By Dalton Del Don
ROUND ONE
Cavs over Bulls 4-0
Magic over Bobcats 4-1
Hawks over Bucks 4-1
Celtics over Heat 4-3
Lakers over Thunder 4-1
Spurs over Mavericks 4-2
Suns over Trail Blazers 4-1
Nuggets over Jazz 4-3
Comments: Cleveland and Orlando should have no problem, each of those series are more likely to be sweeps than go six games…I originally had the Hawks/Bucks series’ going seven games, but the loss of Andrew Bogut really hurts, and it doesn’t make a ton of sense picking a team with homecourt advantage to win 4-2…The Celtics/Heat matchup looks like the best in the East, while the Nuggets/Jazz series should be the one to watch in the West. Only the Andrei Kirilenko (and Carlos Boozer) injury prevented me from backing Utah…Speaking of injuries, the loss of Brandon Roy is a horrible blow to both Portland and anyone who follows the NBA. Suns should roll now…The Spurs are dogs (around +150), but I don’t see it. I like that bet. Count on the upset.
ROUND TWO
Cavs over Celtics 4-1
Magic over Hawks 4-2
Lakers over Denver 4-3
Spurs over Suns 4-2
CONFERENCE FINALS
Cavs over Magic 4-3
Lakers over Spurs 4-3
FINALS
Lakers over Cavs 4-3
Comments: Clearly, I consider the Spurs dangerous, but ultimately, the obvious Finals matchup happens. I’ll personally be rooting for Cleveland, but Los Angeles is simply the best team in the NBA. Right now at Pinnaclesports, the odds of L.A. winning the Western Conference is +118, which feels like they are giving away money.
My MVP Ballot:
1. LeBron James
2. Kevin Durant
3. Dwyane Wade
4. Dwight Howard
5. Kobe Bryant
6. Carmelo Anthony
7. Steve Nash
8. Tim Duncan
9. Dirk Nowitzki
10. Pau Gasol
Comments: When on my deathbed, my biggest claim to fame may very well be that I was at James’ first ever NBA game (happened to be in Sacramento). He’s by far the best athlete to ever walk earth. Durant is the youngest player ever to win a scoring title. Wow. What is his ceiling? If Portland ever has the No. 1 pick again and decides to select a center over a promising two or three, well, then that would be funny (almost as funny as when the Raiders take Bruce Campbell in the NFL draft this year). I have no problem if you want to rearrange my #s 3-7. I love Howard, don’t get me wrong, he makes a huge impact on defense, but this is someone who took 10.2 shots per game and made just 59.2 percent of his free throws. Bryant is obviously still one of the three best players in the league, but he dealt with injuries this season, took it easy at times and has a loaded team. Anthony has been the best clutch player in the league for a few years now, and Nash continues to defy the odds.
Rookie of the Year:
1. Tyreke Evans
2. Stephen Curry
3. Darren Collison
4. Brandon Jennings
5. DeJaun Blair
Comments: It was a really tough call between Evans and Curry, but ultimately, I sided with the former, who is less bad defensively and also didn’t benefit from such a conducive offensive system. Evans was also just the fourth rookie ever to average 20 points, five rebounds and five assists – the other three being Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Oscar Robertson. Of course, that’s semantics, and if you factor in three-pointers and free throw percentage, Curry was easily the more valuable fantasy player. In fact, he looks like an obvious top-10 fantasy pick next year. And make no mistake, Collison’s rookie year was better than Jennings’.
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