2008 NBA Playoff Predictions
So the NBA season is slowly winding down and the playoff picture is getting a bit more clear as we have only a few more weeks left to play. Even though the seedings will probably change a bit 2 things are very clear - the Eastern Conference has only two teams with a real shot at winning the NBA Championship and the Western Conference will have the best playoff basketball by far. With that being said lets take a closer took at each Conference and where they stand.
NBA Eastern Conference
No offense to any team in the Eastern Conference but outside of the Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons and maybe the Orlando Magic does any team really have a shot against a Western Conference team? The Eastern Conference will have at least 1, maybe 2 teams make the playoffs with a losing record and its not like they are playing in the hyper-competitive Western Conference. Having a losing record when you play teams like the Miami Heat and New York Knicks does not say a lot about your team. Could one of the lower seeded teams make a run? Sure, anyone can but in the NBA’s Eastern Conference there are the Celtics and Pistons and then everyone else. In fact, the team I feel has the best chance of winning the NBA Championship is the Celtics, the Pistons are over-rated in a bad conference.
NBA Western Conference
The NBA should do away with the Eastern and Western titles and call these two conferences Division 1 and Division 2. The talent from top to bottom in the Western Conference is insane. Every single team that will make the NBA Playoffs will have at least 45 wins - the Eastern Conference will be lucky to have 3. In fact I would say that any Western Conference playoff team, from seed 1 through 8, have a shot at winning the NBA Championship if they make it that far. Right now the 7th seed is the Dallas Mavericks. The Dallas Mavericks! That means as of today the Los Angeles Lakers would play the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. That is just a bit different then the Detroit Pistons playing the Philadelphia 76ers don’t you think?
NBA Playoff Predictions
So here is how I see it going down this year in the NBA Playoffs. In the Eastern Conference it will be the Celtics vs. the Pistons in the Conference Finals with the Celtics winning in a series that goes the full 7 games. In the Western Conference I actually see Phoenix winning out, even though I am torn between them and the Lakers. With the NBA Finals being the Suns versus the Celtics I see the Suns winning.
So there you have it, I am predicting the Phoenix Suns as the 2007 - 2008 NBA Champions.
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March 20th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
To put this in the nicest way possible, ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND? The Suns have been good because of their run n gun style that teams struggled to keep up with, now they can’t even do that with Shaq. They use to suck at defense, now they don’t have any defense. Who on this team besides Amare does anything at all to contribute? Who is going to defend Bynum? Who is going to defend Pau? Who is going to defend Kobe? Who is going to stop Sasha, Fisher, Farmar, Radman?? Defense wins titles, have you already forgotten??
March 21st, 2008 at 1:01 am
Sorry, but I gotta agree with Daniel.
The Suns haven’t proven that they can win in the regular season with their offensive “style”, so how will they be able to win in the playoffs where we all know it comes down to the half-court offense. Kobe can create a shot for himself and his teammates whenever he wants. We used to say the same thing about Nash, but the Lakers have some pretty good defensive guards. Fish plays strong defense, Sasha will annoy the heck out of you and Farmar has quick feet as well.
The funny thing is I’m comparing the Suns right now to the Lakers, but my ultimate prediction is the Suns will lose in the first round and the Lakers probably won’t even see them in the playoffs. There aren’t many playoffs teams in the West that I think the Suns match up well against.
March 21st, 2008 at 9:45 am
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March 31st, 2008 at 7:01 pm
i dont think boston will win and the suns will not win first of the celtics hav no experience in the playoffs and thats huge the young guys cant look to KG for playoff guidance he hasnt been to far in ther neither has paul or ray so wut ur left with is a really good team who if they had to go up a playoff vetran in a 7 game series would fall apart. their coach said the same about ther lack of experience
and the suns shaq just slowed em down alot they got no d shaq is always in foul trouble now. i am a huge pistons fan and as a fan i used to fear the suns becuase of ther fast past just amazing shootin and defending but now with shaq they dont hav a chance against anyone with a stong pf and center or really good outised shootin case in point the spurs
April 2nd, 2008 at 10:06 am
YOU are wrong. I used to be a súns fan but now I hate them. They suck. They may beat Utah but will never pass the second round. With the East Pistons will definetly win with playoff experience. So I think Detroit East and lakers or spurs west depending on injury. If Lakers have more injured players then I go with spurs. The winner will be the west.
April 3rd, 2008 at 5:29 pm
I just watched 2 Nuggets games with the Suns, and although they can run w/ Shaq (a 42-some point turn around in 2 quarters…very impressive I must say) I have to agree that they just aren’t a NBA championship team. They don’t have the defense to take care of the powerhouses in the West, or even the Celtics or the Pistons in the East. They’re kinda like Golden State- they’ll give you a scare, but can’t sustain it over 5 or even 7 games. They might beat the Nuggets (hey, I’m a fan, but I’m realistic) but there is NO WAY they will be the champs.
April 9th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
ARE YOU PEOPLE KIDDING ME!!!!! Last year the Jazz went into the 3rd Round, but didn’t get passed the Spurs, but the jazz just won their division last night when they beat New Orleans, and when Denver’s Anthony said at the beginning of the season that they would win their division. What happened their? I think the Jazz will end up playing the Rockets again in the first round, and Jazz will beat them, then second round I believe that the Jazz will face off with the Lakers, and since the Lakers beat the Jazz one their home court, I believe that the Jazz will take control that series. There is no way Phoenix will win, the reason they did a poor trade during the season. Who in their right mind would but a REALLY BIG GUY, THAT CAN BARLEY RUN ANY MORE INTO A TEAM THAT IS ALL ABOUT RUN-AND GUN? TO ME THAT WAS THE STUPIDEST THING EVER DONE. TO ME WILLIAMS IS THE BEST POINT GUARD IN THE LEAGUE RIGHT NOW! He is way much better than Kidd, Nash, Wade, and definitely better than Chris Paul, I mean Williams and Paul average the same numbers when it comes to assistists, and Williams averages 21 points a game, when Paul averages on 15, come on and he is up for the MVP that is bull s**t on a stick. The 3rd round will be Jazz, and the spurs, and the Jazz will have their vengeance in that one. In the finals it will be Boston and Jazz. So look for the Jazz to make some noise, and surprise the world.
April 13th, 2008 at 1:05 am
I am a Huge SUNS fan, but I am not sure if they can win the title, but I do know they can give any team a run for their money. I would Love them to win, but lets see what the playoffs throw at them.
To all the people who think the Lakers would have the best chance, take this into consideration. Bynum has never played in a game with Pau, so they would have to make adjustments when he starts playing again. Took the Suns 8 games to get Shaq in, Bynum would atleast take 3-4. On top of that, Bynum has not played a game since the last 4 months, and when he returns, he comes to a team that has changed somewhat, is in the playoffs and he barely has any playoff experience. I would be cautious, if you are looking at Bynum to make a huge contribution.
On the East I agree with his prediction. West, the teams I think don’t have a chance of winning are, Houston(good team, but not champions), Dallas(They won’t win against a good Western Team), Golden State & Denver(depending on who makes the playoffs). The teams that do have a Good Chance are obviouly the other Five (Lakers, Hornets, Jazz, Spurs, Suns).
Lakers have a very good chance, and looking at the Hornets and their record, I think they are a Huge threat to any team. Jazz is probably and underrated team, but they sure have the potential. Spurs, well 4 time winners in 9 years sums it all up. Suns,if they face the Spurs, they have a very good chance of winning now cuz in the past the Spurs we agressive and won games, but now with Shaq on the court they obviously cannot use the same tactics. Against all the other top West teams, the Suns would have a good challenge.
April 14th, 2008 at 10:36 am
You are out of your mind saying the Pistons are over rated. They’ve beaten the $hit out of every western team this year. I think your opinion is overated.
April 14th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
i think it will be raptors and celtics for the easrtern confrence and raptors win. in the west its denver vs. utah and denver wins. in the finals it goes to triple overtime in game 7 and raptors come out with the win 153 to 152.
April 16th, 2008 at 2:03 am
I just want to say that I hate the Lakers. I think Kobe is a premadonna, and as long as they don’t win, I will be happy. Kobe is such an ego maniac, and has no humility. I really hope the Phoenix Suns win this year. I think during last year’s NBA playoffs, the Suns got robbed of beating the Spurs with that suspension fiasco. Okay, I’m out. Peace.
April 17th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
Celtics are definitely the favorites in the East. I think Orlando and maybe even Washington could make a noise and possibly have a chance to upset Boston or Detroit. The West is ridiculously hard to predict. Check out this link for the Eastern Conference playoff breakdown:
http://hubpages.com/hub/2008-NBA-Eastern-Conference-Playoff-Picture
April 19th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
The Pistons are over-rated! Are you kidding me. The Suns won’t even make it to the second round. I think it will be the Spurs and Pistons in the finals.
April 19th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
The Pistons are taking it all!!
April 21st, 2008 at 9:00 pm
I agree with your prediction but I would like to see if you could brake down each of the games. The site handicappingblogger.com has free nba picks and breakdowns each and every one of the playoffs games; however, I would like for you guys to brake them down.
April 28th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
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May 7th, 2008 at 12:04 am
Cavs will upset the Celtics just because of experience and Detroit and Cleavland will be a great series just like it was last year, but pistons will pull it out this time around. as for the west… who cares they haven’t shown a thing to the pistons or the Celtics. so either way eats takes it this year but i think pistons and Lakers just like 02 and same result