This has been one of the most surprising and interesting NBA playoff seasons in recent memory. The two teams that normally dominate the postseason – the Lakers and Celtics – have both been eliminated in the second round in rousing fashion. The Lakers were swept by the Dallas Mavericks, and Boston was knocked out in 5 games by a team they owned in the regular season, LeBron James’ Miami Heat. So the teams remaining in the league’s final four are all new this season. Here are my predictions for the Conference Finals series:
Miami vs. Chicago – the Heat, of course, are the “superteam” put together this past off-season when LeBron and Chris Bosh signed to play in South Beach with Dwyane Wade, and then proceeded to guarantee “multiple championships”. The Bulls, on the other hand, have been building a solid team for a few years now, and behind MVP Derrick Rose had the best Eastern Conference regular season record. They added a couple of important pieces also – power forward Carlos Boozer and defensive-minded coach Tom Thibodeaux, who masterminded the Celtics’ defensive system while an assistant coach there. I personally do not want to see Miami win, but they were very impressive in dispatching the Celtics and look like they are on a mission. I’m still going to go with the Bulls to win a long, close series. I think they have more big men and will dominate the boards against a Heat team that relies on making outside shots to win.
Dallas vs. Oklahoma City – the Mavericks were in the Finals a few years ago and blew a 2-0 lead only to lose to Miami. They seem bound and determined to erase that failure and give owner Mark Cuban his first NBA title. However, I really like the young OKC Thunder in this series. They have a solid point guard in Russell Westbrook, a true superstar scorer in Kevin Durant, another good scoring option in James Harden, and added the last piece – a big man to be reckoned with who dominates in the paint – Kendrick Perkins. Perkins was acquired in-season from Boston and it’s no coincidence that after the trade the Celtics’ inside game looked considerably weaker, while the Thunder, already a solid offensive club, started to play stingy defense and dominate the boards. I’ll pick OKC, the former Seattle Supersonics franchise, to win a tough seven game series.