Eastern Conference Preview

So I hope you have all read Adam's excellent preview of the Western Play-offs picture, I am now going to go through the East, who I think is going to win each series and ultimately who is going to go through and face the best that the West has to offer.

#1 Miami Heat vs. #8 Milwaukee Bucks

Injury Concerns:  Larry Sanders, Brandon Jennings

In a series in which most believe will be a pretty one sided affair, I actually think we will see a fair amount of competitiveness from the Bucks but they have to have a few things working for them for this to happen. The series rests on the back court of the Bucks, with Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings (who has recently been injured)  needing to get and stay hot for as long as they possibly can. Over the four meetings this season the heat have won 3, with Lebron averaging 27.5 points per game leading the heat scoring, and Jennings leading the Bucks with 23.8 points per game. Heat won each game with an average of 10.3 points so the stats all point to an easy Heat win in this 1st round series. 
 The X factor for the Bucks may be JJ Reddick coming off the bench and providing some much needed fire power from beyond the arc to try and match the same deadly accuracy and arsenal that the Heat also bring from the 3 point line with Battier, Allen, Miller, and Chalmers all providing a big threat to put points up quickly.  
All in all, as much as I am trying to make a case that this is going to be a decent series, I only see one winner which is Miami, however My official prediction is going to be Miami to win the series 4-1, with the Bucks taking their 1st home game. I do expect a thoroughly entertaining series however, especially if the back court of the Bucks can deliver on what we know they can bring to the the court on some nights.

#4 Brooklyn Nets vs #5 Chicago Bulls

Injury Concerns: Bulls: Noah Rose Gibson  Nets: none

Joakim Noah is Chicago’s best player this season, as well as being their most important and influential player to.        Noah’s importance to the Chicago Bulls' attack on both ends of the court is pinnacle to their success in the playoffs. Noah’s ability to hedge on pick-and-roll plays and initiate the offense on the other end drives Chicago at its best.
 Chicago are under dogs in the betting at around 2.3 on betfair to triumph over the Nets this series, a bet which I do really like. The Bulls have played well against the Nets this year, even though the majority of the games they've played they have had at least 3 players out plus Rose.  
The Nets had a hit and miss start of the season, got a new coach, were a bit more hit and miss, but the last few months they have actually been playing great hoops. The main reason for this is Deron Williams rediscovering his all star form of old and steering the team to some impressive victories.  
The key to this series is going to the health of the Chicago Bulls. If the Bulls are healthy I expect a Bulls victory, although many of the games will come down to the final minute, which has been the case this season in a lot of Bulls games. 
The X factor for Chicago will be Nate Robinson, a player who was signed for the vet min but has been one of the best players this season providing much needed offense to an otherwise struggling Bulls attack.  If we get 'good Nate' for most of the series then I expect us to get enough points to win, as we should be able to lock down on defense and keep the Nets under 90 points most games.  Jimmy Butler has been told he will be the starting SG in the playoffs, in which I think is a great move by Thibs, and a starting line up of Kirk Butler Deng Boozer and Nazr/Noah is good enough to beat the Nets. I see Jimmy limiting Joe Johnson and Kirk can frustrate Deron enough to keep him out of his flow, the question will be if Noah and Taj can only play limited minutes will Nazr be able to restrict the scoring of Brook Lopez. 
The keys to the game are going to be rebounds, and as long as the Bulls rebound as good as they normally do, I see a Bulls 4 Nets 2 win for Chicago.  


#2 Knicks vs #7 Celtics

Now, when I first thought about this series, my mind started thinking Knicks blow out, but as I sat down an analysed it in more depth, I actually see this being a hard series to predict that could go many ways. I rfeally really want to pick the Celtics to win this series, and actually I think there is a decent chance it may happen.  Celtics always bring it in the play offs, and Pierce and KG are not going to go down without a fight, with Jeff Green playing at a high level right now as well. Bradley is a lock down defender and all in all Celtics are going to make this a scrappy series and take the Knicks into the trenches. 
There is no need for me to talk about Melo, we all know what he brings, supreme scoring, from both beyond the arc as well as posting up his opponents. He has the scoring title, will be full of confidence and will surely bring double teams leaving other Knicks free, of which they are deadly from the 3 point line.  
The X factor, and perhaps arguably the most important player for the Knicks is going to be JR Smith. If he has a great series I see a 4-1 Knicks victory, however if you get bad J.R it is really going to cause the Knicks to struggle. This is because he is prone to turnovers, as well as being a poor decision making volume scorer. He could easily have one of his nights where he goes 4-20, which could happen with defenses guarding players a lot more closely in the play off format. The Knicks sometimes live and die by the 3 ball, which I think ultimately will be their undoing at some point in the playoffs, perhaps even in this series vs the Celtcis. Teams such as the Bulls guard the perimeter so well and thus the Knicks really struggled against them int he regular season. 
Recently the Celtics have been experimenting with a big line up, whereas the Knicks have been going small, I think this may play into the Celtics hands somewhat. 
This really is a lot harder to predict than people think, there is just so many things that may or may not happen, with the form of JR Smith, as well as Jeff Green for the Celtics, and Jason Terry needing a big series to. I'm going to tentatively  predict Knicks 4 Celtics 3, although I will say it now I won't be shocked if Celtics pull off the upset in this series.  

#3 Pacers vs #6 Hawks

i'm not going to go into too much detail with this series, as I think it is easy to predict, and is probably the worst/least entertaining match up in the first round.  The Pacers have had a terrific year, surpassing a lot of people's expectations, just falling short the of the 2nd seed. However, I don't think they will mind too much as facing the Hawks in the 1st round is a much better proposition than facing the Celtics. The Pacers will need to make sure they execute well on offense with West and George needing to provide the majority of the points for the Pacers side. Pacers are a very well rounded team with elite defense, with great size and strength all over the court. I cannot see what problems the Hawks will pose to the Pacers and it's almost a certainty that the Pacers come through this 1st round with out much trouble at all. I think the Hawks best chance is to use the speed of Teauge, who has had a great year, and try and run vs the Pacers, try and penetrate the lane and find Korver as wide open as possible on the 3 point line. Josh Smith will also need to have a big series for the Hawks to stand any chance at all of winning. 
I just think that the Hawks are a solid regular season team, but with the extra intensity of the playoffs I don't see them progressing past the 1st round. Official prediction Pacers 4 Hawks 1. (although I wouldn't be surprised if it ends 4-0 to the Pacers).