By Dalton Del Don – Senior Writer
New Jersey (6) vs. Toronto (3)
New Jersey: The Nets come in on a roll, winning four straight and eight out of the last 10 contests. No one in the NBA is hotter than Vince Carter, as he’s posted two triple-doubles this month and fell just one assist shy of a third as well. He’s also averaging 29.0 points per game on 48 percent shooting during April. Of course, Carter is THE story of this series, since his departure from Toronto wasn’t so amicable. He should be plenty motivated, but so will the Toronto fans, as no athlete in recent memory gave up on his team more so than Carter with the Raptors. With Jason Kidd still playing at an elite level and Richard Jefferson around, it just feels like the Nets should be a better team.
Toronto: The Raptors had the most surprising season of any team in basketball this year. Picked by many to finish last in their division, including myself, the Raptors somehow managed to win the Atlantic Division. I think I’ve even heard Sam Mitchell and Coach of the Year both uttered in the same sentence. A quick glance at the weather channel revealed nothing of hell freezing over.
Outcome: The teams split the four-game regular season series, but Kidd sat out one of the losses. New Jersey is playing their best basketball at the right time and should be able to outlast a fairly vulnerable No. 3 seed. Nets 4-3.
Miami (4) vs. Chicago (5)
Miami: The Heat may be the No. 4 seed, but they do not have homecourt since the Bulls finished with a better regular season record. Miami is the type of veteran team that can turn it on once the postseason roles around, but Dwayne Wade’s injury is especially worrisome. How healthy is he? In the history of the NBA, no championship team’s leading scorer has missed more than 16 games. Wade’s missed 30 this year. Still, they are the defending champs and should be extra motivated with the Bulls’ recent trash talking.
Chicago: The Bulls’ loss to the Nets on the last day of the season meant a first round matchup with the Heat instead of the depleted Wizards. Chicago nearly beat Miami in last year’s playoffs and took three out of four from them this season. However, the Bulls haven’t won a playoff series since Michael Jordan left the team in 1998. This one is probably going the distance.
Outcome: Wade’s ability to get to the basket is the difference here, as his frequent trips to the line was the main reason Miami took home the Championship last year. There probably isn’t enough in the tank to go much further, but Miami takes down the Bulls in Round One. Heat 4-3.
Orlando (8) vs. Detroit (1)
Orlando: Nice to see the snake-bitten Orlando franchise finally back in the postseason, but it should be short-lived against the Eastern Conference favorites. The Magic won four straight to end the season, but it’s going to take a monster effort from Dwight Howard to win more than one game in this series.
Detroit: The Pistons are attempting to reach the conference finals for the fifth straight year, a streak only one NBA team has surpassed in 20-plus years. Detroit won all four games over Orlando during the regular season, as Chauncey Billups abused Jameer Nelson. He has a major size and strength advantage over the Magic’s point guard, and it’s a mismatch Detroit figures to continue to exploit. There could be some complacency issues here, but it’s the Pistons 4-1.
Cleveland (2) vs. Washington (7)
Washington: Losing both Caron Butler and Gilbert Arenas means the roster of a last place team enters the postseason. They were just 2-8 over their last 10 games of the season. Antawn Jamison is going to have to carry the load, but this series is the most likely to end with a sweep.
Cleveland: Is LeBron James finally ready to take the next step? Things couldn’t have worked out more perfectly, as the Cavs get a decimated Wizards’ squad first, and then either the beatable Raptors or Nets. James had a pretty decent campaign for such a “disappointing season.” Still, he does seem to lack that killer instinct, and there’s no better way to prove those doubters wrong than playoff time. Cavs 4-0.
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