2017-2018 NBA Preview: Playoff Picks
We have made it guys. I can’t believe it but basketball starts next week! With that happening, this will be the final part of my NBA preview. I know that you guys are probably sick of that by now. Anyway, today we will be focusing on the most important question this season; who wins the NBA championship. I will giving you my picks round by round so let’s begin.
EAST Quarter-Finals WEST Quarter-Finals
1 Cleveland over 8 Charlotte in 4 1 Golden State over Portland in 5
2 Boston over 7 Miami in 5 2 Houston over New Orleans in 5
3 Toronto over 6 Detroit in 5 3 San Antonio over 6 Denver in 5
5 Milwaukee over 4 Washington in 7 4 Oklahoma City over 5 Minnesota in 5
Nothing too surprising here as the only upset I have is Milwaukee beating Washington in the 1st round. Once the Bucks get Jabari back in the 2nd half of the season, they’ll be loaded with young talent. I don’t think any of the 1st round series in the West will be competitive because there is a clear cut 4 teams and then there is everyone else.
EAST Semi-Finals WEST Semi-Finals
1 Cleveland over 5 Milwaukee in 6 1 Golden State over Oklahoma City in 6
2 Boston over 3 Toronto in 6 2 Houston over San Antonio in 7
While these series will be much more competitive compared to the 1st round, I don’t see any mismatches here. Milwaukee is too young to take on Cleveland and Boston’s better coaching will beat Toronto. The West has some incredible semi-finals matchups. The main event will of course will be Kevin Durant vs Russell Westbrook. Bur Durant will once again beat Westbrook as the Warriors are just too talented against OKC. In the battle of Texas, Houston’s firepower on offense, led by Chris Paul and James Harden, will be too much for the aging Spurs.
EAST Finals WEST Finals
1 Cleveland over 2 Boston in 6 1 Golden State over 2 Houston in 6
When the Conference Finals happen in 7 months, we will have a rematch of opening night games. Cleveland vs Boston will be fascinating due to the fact that they traded All-Star point guards in the offseason. While the Celtics got the best player in the trade in Kyrie Irving, it won’t be enough to beat the Cavs. Boston did get a major talent upgrade, but they got much younger in the process. I think this core is a year away from going to the Finals. Plus the Cavs still have LeBron James and got much deeper this year. As for the West, Houston is probably the only team in the NBA that can come close to matching the Warriors on the offensive side. However, the Rockets can’t do what the Warriors do on defense. Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala will be the keys in this series as the Warriors move on the Finals.
THE 2018 NBA FINALS
The Cleveland Cavaliers over The Golden State Warriors in 7
That’s right! Someone call the hot-take police! The Warriors will not win the NBA Finals this year. Unfortunately for NBA fans, we are going get Cavs vs Warriors Round IV. We are starting to get sick of it but the reality is that these are the two best teams in the league. But the good thing about these two teams always create great drama when they play. The reason that I am picking the Cavs is because I think they got better and the Warriors did not. While the Kyrie Irving trade hurts them in the long term, they got better for this one season. Isaiah Thomas is going to thrive playing next to LeBron and Dwyane Wade brings experience and clutch play to the team. But the reason the Cavs will win is because they can now matchup with the Warriors. They can play much more “small ball” by playing Crowder at the 3, LeBron at the 4, and Love at the 5. All the Warriors did was add Nick Young. The Warriors will be the favorite no doubt, but this is the deepest team LeBron James has ever had and I’ve come to learn to never doubt him. The trophy goes back to Cleveland.
Thanks so much guys for staying with me during all of my parts of the NBA preview. It’s finally time to play some ball!
Written By: Steven Santoro (SVS_1993)
