Mamba's Dead Wrong Playoff Predictions Vol. 2

[MexicanMamba]

*1,762 words*

Last season this was way more in-depth and also immediately incorrect since I wrote it before seeding was finalized. This season I am being lazy so it will be far less researched, but at least it has the correct match-ups for me to pick from. Oh, and also I already wrote one article for I can only earn 3 or 4 points for this anyways.

Okay, anyways. Let's get on with it!

ALPHA
- Round One

(1) Spurs vs. Bye
- Might be a tough one, but am pretty sure the Spurs will pull this one off.

(4) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (5) Washington Wizards
- The Wizards were the #1 defense in points allowed this season and #3 in defensive efficiency, showing that their defense is definitely the anchor of the team, led by newly minted Defensive Player of the Year, Quintin Kidd. The Lakers were consistent on both sides of the ball, ranking #8 in both offensive and defensive efficiency. Delmar Lopez (my pick for Most Improved player) was off the charts on the year in most efficiency marks as well. These two teams seem to be pretty evenly matched. Both have young stars to lean on, Both lost single digit games at home, and have particular weaknesses that can be exploited. For me, it'll come down to the fact that the Lakers were a little stronger on the road, though they would not even need to win a road game to still move on.

WINNER: Lakers in 7

(2) Milwaukee Bucks vs. (7) Philadelphia 76ers
- I appreciate the 76ers making a push to make the playoffs once they realized they had a legit shot to make it mid-season, even if a couple deadline deals raised some eyebrows. They have youngl legs mixed-in with some strong veterans in Cage and Long. The Bucks really hit their stride after a very shaky start considering where their expectations were ahead of the season. Their deadline moves seemed to be positives and they are poised for a nice run. I think the 76ers will just be happy to be here and the Bucks will drop slime bombs on their heads all series long.

WINNER: Bucks in 4

(3) Indiana Pacers vs. (6) Orlando Magic
- The Floridians have Boban, Schumann and Bronny. In many series that should be enough, however the evidence is still lacking as they had a slow start and only began to gel the 2nd half of the season. The Magic have three strong perimeter defenders, but no strong post defenders beyond having shot blocking. Orlando was pretty tragic on the road for a playoff team though, which does not bode well for the road team in a playoff series. The Pacers do not really have the post scoring to make the Magic pay for that lack of individual post defense. What the Pacers do have is the MVP, De'Aron Fox. Honestly, I have often looked at this roster and wondered how they continue to win as much as they do. Josh Jackson has been a very strong Power Forward since he switched from running the Point, but you would think Boban would wear him down on the post since Jackson isn't the type of player that can blow by him with ease since he has become incredibly flat footed as he has aged. So, is Fox enough? Logic, and my eyes, tell me that the Magic are the better overall team. The records on the other hand? That tells me its the Indiana Foxes. Maybe the MVP just really is that damn good.

WINNER: Pacers in 6

ALPHA
- Round Two

(2) Bucks vs. (3) Pacers
- Again, when I look at the rosters I think the Bucks should be better. Again, they weren't. The Indiana Foxes not only had the better record but they also dominated the season series vs. the Bucks as well. Can Langford, Howard make a big difference in helping off-set the Fox in a 7 game series? Evidence tells me, no, because Fox has been able to rip through pretty much anyone that he wants to. The Pacers were the 2nd best road team in the league which could end up huge in this series since they have to go on the road despite their better overall record. Again, I think we are seeing Fox go on a tear as he stays on his mission to dominate.

WINNER: Pacers in 7

(1) Spurs vs. (4) Lakers
- These two teams had a tight season series with the Spurs edging the Lakeshow out 3-2. We get three of the best young players in the league sharing the court throughout this one. Yandell and Lewis vs Delmar Lopez. I believe that the Spurs' edge will come from the fact that they have better pieces to put around those stars. Clifford Paugh is a legit star and Jaren Jackson can bang with almost any of the bigs you could name. The Lakers have had a nice season after their Finals loss last year, but I think this is where it ends.

WINNER: Spurs in 5

ALPHA
- Championship Round

(1) Spurs vs. (3) Pacers
- De'Aron Fox can do a lot of superhuman things, but this is one mountain he has not been able to climb this season. The Spurs took the season series 4-1 and edged the Pacers out by a game to take the #1 seed in the conference. Along with homecourt, the Spurs also tied the Bulls for the best home record in the league. A deeper team, better head-to-head, homecourt. If Fox is Superman, the Spurs are Darkseid with Kryptonite Armor.

WINNER: Spurs in 6

OMEGA
- Round One

(1) Bulls floating over the Bye round

(4) Utah Jazz vs. (5) Los Angeles Clippers
- These two teams played three times since the trade deadline with the Jazz going 2-1 with those two wins being big blowouts. Glen Sabo has been a rock for the Clippers all season long but the Jazz have the length to make him work for his buckets but are also much deeper on the wings. While the Clippers do boast the #1 defensive efficiency rating, they were just middle of the pack in terms of offensive efficiency, so everyone besides Sabo struggles to get good looks, especially since BDJ was traded away at the deadline. The Jazz are a top 10 offensive team but an average or below average defensive team, which could help the Clippers and their lack of scoring punch. My gut says Washington and Bias will be far too quick for the Clippers' wing defenders to stay in front of and while Sabo led the league in blocks, he still only one man and Pallies is solid at a number of things but good or great at nothing.

WINNER: Jazz in 7

(3) New Orleans Pelicans vs. (6) Detroit Pistons
- This season was a strange one in that whoever "won" the 3rd seed was probably getting the worst possible match-up for themselves. The Pelicans are obviously a good team and deserve respect for what they've accomplished. BDJ has been showing up big-time for years once the playoffs hit and definitely still has the advantage over Haddock. However, the Pistons are absolutely loaded and the only reason they are the 6th seed is because injuries continued to destroy them throughout the season. William Jackson, Dominick Cobb and Luka are going to hard for almost anyone to deal with and I suspect we are definitely going to get to see them move on to find out just how tough a match-up they are for others.

WINNER: Pistons in 6

(2) Miami Heat vs. (7) Phoenix Suns
- The Heat. That is all. Moving on.

OMEGA
- Round Two

(2) Heat vs. (6) Detroit Pistons
- David Leiker and injuries are the wild cards here. Leiker is a genuine, blooming superstar and is the type of player that can swing a series, particularly if Haddock is left to defend him all series. Barring injury however, I still think the Pistons are the better and far more dynamic team if they are at full-strength. It won't be easy, but I do not see how the Heat outscore the Pistons or defend enough.

WINNER: Pistons in 5

(1) Bulls vs. (4) Jazz
- The Bulls are the favorite for a reason. They're the deepest and most balanced team in the league and can attack you from damn near every angle imaginable. I think the Jazz are multiple steps below and this one could get ugly if the Bulls are truly locked in.

WINNER: Bulls in 4

OMEGA
- Championship Round

(1) Bulls vs. (6) Pistons
- This one is going to be all fire power. The Bulls won the season series convincingly, however it really is difficult to really peg how much we can pull from that because of Detroit's injury problems. They played twice in Detroit the last two weeks of the season and split those games in very close games. That does not give us an idea how Detroit will handle being in Chicago, even at full strength though. I am sure the Bulls' collapse to the Mavs in last year's playoffs will be fresh in everyone's minds (especially Chicago's) and I do think the Pistons will push them as hard as they possibly can. But ...

WINNER: Bulls in 6

SLOE CHAMPIONSHIP
(1) Bulls vs. (1) Spurs
- I didn't bother to look to see how often we get a 1 vs 1 match-up in the Finals, but if its rare then this makes this year more exciting. The Bulls are #6 in offensive efficiency and #2 in defensive efficiency while the Spurs are #2 in offensive efficiency and #6 in defensive efficiency. They're both deep with a good mixture of youth and experience with fantastic coaching, management and leadership. Both teams probably turn the ball over a bit more than they would like to. The Spurs lead the league in pace, which is shown in their league leading 121 points per game, however the Bulls play stingy defense so it'll be an interesting contrast. The season series was 1 -1, so, coin flip it there. If this is the match-up we get, where I think the match-up turns will be with Grayson Allen getting to go up against any Spurs big man not named Jaren Jackson Jr and the Bulls' having homecourt advantage. Settle in for a long series.

WINNER: Bulls in 7

Congrats Josh on winning the championship, but only in my mind. Of course, as you know, predictions have not been my thing and so if I just jinxed you ... well ... MY BAD!

[greepleairport]

Another great playoff prediction article - I hope you keep these going

...

but did you just reverse curse the bulls??

[MexicanMamba]

...

but did you just reverse curse the bulls??

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

[garbageman]

I think you can only reverse curse yourself.

[TheSyndicate]

I think you can only reverse curse yourself.

As the resident expert on the subject...

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[false9]

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