NBA Playoffs (after one game)

East
Cavs over the Pistons. I was impressed with the Pistons, their team speed and tenacious D suggested this might be a tougher series for the Cavs than I had anticipated. As for the Cavs, I thought they all played well, no glaring weaknesses and yet they didn't seem in command. Though Stan Van complained about the refs' acquiescence to Lebron's whims, I thought it was Andre Drummond that got away with a fair amount bruisin'. I expect the Cavs to win but I think the Pistons will sneak at least one game and will make the Cavs work harder than I would've thought.

Pacers over the Raptors. RED FLAG! Oh, man, the Raptors aren't gonna roll over in the playoffs again, are they? This Raptors team reminds me of Kentucky this season: when Jamal Murray and Tyler Ulis played well, then the supporting cast was enough to beat anybody; but when either of them struggled, the supporting cast was not enough to make up the difference. Lowry and Derozan have to lead this team, if they're not at their best then Patterson, Valenciunas, Ross and company aren't enough to keep pace. I kinda like this Pacers team, they're undermanned so they play harder and with Paul George leading them and Monta Ellis to take the tough shots, they could sneak through. As for the Raptors, they go as far as Lowry and Derozan take them.

Heat over the Hornets. This is a tough one for me to judge: I have no eye for the Hornets, I don't get 'em, I don't understand how they score, how they defend, I don't get anything about what they do. In game one, I thought Batum played well but that was about it. If the Heat just show up and play hard I think they outscore the Hornets every time. We'll see.

Hawks over the Celtics. Oh man, this is gonna be good one! The Hawks put in on the Celtics early on but the Celtics came back and made a game of it. I expect six more games like this.

West

Warriors over Rockets. Obviously the big news is Steph left with an ankle injury. I certainly hope its not serious but even so, I fully expect the Warriors to whomp the shit out of the Rockets even without Curry.

Spurs over Grizzlies. Every time they show Dave Joerger on the sideline, I just feel sorry for the guy. His team needs scoring from Matt Barnes, defensive stops from Vince Carter, they started Jordan Farmer at PG--Jordan Farmer?!? Did he even play this year? No hyperbole: if the Grizzlies beat the Spurs it would be the biggest upset in the history of sports. I couldn't help thinking that Kawhi by himself could win 4 out of 7 over this Grizzlies team.

Thunder over the Mavs. This one, I think, was deceiving. It's easy to say that OKC is better and should pound the Mavs every night, but in the first half the Mavs missed a lot of open shots. If the Mavs could shoot at a normal average, this game would've been a lot closer in the 4th quarter. Keep it close in the 4th and the Mavs got a shot. I still expect the Mavs to win a coupla games but for OKC to finish 'em off.

Clippers over Blazers. I was really impressed with the Clipper defense: the Blazers had to work so hard just to get ordinary shots. If the Clippers can keep that up, they should make quick work of the Blazers. When Lillard scores, it opens up opportunities for everyone else but if the Clippers can just keep him working, the game shrinks for the rest of the Blazers supporting cast. The Blazers aren't dead and the Clippers might not actually be this good (although Blake looked ready to play), this is still a series.