May 1, 20187 min read

NBA: Second Round Predictions

Toronto Will Advance Because: The backcourt is so potent. The Toronto Raptors take on the Cleveland Cavaliers in their Second Round matchup. Coming off a tough six-game series against the Washington Wizards, the Raptors look to take advantage of their home court advantage and move on to the Eastern Conference Finals. DeMar Derozan has been playing great basketball, averaging 26.7 points per game, shooting 39 percent from three. Kyle Lowry has also been playing better than his past performances in the playoffs, scoring 17.2 points per game on 44 percent from downtown. The Cavaliers struggled on defense all series long against the Indiana Pacers, and could only gather consistent offense from Lebron James. The Cavs did not play well on the road against Indiana, and with home court advantage that the Raptors have, it will be very tough to win a game in Toronto for the Cavs. Derozan and Lowry will have the matchup advantage they need to score and create, and Lebron James cannot defend everybody and score every point. Toronto is better equipped this year compared to the last two and have a realistic chance to take down the Cavaliers.

Cleveland Will Advance Because: Lebron James is still the best player in the world. He’s averaging 27.5 points, 9.1 assists, and is shooting 54.2 percent from the field. All while playing 36.9 minutes per game. James, in his 15th season, is carrying a huge load because this is one of the worst overall teams he’s been on in a while. Obviously the Cavaliers aren’t as talented as the Miami Heat team that James won two championships with. And Cleveland misses Kyrie Irving from the 2015-16 title team. The Cavaliers have George Hill, Kevin Love, and J.R. Smith, who are past their primes. Plus Tristan Thompson who has been dealing with ongoing injuries. James needs to do so much for the Cavaliers to win. He had to score 45 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists in 43 minutes just to defeat the Pacers in seven games, 105-101. But at the end of the day, The King is still the best player in the world and the Raptors don’t have anyone that can single handedly defend him. It’s likely going to be O.G. Anunoby that starts the game on him and that’s an obvious mismatch. If Cleveland advances, it’ll be because of James’ heroics once again.

Heningburg: Cavaliers.

O'Bannon: Cavaliers.

Paige: Cavaliers.

Post: Cavaliers.

Stoll: Cavaliers.

Taylor: Raptors.

C. Wejinya: Raptors.

K. Wejinya: Cavaliers.

Boston Will Advance Because: The Boston Celtics have a huge advantage in the coaching department. I am a Celtics fan. I can say with certainty that the Philadelphia 76ers won’t waltz all over our corpse laden team. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have never done anything wrong. Larry Bird is better than Lebron James. Brad Stevens is a god. That last statement may be true! Terry Rozier, Jalen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Semi Ojeleye, and Al Horford. That starting five just put one of the eight best players in the NBA and his team out of the playoffs. His after timeouts are masterful. Stevens gets the most out of fringe rotation players and stars alike. The Miami Heat couldn’t successfully put enough wings on the floor while simultaneously matching up with Joel Embiid. Enter Horford. Who is one of the most versatile bigs in the game. He’ll be able to drag Embiid out to the perimeter while also being able to stand up to Embiid’s inside out attack. I can’t wait to see the inevitable Marcus Smart versus Ben Simmons cage match late in this series. The Celtics have home court, they have a leader that inspires his team and they just proved they don’t need the best player in a series to win.

Philadelphia Will Advance Because: Everyone loves a good rivalry and the Eastern Conference Semifinals matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics look to return us to a conflict as old as the nation itself. Long gone are the days of Julius Erving and Larry Bird going for each other’s jugular in the playoffs but if both teams continue on their expected trajectory, we will be witnessing these two teams go at it for years to come. However, in 2018, it will be the Sixers doing most of the punching, choking, and whatever other verb that denotes physicality. That’s not to say Boston won’t put up a good fight, because they will, but the Sixers are a much better team from top to bottom. Philadelphia has talent on their side and as we all saw in the Miami Heat series, a more talented squad typically trumps the one with lesser talent. Philly also moves the ball at an exceptional rate trailing only the Golden State Warriors in assists at 67.9 percent; It's extremely hard to compete with a team that moves the ball that well. Joel Embiid scored 26 points en route to an 89-80 victory in their last meeting. The 76ers will defeat Boston in a closely contested gentleman's sweep 4-1.

Heningburg: Sixers.

O'Bannon: Sixers.

Paige: Sixers.

Post: Sixers.

Stoll: Sixers.

Taylor: Celtics.

C. Wejinya: Sixers.

K. Wejinya: Sixers.

Houston Will Advance Because: James Harden and Chris Paul. I believe the Houston Rockets will win their series against the Utah Jazz. Paul is on a mission after he left the Los Angeles Clippers to come to Houston because, he believed that Harden could help him get over the hump and get to a championship unlike the teams he was with in Los Angeles. Harden, the NBA MVP candidate, is on a roll and looks like he can't be stopped and is having the best year of his career and doesn't seem like he has any signs of slowing down. The rockets are a much more experience team than the Jazz even though last round, the Jazz defeated a team who had 22 All- Star appearances to their zero. The Rockets are unlike the Thunder in many aspects of the game as they have more continuity and look more like contenders, compared to the Thunder's pretenders. Utah will put up a good fight, but Houston has too much talent and is far too experienced to go down in the Second Round. I think the series will resemble Game 1 for the most part. The Jazz will have a couple runs here and there, but the Rockets will pull away. Harden and Paul combined for 58 points, 13 assists, and 12 rebounds in Game 1.

Utah Will Advance Because: Donovan Mitchell will outscore James Harden. Although Harden is the likely NBA MVP this season, Mitchell is going to have to put up more points than him if the Utah Jazz are going to move on. The Houston Rockets have been the best team in the league for much of the season, and the Jazz have a tough task in front of them. And that was obvious in the 110-96 loss in Game 1. Harden had 41 points, while Mitchell was only able to manage 21 points. Mitchell has to be better than that. We saw in the opening round against the Oklahoma City Thunder that despite being on the floor with All-Stars like Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Carmelo Anthony, Mitchell can be the best player at times. For the entire series, the rookie was better than anyone else. He's currently averaging 27.4 points per game on 45.5 percent shooting from the field which is 6.9 points per game higher than his regular season statistics. Mitchell isn't the better player when it comes to him and Harden, but Utah doesn't need him to be every single night. They just need Mitchell to do so on four occasions, and that'd be enough. He's done it once before. Why not again?

Heningburg: Rockets.

O'Bannon: Rockets.

Paige: Rockets.

Post: Rockets.

Stoll: Rockets.

Taylor: Rockets.

C. Wejinya: Rockets.

K. Wejinya: Rockets.

Golden State Will Advance Because: There isn't enough talent on the other team. I want to make this as clear as possible. The Golden State Warriors are not invincible. Not like they were last season. It was clear from the jump of the 2016-17 NBA Playoffs that the Warriors were going to win the championship. And they did. But this year is a different story. They aren't as deep. Stephen Curry has been dealing with injuries all year long. The Houston Rockets, Toronto Raptors, and Philadelphia 76ers are more competitive this year than last. There are many factors as to why the Warriors might not win the NBA Finals this year, but they won't lose to the New Orleans Pelicans. I'm sure of that. The Pelicans looked scary good against the Portland Trail Blazers behind 47 points from Anthony Davis in the sweep-clinching Game 4, but the Warriors are a completely different animal. Even without Curry, the Dubs should win the series in five games. Klay Thompson proved why in Game 1. He was dominant, dropping a team-high 27 points. Oh, and if he's not shooting well, there's always former NBA MVP Kevin Durant to lean on. The Dubs will be just fine. They have too much talent for the Pels to swallow.

New Orleans Will Advance Because: The New Orleans Pelicans are a whole different team now that they are without Demarcus Cousins. Even though the All-Star big man is a great player, his injury has forced others to step in and it's helped the team improve as a whole. I think that the Pelicans can beat the Warriors because, even though the Warriors beat the Pelicans 3-1 in the regular season, New Orleans has more guys that impact the game now. Guys like Rajon Rondo and Jrue Holiday have emerged to carry the load missed by Cousin. And of course Anthony Davis has look more dominant than he did in the regular season, even though he was already a NBA MVP candidate for the last two months. Davis is putting the team on his back. In their last series, very little people to none picked them to win, and they came out on top easily, sweeping the Portland Trail Blazers. Even though this is a way different team, it seems like Pelicans thrive on being an underdog. Even though they lost their first game in the series, I think the next few games they will be able to adjust especially since the Warriors are without Stephen Curry.

Heningburg: Warriors.

O'Bannon: Warriors.

Paige: Warriors.

Post: Warriors.

Stoll: Warriors.

Taylor: Warriors.

C. Wejinya: Warriors.

K. Wejinya: Warriors.

READ: NBA First Round Predictions.

1. C. Wejinya: 7-1.

1. Henderson: 7-1.

3. Aduroja: 6-2.