NBA Playoffs - Round 2

As the NBA Playoffs first round comes to an end, there have been some surprises, at least to Joe Public:

• Chicago had its hands full, albeit in only 5 games, vs Indiana. Four out of the five games ended competitively. It may have been the best thing to happen to the Bulls, who got a taste of what NBA playoff basketball is all about - rough, tough, grind-it-out
• After being throttled last year by the Magic, the Hawks weren't given much chance to win their series, including yours truly. Atlanta did exactly what they needed to do to win the series: win one road game and hold their own at home. I think the Bulls should be happy they don't have to face Howard- considering that the Indiana bigs seemed to have their way with the Bulls
• Miami disposed of Philly in 5. Philly's fight in the series shouldn't be a surprise, but they just don't have the talent Miami has.
• Boston aimed to make my Knicks prediction to win the series an ugly guess. And ugly might be an understatement. What a bad bad guess. Boston showed its playoff pride off in fashion, setting up the best series of the young playoffs with their matchup against the Heat.
• OKC win their first playoff series in their young franchise history, edging the Nuggets in three close matchups on their way to a 4-1 series win. I feel confident in OKC making it to the conference finals even more so than before.
• Dallas win in 6 in what first appeared to be a series where the home team would win all 7 games until Dallas ruined that pattern in 6. Dallas survived a game 4 meltdown by coming out strong in games 5 and 6 to close out the series.
• Lakers don't get any style points (at least to start) in their series win against the Hornets, but luckily this isn't gymnastics. They did close out the series well after playing to a 2-2 draw to start the series, throttling New Orleans in the final two games. The Laker switch is officially on.
• Memphis looks to become the first 8 seed in about 5 years to win a series (since the Warriors upended the Mavericks in 6 games)

So all of this leads up to 2nd round predictions, which if they were anything like my 1st round predictions, will probably be horsecrap and instant fade material:

• Miami vs. Boston (Bookmaker series odds: Miami -195/Boston +165): While this series may open up the 2nd round action, in the realm of fan interest, would be the main event match/series. Boston took the season series from Miami (as every good team aside from the Lakers seemed to do), downing Miami in 3 of 4 games. My guess for Miami being a decent favorite here would haveA to do with home court, but Boston is more than capable of winning on the road against them. This has the makings of a fantastic series to watch. I say they split the first two games in Miami, then the next two in Boston. From there, I got home court playing the role in the winner. Prediction: Heat in 7 games.
• Chicago vs. Atlanta (Bookmaker series odds: Chicago -900/Atlanta +650): These odds seem too steep for the Bulls here, although they did dominate the Hawks in 5 out of the 6 halves of basketball (only bad half resulted in the Bulls' lone loss vs Hotlanta). Atlanta took care of business in all three of their home games against Orlando in the last series. The Bulls, unlike Orlando, will not lose a home game in the series and will probably steal a game in Atlanta. Prediction: Bulls in 5 games.
• Los Angeles vs. Dallas (Bookmaker series odds: Lakers -380/Mavs +320): I'm not as sold on the Lakers as I thought I'd be at this point. They did close the last series like only the Lakers can. I think the Mavs will give the Lakers problems, particularly with the depth that they have. At the end of the day, I can't fade Kobe. Prediction: Lakers in 7.
• Oklahoma City vs. Memphis/San Antonio (Series odds: N/A): Since I want to beat the clock by getting all of my series predictions out there now, I'll be forced to project each team's chances against OKC. The Spurs would be a slight favorite over the Thunder if only for home court advantage and playoff experience, whereas Memphis would be an underdog in the +225/250 for the series. Either way, nothing that I've seen from OKC in their 5 game tilt against Denver makes me change my mind about them. My only worry is that Westbrook is a chucker, so Durant better make sure to shoot, shoot, shoot (and maybe shoot more) as he always does. I believe the Thunder will take the next step (as a franchise) against whoever they play. Prediction: OKC in 6 (against either team).

These predictions shouldn't come as a shock to anyone who read my NBA playoff preview. I'm not one so stubborn to go against previous predictions, but everything I've seen from the teams I had in my NBA Final Four has me believing that each will continue on their current paths.

Peace out.