Second Round Playoff Picks

2ND ROUND PLAYOFFS!!!

Round 1 is complete and it is now time to pick my winners for the semifinals of the NBA playoffs. In the first round, I picked the correct winner in 6 of the 8 matchups which is pretty good. Unfortunately, my Clippers were one of the ones I was wrong about (I’m ready to blow it up). In this, I WILL go 4 for 4 and we ain’t talking about Wendys.

1. Celtics vs 4. Cavaliers

As expected, the Celtics rolled through the first round and only lost one game. The one game they lost the Heat looked like a team full of 2016 Steph Curry’s when they hit a franchise record of 3s in a playoff game with 23 total. But, the rest of the games were pretty convincingly won by the Celtics. My biggest worry is the health of Kristaps Porzingis, if he’s hurt this series will be closer than expected. However, if Derick White does anything close to what he did in the last couple of games, it will be done quickly.

The Cavs just won game 7 against the Magic after trailing by 18 in the first half, it was Donovan Mitchell who single-handedly won some of these games, and game 6 which they lost. I think the inconsistencies of Darius Garland will be very brutal for Cleveland and the health of Jarrett Allen will hurt if Kristaps is there. I think the Cleveland Crowd made a huge mistake chanting “We Want Boston” during the game 7 win.

Official Pick: Celtics in 6

2. Knicks vs 6. Pacers

I picked the Knicks to win and got the number of games right with 6 so I’m pretty much a New York guru. But, in all seriousness, the Knicks looked shaky to start because of Donte and Jalen’s shooting slump, which was quickly turned around later in the series. I do worry about how the Knicks will defend the high pace offense that is Indiana but I think they’ll get it done.

Indiana scooted out in 6 games despite Milwaukee not having Giannis for the entire series, and Dame for a couple of games. I think with how poorly Tyrese Haliburton has been playing, they do not stand a chance. I am very interested to watch Jalen Brunson and how he’ll handle Aaron Nesmith’s scrappy defense all game long.

Official Pick: Knicks in 5

1. Thunder vs 5. Mavericks

I despise the Mavericks. I love watching Luka and Kyrie but only when they play any other team than the Clippers. Kyrie seems to be hitting a second prime with the Mavs and it’s great to see. Although the two stars for the Mavs are great, their role players are the ones helping so much. Derrick Jones Jr. has been playing amazing defense, PJ can hit shots, Gafford is blocking shots, and Lively is catching lobs. If the 'others’ step up for the Mavs this is a tough one to call.

The Thunder swept the Pelicans which was a little surprising to me. I expected BI or CJ to have a big game but Lu Dort was on Brandon Ingram’s tail ALL SERIES LONG. One thing I want to see is how the Mavs play with Dort playing on Luka or Kyrie. If Shai, JDub, and Chet continue their dominance, I like the Thunder to advance. Also, I like Isaiah Joe and I think he could get some runs in this series when others can’t knock down a 3.

Official Pick: Thunder in 7

2. Nuggets vs 3. Timberwolves

The Wolves SWEPT the Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal Suns disrespectfully. They blew them out in pretty much all 4 games which was insane to me. I do think that this series is going to be A LOT harder for them and their domination. Unfortunately, Game 1 was played before the first round was done so at the time of this, the Timberwolves do hold a 1-0 series lead. Watching game 1 made it very apparent how amazing Anthony Edwards is. There was one point when he was walking up the court due to how tired he was, but to nobody's surprise, he continued to cook.

The Nuggets looked a little shaky in game 1 and they are going to need more from the other 2 guys that are a part of the ‘Big 3’ in Jokic, Jamal, and MPJ. Also, I have no clue how, but they have to slow down Ant-Man. KCP could not do it, so I would be interested in seeing more Peyton Watson minutes to see if he can slow him down. However, that sacrifices so much offense because Watson is a very very poor offensive player. I feel kinda bad for Jokic. I mean, he’s probably going to win MVP again, but the Timberwolves have 3 centers they can throw at him and make life hell on both sides of the ball. Rudy is the DPOY and can block everything, KAT can do everything on offense and use the slow feet of Jokic to his favor, and Naz can put the ball on the floor unlike any other big in the league. When asked about the 3 bigs they have, Jokic had this to say…

With all of that being said, the Nuggets should put it together put their championship DNA into play, and tough up the series. It will be very hard, but I think they can do it. They gonna need more of that Jamal game-winner magic. I can just feel it.

Official Pick: Nuggets in 7

I think these are the perfect picks. The only thing I hope is wrong is the number of games. Game 7 in every series would be the best because then we get more basketball! Let me know what you think is gonna happen. Also, Kendrick or Drake? I got KDott.