2008 Woodie Awards
First Round NBA Playoff Predictions
Charlie Danoff
Issue date: 4/19/07 Section: Sports
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The second seeded Bulls will face the limping Wizards. Alphas: Ben Gordon vs. Antawn Jamison. Lieutenants: Ben Wallace, Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng vs. nobody worth mentioning. Pawns: advantage Chicago. Given the injures to Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler, this isn't fair. Yet neither is life, and the Bulls will swiftly dispense with the Wizards, avenging their series loss two years ago.
Toronto, arguably the most improved team in the league, lines up against New Jersey. Alphas: Chris Bosh vs. Jason Kidd. Lieutenants: T.J. Ford and Anthony Parker vs. Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson. Pawns: edge to the Raps. New Jersey has more talent at the top, while the Raptors are more rounded. This will be the closest series in the East.
Miami faces the most disappointed five seed in league history, Cleveland. Alphas: Shaquille O'Neal and Dwayne Wade vs. King James. Lieutenants: Cast of villains vs. Larry Hughes, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, and Drew Gooden. Pawns: Miami's advantage. Lebron and the Cavs are improving, but remain a fundamentally flawed team. That won't change until they give Lebron the right compliments. Regardless, Miami is more talented, more experienced and better coached.
Out West I will first look a Dallas and Golden State, back to the dance for the first time since Tupac's first death. Alphas: Dirk Nowizki and Baron Davis. Lieutenants: Josh Howard and Jason Terry vs. Jason Richardson and Al Harrington. Pawns: big edge to Dallas. Despite the Warrior's regular season sweep of the Mavericks, Dallas will be a tough test for their former coach.
Phoenix will take their "Show that Never Ends" to La La Land. Alphas: Steve Nash vs. Kobe Bryant. Lieutenants: Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudamire vs. Lamar Odom. Pawns: without question Phoenix. Kobe Bryant could win a playoff series by himself, but not against the Suns. If Kobe has his teammates playing at their best, they have a shot; a small one, but a shot.
The old guard San Antonio Spurs will welcome A.I. to the Western Conference playoffs. Alphas: Tim Duncan vs. Carmelo Anthony. Lieutenants: Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili vs. Allen Iverson and Marcus Camby. Pawns: advantage Spurs. The Spurs are down this year and will not get pass by an unproven Denver team easily. The Nuggets have the talent, but I feel they are one year away from making some serious noise.
Finally, Utah and Houston will face off. Alphas: Carlos Boozer vs. Yao Ming. Lieutenants: Deron Williams, Andrei Kirilenko and Mehmet Okur vs. Tracy McGrady and Shane Battier. Pawns: edge to Utah. Two teams who missed the playoffs last year. Lot of talent on the floor, but Houston has the edge with two of the most underrated superstars in the League.
Now that I have established the talent dispersion, I will quickly disperse exactly what will happen in the coming weeks. In the East, Detroit, Chicago, New Jersey, and Miami move on. Dallas, Phoenix, Denver and Houston advance to Round Two out West. Have a good week and make sure to bet money using my picks.
Toronto, arguably the most improved team in the league, lines up against New Jersey. Alphas: Chris Bosh vs. Jason Kidd. Lieutenants: T.J. Ford and Anthony Parker vs. Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson. Pawns: edge to the Raps. New Jersey has more talent at the top, while the Raptors are more rounded. This will be the closest series in the East.
Miami faces the most disappointed five seed in league history, Cleveland. Alphas: Shaquille O'Neal and Dwayne Wade vs. King James. Lieutenants: Cast of villains vs. Larry Hughes, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, and Drew Gooden. Pawns: Miami's advantage. Lebron and the Cavs are improving, but remain a fundamentally flawed team. That won't change until they give Lebron the right compliments. Regardless, Miami is more talented, more experienced and better coached.
Out West I will first look a Dallas and Golden State, back to the dance for the first time since Tupac's first death. Alphas: Dirk Nowizki and Baron Davis. Lieutenants: Josh Howard and Jason Terry vs. Jason Richardson and Al Harrington. Pawns: big edge to Dallas. Despite the Warrior's regular season sweep of the Mavericks, Dallas will be a tough test for their former coach.
Phoenix will take their "Show that Never Ends" to La La Land. Alphas: Steve Nash vs. Kobe Bryant. Lieutenants: Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudamire vs. Lamar Odom. Pawns: without question Phoenix. Kobe Bryant could win a playoff series by himself, but not against the Suns. If Kobe has his teammates playing at their best, they have a shot; a small one, but a shot.
The old guard San Antonio Spurs will welcome A.I. to the Western Conference playoffs. Alphas: Tim Duncan vs. Carmelo Anthony. Lieutenants: Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili vs. Allen Iverson and Marcus Camby. Pawns: advantage Spurs. The Spurs are down this year and will not get pass by an unproven Denver team easily. The Nuggets have the talent, but I feel they are one year away from making some serious noise.
Finally, Utah and Houston will face off. Alphas: Carlos Boozer vs. Yao Ming. Lieutenants: Deron Williams, Andrei Kirilenko and Mehmet Okur vs. Tracy McGrady and Shane Battier. Pawns: edge to Utah. Two teams who missed the playoffs last year. Lot of talent on the floor, but Houston has the edge with two of the most underrated superstars in the League.
Now that I have established the talent dispersion, I will quickly disperse exactly what will happen in the coming weeks. In the East, Detroit, Chicago, New Jersey, and Miami move on. Dallas, Phoenix, Denver and Houston advance to Round Two out West. Have a good week and make sure to bet money using my picks.
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