NBA Playoffs (after three+ games)

East
Cavs 3-0 Pistons
(Still haven't watched the last two games thanks to the League Pass blackout)

Raptors 2-2 Pacers
Lowry still not shooting well but otherwise playing strong confident ball, good enough for a win in Game Three. But Game Four was all about Ian Mahinmi, the all of the sudden unstoppable force down low (I don't expect that will happen again). This series is still all about Lowry: when he starts scoring, the Raptors should run away from the Pacers but if he continues to struggle, the Raptors will find themselves in some trouble. The Pacers are disciplined and they don't do dumb shit but the Raptors are still the better team. Not unlike the Mavs-Thunder series: if the Raptors could just score at an ordinary pace, it would keep the games close enough to win. We'll see, the Raptors need to get it together or their playoff struggles will continue (and we might see a blowup this summer in Toronto, which I would not have predicted going into this series).

Heat 2-1 Hornets
The Hornets brought their A game on defense, committed the fewest turnovers in franchise history and kept the Heat from scoring in bunches. Kaminsky had a bust out game, torching Winslow in the paint and DWade never got his stroke going. If the Hornets can keep up the furious pace while making no mistakes then they can definitely hang, but I suspect Dragic is ready for a big game, which we might see in Game Four.

Hawks 2-1 Celtics
The difference between the Hawks and Celtics seems clear now: the Hawks are more capable of staging a comeback after a slow start. The Celtics play hard but without Bradley and Olynyk it is hard to imagine they'll have the depth to get this to seven games. That said, the Hawks are capable of blowing it and the Celtics are smart and don't quit. If the Hawks take Game Four, the series is over but if the Celtics played hard, get lucky and Isiah Thomas goes for another career high, then this series could get pushed forward.


West

Warriors 2-1 Rockets
The Warriors are without their leading scorer and main ball handler and the Rockets just played their best game in weeks....and it came down to the last 3 seconds. This means nothing to me, the Warriors are still gonna roll.

Spurs 4-0 Grizzlies
Game Three showed what this series was all about: if the Grizzlies play their very best game then they have a shot to lose by less than 10. Spurs cruised by them in Game Four.

Thunder 3-1 Mavs
If the Thunder are smart, this could be a great learning experience: the Mavs are strong enough to point out OKC's flaws but not strong enough to win in the long run. If the Thunder play this right, they'll be better prepared for the Spurs....if not, they'll do just enough to get by Dallas and then get smoked by the Spurs who are more disciplined and deeper in every way. Game Four, IMHO, was a disaster for the Thunder: why are Durant and Westbrook getting technical fouls? Why is the bench picking fights with the other team? Is that what they think 'intensity' is? Quit doing that! Coach Donovan must be losing his mind. The Thunder are going up against an opponent that cannot hang with them, handle your business, act like professionals and move on. The bravado is unnecessary and quite disconcerting, the Thunder are making this series much tougher than it needs to be, which only helps the Mavs!

Clippers 2-1 Blazers
The Blazers played better back at home but I still expected them to fumble it away. Kudos to them for outplaying the Clippers in the last few minutes of the game. As chaotic and weird as the Clipper supporting cast is, it seems stronger in every way than the Blazers. Lillard is still working way too hard to get his shots. The Clippers still look like the better squad and if they take Game Four (very possible), then they'll make quick work of this series.