EASTERN CONFERENCE
No. 1 Cleveland vs. No. 8 Detroit
No. 2 Boston vs. No. 7 Chicago
No. 3 Orlando vs. No. 6 Philadelphia
No. 4 Atlanta vs. No. 5 Miami
WESTERN CONFERENCE
No. 1 L.A. Lakers vs. No. 8 Utah
No. 2 Denver vs. No. 7 New Orleans
No. 3 San Antonio vs. No. 6 Dallas
No. 4 Portland vs. No. 5 Houston
Some quick comments:
Detroit at number 8. Wow! My favorite team and consistent playoff bound team ends up at number 8, barely making it to the postseason and holding off the Charlotte Bobcats (of all teams!). As how it's always said, "Oh, how the mighty have fallen." Detroit will visit the Cleveland Cavaliers. Back then, it used to be a second round match up, with both Detroit and Cleveland ending in the top 4 in the Eastern Conference standings.
If the Cleveland versus Detroit match up is not going to be as exciting as the previous years, then the East's match up to watch is the Miami at Atlanta game. Who would have thought that the Hawks would grab the 4th spot in the East? Who would have thought that the Heat would be back with a rookie coach handling the reins. Of course, Dwyane Wade has taken the mantle of Superman for Miami.
Utah finishes 8th and Dallas jumps to 6th in the Western Conference. And here I thought that the Dallas Mavericks were doing a Detroit Piston falling mightily. Poor Utah. They draw the mighty LA Lakers in the first round. I'm pretty sure they won't just roll over and lose easily.
New Orleans is the West's version of the Detroit Pistons. The former 2nd seed is at a lowly 7th this year but that doesn't mean that they're a bad team. But they do have the (un)fortunate situation of drawing the Denver Nuggets (also a surprise as the 2nd seed).
Portland is a surprise at number 4. Like the Miami Heat in the East, Portland returns to the postseason after a near appearance in 2008. They have the homecourt advantage against the Houston Rockets, who are looking for their first playoff series win. This should be fun to watch.
It's San Antonio versus Dallas in the first round. Like the Cavaliers versus Pistons, these two teams are old rivals. Now they meet in the first round.
Predictions:
Cleveland over Detroit in 5 (and prompting another change from Joe Dumars!).
Boston over Chicago in 4 (that's quite a bold prediction but it hinges on the health of KG).
Orlando over Philadelphia in 6.
Atlanta over Miami in 7 (this series could be all about Wade).
LA Lakers over Utah in 7 (Jerry Sloan won't back down on this one).
New Orleans over Denver in 6 (upset alert!).
Dallas over San Antonio in 7 (Manu Ginobili will be sorely missed).
Houston over Portland in 6 (Houston finally wins a playoff series).
It's looking clearer and clearer that we'll have a Cleveland versus LA Lakers NBA Finals. LeBron versus Kobe. Nike is going to be wearing a smile the whole series and so will David Stern.
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