NBA Review and Playoff Predictions 2012

Milwaukee - Left just on the outside in the East, Jennings and company played slightly above their talent level.

Detroit - They showed occasional flashes of talent and improved a fair amount.

New Jersey - They were probably the most disappointing team to me in the East.  I'll give them a slight break since they did kind of catch the injury bug, but still, they did finish very poorly.

Toronto - They play in Canada...  Yep.  So shout out to the Canadians, and seriously a good job by Bargnani.

Cleveland - I actually like the pieces the Cavs have put together, they could be a .500 team next season.

Washington - They underachieved, but showed promise near the end.

Charlotte - A record in futility, I understand that MJ and the Bobcats were tanking...  But come on, 0.106?

Phoenix – I don’t really expect to see Steve Nash in a Suns uni again.  I thought he really lifted Phoenix from a cellar level team to a playoff caliber team.

Houston – It looked like they would be the eighth seed for quite a while, but a late season disintegration left them on the outside looking in.  I ‘stat-ed’ one of their games and they were doing a great job of getting quality looks (though it was against Sacramento so that was probably why, lol).  And their free throw form was excellent.  Overall, I think Houston actually overachieved.

Portland – A very disappointing team, Aldridge was injured for some time, but on a whole they just underachieved.

Minnesota – Rubio and Ridnour added some spark to the team, but Rubio got injured midway through the season and Ridnour was injured late and the Twolves fizzled.  K Love was absolutely sick throughout the season.  While it’s harder to make the playoffs in the West then it is in the East I think they’ll have a decent chance to make a little bit of noise next season.

Golden State – Stephen Curry and the gang didn’t really do much.

Sacramento – I also looked at one of their games and…. It disappointed to say the least.  They appear to be a fairly talented team, but lacking discipline.  If they would just do some of the basics better, like taking care of the ball and shooting closer to 80% from the line.  Then they could be an interesting team next season.

New Orleans – I thought NO and GS were the teams I was most disappointed in for the WC.  But to give the Hornets a bit of a break, they suffered the worst injury bug in the league this season.  I was looking forward to seeing Eric Gordon in a bit of a starring role, but he was one of the many Hornets players that suffered a long injury.  While they only finished with 21 wins, I think that Coach Monty Williams did a very good job with the players he was given. 

1 Chicago  4 Boston

This should be a fairly epic series.  Especially if it’s like their playoff series a few years ago.

As soon as I start to lean towards one team, I think of the other team’s strengths and lean towards them.  So I guess I’ll say they tie and both advance in 7.  Lol, but since that can’t happen, I take the Bulls in a very competitive and close 7.

2 Miami  3 Indiana

Against Chicago or Boston I would be very tempted to (and probably end up picking) Indiana to the EC finals, but we’re talking Miami here.  Miami in 6.  I’m giving a lot of credit to Indiana, but it might be too much credit considering Miami only took 5 games to beat Chicago last year.

1 SA   4 Memphis

San Antonio faces their nemesis from last year, but this time they’re running on all cylinders.  Spurs get the best of the Grizzlies in a spirited 7 games.

2 OKC – 6 Denver

Another rematch from last year.  And this year it is a little more competitive, but the Thunder are still clearly the better team.  Thunder in 6.

1 Chicago – 2 Miami

LeBron and the Heat advance to the Finals again.

Take two plays similarly to last years series.  After game 5 in Chicago, Lebron is criticized for passing to an open Chris Bosh at the end of the game (who clanks a long two) and the next game LeBron responds by taking and hitting a shot to win both the game and the series.  Miami in 6.

2 OKC – 1 SA

The Old vs The Young.  KD hits a game winner, Westbrook takes advantage of Parker’s age, and Oky City escapes with a series win in 6. (If I was more impartial I would probably predict a 7 game series, but I don’t want to have to be on the road against SA in a must win game 7)

2 OKC vs 2 Miami

I apologize for picking so many favorites.  I don’t really know when the last time was that I picked so many favorites in any sport.  I know it’s not the most inventive pick, picking OKC and Miami.  But, I was sort of ahead of the curve in that I predicted OKC – Miami before it was popular, both last season and also as a preseason prediction for this season.

If the Heat haven’t exhausted themselves by now, and Lebron is staying involved (but isn’t trying to be the killer closer), then the Heat will be nearly impossible to beat.  But, I think that Miami’s PG situation will again be their downfall. 

(Assuming they haven’t changed it)  Instead of the 2-3-2 format.  I wish the NBA would just do the normal 2-2-1-1-1 format that they use for the rest of the playoffs.  It’s hard to see Miami not taking one of the first 2 games in OKC.  And if they do that then all they have to do is take care of business at home. 

For OKC to beat the Heat, the non
 'superstars' will have to come up huge.

So from OKC’s perspective..  Win the first game by 4, lose the second by 5 in OT, win the third by 2 on a buzzer beat from KD, lose the fourth and fifth thanks to triple doubles from Lebron, win the 6^th by 5, and the Championship deciding 7^th  game they manage to win by 4.  Kevin Durant has some amazing performances throughout, so that the Thunder can barely manage a 7 game series win.  A little bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy, sure.  But, until I’m again proven wrong, I think that’s what’s going to happen.

So the Oklahoma City Thunder are the NBA champions, or World Champions if you prefer that.