After a wild regular season, or somewhat wild, I honestly didn't pay too much attention, the playoffs are finally upon us. I will break down each match-up depending on the day. So, for this edition, I am breaking down and making predictions for the Sunday games. On Tuesday, I will release analysis for Wednesday games. Get it? Good.
Playoff Seedings:
#1 Nuggets
#2 Raptors
#3 Knicks
#4 Hawks
#5 Nets
#6 Cavaliers
#7 Warriors
#8 Celtics
#9 Spurs
#10 Suns
Sunday Games Preview
#8 Celtics vs. #9 Spurs; 12pm @ MMS
The Celtics are quite possibly the biggest underdog heading into the postseason. Standing at the #8 seed, the Celtics still remain one of the most dangerous teams in the bracket. They fell to the Hawks in the final game of the season, but the game remained close until the end. On the Spurs side, they were able to end their season on a high note, taking a big win over the #7 Warriors. It appears as if the Spurs finally played to their incredible potential, which is huge heading into the playoffs. The Spurs are obviously the more talented team with Minicus, Edgar, the Klingman's and Kniffin, but the Celtics have quite the duo of Quinn Fay and Brian Keating scoring for them, with support from Peter Marren.
Prediction:
The Celtics have a great big man in Brian Keating, and the Spurs will need Jack Wells to have a big game to slow him down. Wells will do just that, giving the Spurs the edge in the end. Spurs win.
#7 Warriors vs. #10 Suns; 1pm @ MMS
The Suns came incredibly close to pulling off a huge upset to end the season against the Nets. Granted, the Nets were without big man Aidan Coyle, but the Suns were still able to score a lot of points. As usual though, their defense was an issue, and we have talked about that way too much this season. The Warriors were also losers on Wednesday, being upset by the Spurs. This game overall actually is quite interesting, since it has the leagues two worst defenses pitted against one another. The Suns are allowing a gross 55.7 points per game, while the Warriors are allowing 48.9 points per game. We know one thing, there will be a lot of scoring. The Warriors will get a lot of its scoring from the Burke brothers, while the Suns will probably have to rely heavily on Timmy Graham and the emerging Jack McCann. Both teams seem incredibly confident though heading into this game, as Warriors star Cary O'Brien was ecstatic, telling the press, "nah".
Prediction:
The Suns are totally going to be the team that comes out of nowhere during the playoffs. The Warriors need both Burke brothers in attendance to get the win here. If they don't both come, the Suns will pull of a magical upset. Yet, I see both Charlie and Teddy making appearances, so the Warriors win.
#4 Hawks vs. #5 Nets; 2pm @ MMS
Here we go. The Nets had a win against the Hawks during the regular season, but Andrew Mathew had other plans hitting the game winner with no time remaining. You have to say that the Nets are hungry for revenge, especially after coming that close. Well, both teams seem plenty motivated, as they both took home wins on Wednesday nights season finale. The Nets narrowly escaped the Suns, while the Hawks took home a W against the Celtics. In this matchup, I see plenty of action going down. How the Hawks plan on guarding the size and strength of Aidan Coyle is something I cannot answer, because the Hawks have no one to match his size. The Hawks do however have John Foley to slow Coyle down in the paint hopefully. Foley was able to stop Emmet Sheehan on the Raptors, and I see him being able to somewhat contain Coyle for a bit. Aside from that, the Hawks definitely have more scoring options with both Drake twins, Mulliken and Mathew.
Prediction:
I have concerns for both teams. Will the Hawks be able to stop Coyle again? And for the Nets, can they defend all of the different scoring options on the Hawks? We will find out Sunday. As for a game prediction, the Hawks have been on a tear as of late. If they are in full force Sunday, I don't see the Nets staying with them through both halves. Hawks win.
#3 Knicks vs. #6 Cavaliers; 3pm @ MMS
I'm not going to pull the whole "I'm on the Cavs" card this time. Nah, I'll break this thing down as best I can. The Knicks are winners of five straight, with their last win coming against the Raptors. One thing I must mention, the Knicks pulled off one of the hardest things to ever do in basketball, and still managed to win. Yea, Spencer Stovall managed to foul out while sitting on the bench. Don't ask me how, figure it out yourself. All I am willing to say is that Stovall fouled out... from the bench. Moment of the Year? Probably. Anyway, the Knicks are unstoppable right now, as Charlie Miller is scoring like it is nobodies business for the team, and Mark Schmidt is continuing to, you know, Schmidt on other teams. Get it? Ha. For their opponent, they get the Cavaliers, who are down to like seven total players. The Cavs lost by 20 to the Nuggets on Wednesday, and the blame can be pointed at turnovers by the team. With solid scorers like Jamie Schofield, Danny O'Boyle and Peter Ridder playing very well, the Cavs have a chance to pull off the upset if they can limit the turnovers and get good shots up.
Prediction:
I won't pick against my own team, but I also won't pick my own team. Criss-cross. Knicks win if they continue to play solid defense like they've done all year, Cavs win if they limit the turnovers and get Stovall to foul out from the bench again. Hint, giving Stovall certain exotic fruits tend to anger him. T him up.
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