NBA Playoff Preview: Eastern Conference

Yeah, its a day behind, but the following was written pre-playoffs.

Welcome to the NBA playoff preview! I am your party host, and with me, also watching like his favorite team, is Bucks fan Dan Vachalek.

Bulls vs Pacers

David: I want to see this for one reason:Tyler vs Carlos. Boozer is one of the most overrated PFs in recent history, and I have YET to see the Pacers play, and Tyler was the MAN at UNC, so we got the UNC/Duke thing going as well.

Dan: This series is not going to end well for the Pacers. Indiana is the worst team that is part of the playoffs, while the Bulls are the best team that is part of the playoffs (according to win-loss records). Derrick Rose and Carlos Boozer are going to prove to be just too tough for the Pacers.

David: Bulls in 4
Dan:  Bulls in 4

Celtics vs Knicks

David: Amare vs KG,
Melo vs PP,
Chauncy vs Rondo,
Ray Allen vs anyone else,
Explain to me where the Knicks win this one? I just do not see where the Knicks even compete in this series. I understand the Celtics are not who we thought they would be, but I’m giving them game 4 in the Garden, and thats it.

Dan: I like the Celtics in this matchup. The Celtics are an older team with more experience and the Knicks just have not seem to be working well together after they acquired Carmelo Anthony from the Nuggets. The Knicks don’t have their key components that they had that got them this far in the first place, which is going to hurt them. They also have lost depth which is another bad thing since the Celtics are strong depth wise. Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo are all dominating forces and should not be reckoned with. Boston also has the best defense in the NBA which is going to play towards their advantage as well since the playoffs is when defense matters the most. The Knicks do have the second best offense in the league, but the 28th worst defense in the league, which is going to cost them against the powerful Celtics.

David: Celtics in 5.
Dan: Celtics in 5

Heat vs 76ers

David: If you listen to LeBatard; the Heat wanted the Knicks.No they didn’t That matchup gives them a disadvantage at Amare/Bosh  and Billups/Bibby, plus Lebron has problems  hanging  with Melo- leaving these games to Wade to win. But the 76ers do not have these advantages, Iggy gets killed by Wade, this Brand is not going to kill Bosh like he would pre-injury, and they don’t have the help D to stop Lebron on his drives.

Dan: I think the Miami Heat have a great advantage here. The 76ers aren’t a very good team, finishing the season at the .500 mark. The Heat have a three headed monster in Chris Bosh, LeBron James and Dwayne Wade. The Heat are a good defensive team, ranking sixth in the NBA in points allowed per game, while ranking eighth place in points per game. Both are better than Philadelphia’s 12th and 18th placings respectively.

David:Heat in 4 10+ wins
Dan: Miami win in 4.

Atl vs Orlando

David: I’m taking the upset.Howard is 85% awesome, But Horford isn’t a slouch, Joe Johnson and Gilbert can cancel each other out, but JJ plays defense, so on and so forth. This is an 4/5 matchup and it show.  This Orlando team just seems thrown together, and  they just do not appear cohesive at all. They have players but no structure- I’d love to see Scott Skiles coach this team. But back to this matchup, I just think Atlanta has enough to wear down Howard- and only one team has a player that can bust 40 points.

Dan: There is one specific name that comes to mind when you bring up this series. The name is Dwight Howard, a strong MVP candidate. He makes the Magic who they are. He helps make their defense the fourth best in the NBA, helps keep their offense flowing strong and helps keep them sixth overall in the NBA in rebounds per game. No surprise that he basically is the Orlando Magic. I do think that the Magic have the better team as well, though. As a team, the Magic average over 42 rebounds per game while the Hawks average only 39 rebounds per game, a difference of Orlando being ranked sixth, while Atlanta being ranked 28th. Orlando has a bettere defense as well, ranking fourth in points per game allowed while Atlanta ranks ninth in points per game allowed. Orlando has the sixteenth best offense in the NBA according to points per game, while the Hawks are trailing far behind at 26th. Atlanta is also entering the playoffs coming off of a six game losing streak, which is definitely going to hurt their momentum.

Winner:

David: Hawks in 6
Dan: Orlando wins this series in 5 games.