Round 2 of the NBA playoffs gets underway tonight and there are no more wannabes watering down the field. No more teams with losing records (Hawks), no more teams with home court advantage despite having the same record as the 8-seed from the other conference (Raptors), and no more games for douche bag owners to whine about (Mavs). There are no more teams to feel sorry for (Bobcats having to play Miami), no more teams that woulda coulda shoulda if not for injuries (Bulls), and no more teams with Dwight Howard that inevitably underperform (Houston). There are no more overrated squads (Warriors), and the Grizzlies are done too. I can’t hate on the Grizz, they play D and pushed OKC to 7, I was kinda rooting for a Grizz-Nets final just to watch Zach Randolph and Kevin Garnett talk shit, but that was never going to happen anyway. Let’s preview the two series that get underway tonight, with part 2 tomorrow.
(All times Eastern/stats courtesy of NBAstatscube)
2. OKLAHOMA CITY VS. 3. LA CLIPPERS (season series 2-2)
Game 1: Tonight 9:30 TNT @OKC
Game 2: Wednesday 9:30 TNT @OKC
Game 3: Friday 10:30 ESPN @LA
Game 4: Sunday 3:30 ABC @LA
Game 5: 5/13 – TNT @OKC
Game 6: 5/15 – ESPN @LA
Game 7: 5/18 – TNT @OKC
Both teams went seven games in the first round, they split their season series, and they finished the regular season two games apart – so this should be a great series. The Clippers have a deeper bench but the Thunder have the MVP. The key for LA will obviously be Durant, a man no one can stop but the Clippers will hope to contain. Durant was guarded by Jared Dudley and Matt Barnes in the season series and they did a pretty good job of holding him to 44% from the field, well shy of his usual. Russell
Westbrook also had a tough time against LA, shooting only 26% versus Chris Paul. If those trends continue plus Jamal Crawford and J.J. Redick drill their usual amount of three balls, the Clips can win it – but I wouldn’t bet any money against Kevin Durant.
1. INDIANA VS. 5. WASHINGTON (season series 2-1 Indiana)
Game 1: Tonight 7 TNT @IND
Game 2: Wednesday 7 TNT @IND
Game 3: Friday 8 ESPN @ WAS
Game 4: Sunday 8 TNT @WAS
Game 5: 5/13 – TNT @IND
Game 6: 5/15 – ESPN @WAS
Game 7: 5/18 – – @IND
The Pacers are the weakest #1 seed the NBA has had in some time. They are now 16-16 in their last 32 games, and just barely edged out the abysmal
Atlanta Hawks in seven games in the first round. The key for them to edge out the Wizards here will be John Wall. George Hill did an excellent job against him in the season series holding him to 22% from the field. If Wall can be neutralized this series is dead even. The Wiz will need Trevor Ariza to blow some games open with the three, and the Pacers will look to Paul George to take that next step, and dominate the final minutes of some of these games. Roy Hibbert has been playing so poorly lately if he doesn’t watch out Marcin Gortat will beat him up. This serious should be old-school physically, as well as old-school low-scoring. The winner gets their asses kicked by LeBron.
Article By: Anthony Schiano
