Cavaliers Eyes Title as NBA’s Postseason Nears

The NBA regular season is quickly coming to a close and thus fans brace themselves for the far-too-long, enough-already, when-is-it-going-to-end NBA postseason.
This season has brought plenty of excitement. From the emergence of the Thunder’s Kevin Durant as one of the top scorers in the NBA, to the ever-entertaining Lebron James and Kobe Bryant each leading their teams to the top of the standings. It also featured the fantastic rookie play of the Kings’ Tyreke Evans, the Bucks’ Brandon Jennings and Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors.
Let’s take a look at how the playoff match-ups are most likely going to unfold as well as some postseason predictions.
Starting in the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers have locked up the top seed and will most likely square off against the Toronto Raptors in the first round. The Raptors will be without star Chris Bosh who is on the sidelines indefinitely after taking an elbow to the face on April 6 and sustaining maxilla and nasal fractures. The Cavaliers should have Shaquille O’Neal back after being out for almost two months with a thumb injury.
Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic will play as the number two seed against the seventh-seeded Charlotte Bobcats, who will be making their first postseason appearance in franchise history.
I think the third seed will likely go to the Atlanta Hawks, which would force them to square off against the Milwaukee Bucks, the expected sixth seed in the playoffs. The Bucks will be without 7’1” Australian center Andrew Bogut, who suffered a horrific fall on April 3 and was left with a dislocated elbow, broken hand and sprained wrist. Without Bogut, it’s possible that the Bobcats will move up into the sixth position if the Bucks cannot find a way to win without their star center.
That leaves the final first round match-up between the fourth-seeded Boston Celtics and fifth-seeded Miami Heat. Many think the Celtics are running out of time, age-wise, and this could be one of their last chances to make a run at an NBA title.
I see the Cavaliers, Magic, Hawks and Celtics all advancing. In the second round, I see Cleveland knocking off the Celtics in six games while the Magic send the Hawks home in seven. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Cavaliers avenge their loss to the Magic last year and take Orlando in six to reach the NBA Finals for the second time in four years. The Cavaliers’ roster is much deeper this year with the additions of Antawn Jamison and O’Neal and should be able to handle the size of Dwight Howard, unlike in 2009. The Magic also no longer has Hedo Turkoglu, who wreaked havoc on Cleveland last year in the playoffs.
Heading out West, the playoff seeds are a little less secure and finalized. The Los Angeles Lakers will most surely be the number one seed. However, as of April 11, the second through eighth places are separated by just four games. I pick the Lakers to take on the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round while the projected second-seeded Dallas Mavericks will take on the Oklahoma City Thunder, led by the NBA’s leading scorer and third-year player Kevin Durant.
The red-hot Phoenix Suns will follow up as the three seed and take on the San Antonio Spurs, who I see finishing sixth. There is a history of bad blood between the Suns and Spurs (especially in the playoffs), which could prove to be a very entertaining and exciting first round match-up.
Rounding out the Western conference playoff lineup, the Utah Jazz slide to the fourth slot and take on the Denver Nuggets in the five spot. Utah and Denver are the two weakest road teams out of the Western Conference playoff teams and this series could come down to which squad can step it up away from home. Advancing to the second round in the West will be the Lakers, Dallas, Phoenix and Denver.
The Nuggets will then take the Lakers to seven games before LA secures their spot in the Western Conference Finals, while the Mavericks knock off the Suns in six games.
Lastly, I think Dallas has the firepower and determination to upset Los Angeles in the Western Conference Finals and take on the Cavaliers for the title. Dallas has really prospered since the trade deadline in February when they obtained Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood from the Washington Wizards. These players complement Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion and Jason Terry quite well. The Lakers have been struggling a bit lately and the team does not seem to have the aura of invincibility they had in 2009.
If, by some miracle, all my predictions are correct (doubtful, as my 2010 March Madness bracket proved), I think this will FINALLY be the year Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers get that elusive title. The Cavs have plenty of big men—not only James, but also Jamison, O’Neal and Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who may be able to shut down the Mavericks’ scoring threat Dirk Nowitzki.
I think the size of the Cavaliers along with some of the match-up problems in trying to guard Anderson Varejao, Mo Williams and Delonte West, who can all be very dangerous scoring threats on any given night, will be a huge problem for Dallas. The overall depth of Cleveland may just be too much for Dallas to handle. I think this series will go to six games, and in the end King James will end up with the NBA title ring on his finger.