NBA Playoff Predictions

West
Warriors-Rockets
James Harden is one of the most efficient scorers in the league right now and the Rocket supporting cast is really solid. That said, the Rockets have played like crap for most of the season, they ran off last summer's big acquisition (Ty Lawson), their head coach (Kevin McHale) and the in-fighting is likely to send Dwight Howard out next. The Rockets are easily the most disappointing team of the year (yeah, I thought the Bulls would be much better but no one else did) who waited to the last day of the season to secure a playoff spot. They don't deserve to be here and for their punishment they are about to be curb-stomped by the best team of all time. Warriors in 4.

Spurs-Grizzlies
Oh, man, the Grizzlies are soooo moving in the wrong direction right now. The team has been decimated by injuries and right now they're a patchwork of trade deadline pick-ups. Coach Joerger is likely on his way out though honestly he's probably done one of his best coaching jobs of his career. Meanwhile, the Spurs are humming and should sweep Memphis without much effort. Spurs in 4.

Thunder-Mavs
The Thunder should run the aging Mavs out of the gym. But the Thunder are not very good on defense while the Mavs are one of the most efficient offensive teams in the league. The Mavs have veteran smarts and one of the best coaches in the league. I don't think the Mavs have enough to get by by the Thunder but I expect they'll weasel a coupla wins away from OKC, who still have trouble putting away games in the 4th quarter. Thunder in 6.

Clippers-Blazers
The Clippers should be wildly better than the Blazers but they really aren't. Chris Paul had an MVP-ish season but so did Damien Lillard, this series is a dual between those two. (Personal prejudice time) I don't think Paul can win a championship; he puts so much physical and mental effort into each win that series after series of good teams will grind him own too much for him to prevail unless he has superlative teammates (he does not) and a badass coach (uhhh....no). Thus, I would suggest that Paul-Lillard is a coin toss, even though CP3 ought to be the favorite. You'd like to think the Clippers have the edge of experience but they have a lot of experience of not getting it done. I figured I'd take the Clippers but the more I think about it, I think the Blazers will push them to the edge. Okay, I'll take the Clippers in 7 (although, come on, man, it won't seem nearly as cool as beating the Spurs in 7 last year).

East
Cavs-Pistons
Playoffs are here, time for Lebron to clamp down and blast through the 1st round. I like the Pistons, they've improved a lot in the Stan Van years and I think they'll be even better next year. But right now, they don't have enough to compete with the Cavs. If Reggie Jax goes hognutty and Harris or Morris can break loose, the Pistons could steal one. But I doubt it. Cavs in 4.

Raptors-Pacers
The Raptors have disappointed the last coupla years in the playoffs and going up against a strong defensive squad with resurgent Paul George and Coach Vogel might spell a third year of splat. But I don't think so. I think this Raptors team has a better team identity than years past led by Lowry and Derozan as the clear leaders of the team. I can see the Pacers stealing one but not two. Raptors in 5.

Heat-Hornets
Chris Bosh announced today that he wouldn't be playing in the post-season, which is sad and disappointing (hope he gets well and back on the court pronto). That said, Bosh was really only a wild card for the Heat. I think they can still beat the Hornets without him. Honestly, the Hornets are a mystery to me, I don't see how they score (besides Kemba), I don't see how they defend (besides Batum), I don't see how they get anything done, I have no idea how they got to where they are. The Heat haven't yet come together they would I thought they could...but they still could. I'm gonna go ahead and assume they will. But even with that I've got assume the Hornets will still win games (I dunno how but I guess they will). Heat in 7.

Hawks-Celtics
This looks to be the most competitive series of all. The Hawks are reliably good but not great, the Celtics seem undermanned but manage to overachieve. I'm convinced this will go 7 games and while I would generally go with the home team, I think the Celtics have enough moxy to throw off the consistency of the Hawks. I'll take the Celtics in 7.