck it all up. Whoever gets the most out of their squad and limits their mistakes should take it down.
3. Boston Celtics (51-31) vs 6. Atlanta Hawks (46-36)
Not often does a 46-36 team end up the 6th seed, but that's what happened in the stacked East this season. Both teams went 29-12 at Home. The difference was their Road play, with Boston going 22-19, Atlanta 17-24. Boston is the best rebounding team in the league which is a big advantage in the Playoffs, they score well, they don't turn it over, but they do give up 100 a game, so there is a hole that can possibly be exposed. If that hole is going to be exposed it'll be by Issel going beast mode against Ayton who is a B defender. He blocks alot of shots, but his post D might be exposed by Issel in this series. Issel has been dropping a ton of buckets lately.
Atlanta added Dennis Smith Jr to the squad late in the season, and looking at their recent boxes, he's been inconsistent going into the playoffs. His last 5 games:
10/8/2 on 5/14 – 6 turnovers
10/12/5/5 on 4/14 – 6 turnovers
17/8/5/3 on 7/16 – 1 turnover
19/10/6/3 on 6/12 – 2 turnovers
12/9/5 on 3/10 – 3 turnovers
The good news is Pistol isn't a defensive force. If Atlanta was up against a team with a lockdown PG, they might be completely screwed.
Another series with potential to be interesting, but I'm gonna say Boston takes it down 4-1. They're pretty strong. They won the last meeting with Atlanta 140-94 at home on day 70, with Bridgeman going for 34 on 12/20, Issel dropping 30/21/5/6 on 10/14, and Pistol going for 26/9/6 on 11/20. That was a long time ago though in the FBB world. Both teams are good.
4. Washington Wizards (49-33) vs 5. Milwaukee Bucks (49-33)
This is the series to watch out East. Both teams with the same record. Bucks were one game better at Home, Wiz one game better on the road. The Wiz have the stronger frontcourt with two solid double double players - Stone 25/12, Walton 16/11 and both shooting 45%+. The Bucks will have to defend the paint if they want to walk away with this series. But Karnowski is currently injured for 10 days (5 if he gets the pill?) so they'll be without him for a few games and will likely give up alot of points in the paint. They better hope Wicks, Davis and Macauley can hold their own down there.
Milwaukee however has the advantage in the backcourt. They have World B. Free who is solid all around and his B A- offense is easily better than Mudiay's C+ B+. Raines shot 47% this year to get his 20 ppg, he should outplay English.
Then there's the imporant SF matchup - Bucks got Bird from us who has been ripping it up, taking down POTM for the last 2 months of the season (but not a single POTW lol). Simmons will have to contain Bird, and that could be the matchup that decides the series right there. This is a tough one to call. Will the Bucks just get dominated in the post? Will the Wiz just get dominated on the perimeter? Who fuckin knows?! I got Wiz in 7 since they have the advantage of Karnowski being injured for atleast the start of the series.
Playoffs have arrived.
The Raps were strong as hell this year, taking down the best record in a packed East and going 31-10 at home, 26-15 on the road. They do almost everything well – score over 100, hold teams to 94, turn it over only 12 times a game, and get over 9 blocks and steals. Having said that, they aren't super strong on the glass, pulling down 51.2 rebounds a game, bottom 10 in the league. So if there's a team that's going to upset them, it'll be a team that can control the glass. That's where Miami comes into play, pulling down 54.4 boards a game this year, good for second in the league. Oscar pulls down 6 a game at the PG position, Gervin 7 a game as a SF. This team is dangerous.
Unfortunately Gus Williams is hurt for 13 days which really hurts their chances. He shot .474/.806/.480, so they lose some major fire power and might find it hard to keep up with the Raps offense. It looks like Bagley has been getting starters minutes in their latest boxes which doesn't fare well for Miami since he sucks ass. They only lost by 3 at home to the Raps on day 118 however with King holding Pippen to 8/28 shooting and Oscar outplaying Cousy. Miller was the difference dropping 26 on 11/19 shooting. If they can control Miller, you never know.
This could be a good series. Very unlikely to be a sweep for the Raps imo. More likely Raps win 4-2 or something.
2. Orlando Magic (54-28) vs 7. Chicago Bulls (46-36)
Both teams finished the season 5-5 which is interesting, neither playing their best ball of the season going into the Offs. Orlando had the best Home record in the league at 32-9, but a mediocre 22-19 on the Road. Chicago was also very strong at Home going 29-12 with a 17-24 record on the Road. So logic would tell you this is going 7 with both teams winning all their games at home. But wait..
71 Bulls (bloop) 110, MAGIC (SHORTY) 93
95 Bulls (bloop) 108, MAGIC (SHORTY) 103
100 BULLS (BLOOP) 103, Magic (shorty) 102
The Bulls have taken the last 3 meetings, including 2 in Orlando. They dropped 100+ in all 3 despite Orlando only giving up 94.7 a game this year. Are the Bulls the favorites in this series? Problem for Bulls is their offense has been inconsistent going into the Offs. 40% shooting in a 20 point loss @ Charlotte where they only got to the stripe 9 times. 37% in a 35 point loss @ Cleveland. Orlando might be too much to overcome with Malone, Barkley and West all putting up over 20ppg.
On the other hand Orlando has been inconsistent on the offensive end as well recently. They shot 38% in a 1 point loss @ Cleveland on day 116. The next game on day 118 they had Cleveland at home, they turned it over 19 times and only shot 60% from the stripe, falling by 10.
This will be a great series to follow out East. Two very strong teams, but two teams that finished with inconsistent play and could easily fuck it all up. Whoever gets the most out of their squad and limits their mistakes should take it down.
3. Boston Celtics (51-31) vs 6. Atlanta Hawks (46-36)
Not often does a 46-36 team end up the 6th seed, but that's what happened in the stacked East this season. Both teams went 29-12 at Home. The difference was their Road play, with Boston going 22-19, Atlanta 17-24. Boston is the best rebounding team in the league which is a big advantage in the Playoffs, they score well, they don't turn it over, but they do give up 100 a game, so there is a hole that can possibly be exposed. If that hole is going to be exposed it'll be by Issel going beast mode against Ayton who is a B defender. He blocks alot of shots, but his post D might be exposed by Issel in this series. Issel has been dropping a ton of buckets lately.
Atlanta added Dennis Smith Jr to the squad late in the season, and looking at their recent boxes, he's been inconsistent going into the playoffs. His last 5 games:
10/8/2 on 5/14 – 6 turnovers
10/12/5/5 on 4/14 – 6 turnovers
17/8/5/3 on 7/16 – 1 turnover
19/10/6/3 on 6/12 – 2 turnovers
12/9/5 on 3/10 – 3 turnovers
The good news is Pistol isn't a defensive force. If Atlanta was up against a team with a lockdown PG, they might be completely screwed.
Another series with potential to be interesting, but I'm gonna say Boston takes it down 4-1. They're pretty strong. They won the last meeting with Atlanta 140-94 at home on day 70, with Bridgeman going for 34 on 12/20, Issel dropping 30/21/5/6 on 10/14, and Pistol going for 26/9/6 on 11/20. That was a long time ago though in the FBB world. Both teams are good.
4. Washington Wizards (49-33) vs 5. Milwaukee Bucks (49-33)
This is the series to watch out East. Both teams with the same record. Bucks were one game better at Home, Wiz one game better on the road. The Wiz have the stronger frontcourt with two solid double double players - Stone 25/12, Walton 16/11 and both shooting 45%+. The Bucks will have to defend the paint if they want to walk away with this series. But Karnowski is currently injured for 10 days (5 if he gets the pill?) so they'll be without him for a few games and will likely give up alot of points in the paint. They better hope Wicks, Davis and Macauley can hold their own down there.
Milwaukee however has the advantage in the backcourt. They have World B. Free who is solid all around and his B A- offense is easily better than Mudiay's C+ B+. Raines shot 47% this year to get his 20 ppg, he should outplay English.
Then there's the imporant SF matchup - Bucks got Bird from us who has been ripping it up, taking down POTM for the last 2 months of the season (but not a single POTW lol). Simmons will have to contain Bird, and that could be the matchup that decides the series right there. This is a tough one to call. Will the Bucks just get dominated in the post? Will the Wiz just get dominated on the perimeter? Who fuckin knows?! I got Wiz in 7 since they have the advantage of Karnowski being injured for atleast the start of the series.
Playoffs have arrived.
