Playoffs for now

East
Bulls 2-2 Cavs
The Bulls really missed an opportunity to stick it to the Cavs in game 4.  Lebron, Kyrie, Shumpert and Smith combined to go 18-58 from the floor...and the Bulls can't eke out a W?  Hard to imagine the Bulls getting a better chance to beat the Cavs.  The Bulls are still the same team they've been all year: good but not great, ought to be better.  Love is out, Smith missed the first 2 games, Kyrie is clearly hobbled and the Bulls still find themselves knotted up.  If the Bulls win game 5, they're back in it; if they don't, I think the Cavs take game 6 in Chicago.  Hard to bet on the Cavs because they are so depleted but the Bulls still can't figure out how to beat them.

Wizards 2-2 Hawks
Hawks got it going again in game 4 against the Wall-less Wizards but they still look tentative to me.  At their best the Hawks move the ball as well as anyone in the league and boast scoring options all over the roster, they win by outscoring people (seems obvious, don't it, but that's not everyone's strategy).  But after jumping out to a commanding lead atop the Eastern Conference table, the Hawks have been slacking for a while now and while game 4 was a solid W, not sure they're all the way back to where they were.  The Wizards are still figuring it out but they're a chest-thumping kinda squad who like to ride their hot streaks.  They got 2 more games to get another streak going, but if Wall doesn't come back (and I don't see how he does--dude, his hand looks like an oven mitt!) hard to imagine the Wizards will have enough moxie or team speed to keep up with the Hawks.  I suspect the Hawks take the next 2 games.

West
Grizzlies 2-2 Warriors
Finally!  Game 4 was what the Warriors should've been doing all along (indeed, game 4 should've been the last game of this series).  Before game 2, Curry collected his MVP award and then looked sluggish in back-to-back games, but last night he was juking like Barry Sanders out there and that's how he gets his shots: at his best he plays like the crazy guy on the subway that everyone struggles to ignore.  The Grizzlies with or without Mike Conley should not have won two games in this series but they got that grit and grind and when Curry loses his focus (kinda like Federer in his prime: he can be beat only by his own wandering imagination) the Grizz can rise up.  Its only been one game but it feels like the Warriors have their groove back.  I think they'll win the next two games.

Clippers 3-1 Rockets
The Rockets just ain't got it, man.  James Harden has lost a bit of his magic in the post-season and without Beverley and Motiejunas, the supporting cast just doesn't have the depth to provide useful minutes.  Blake Griffin was my pre-season choice for MVP, he had a fine regular season but didn't get much attention on the MVP-level but right now he's announcing his intention to be in the MVP talk next year.  Deandre, too, has played his game to perfection (crappy free throw shooting and all), been a rock down low for the Clips.  I like the Rockets to win game 5 tonight at home, but the Clippers will take game 6 back in LA.  Do the Rockets have a miracle comeback in them?  I doubt it and the chances that the Clippers have a catastrophic collapse in them seems to be dwindling.  (Dude, Chris Paul hasn't even broke a sweat yet...they don't need him)