Culture of Hoops

BMF Roundtable: 2013-14 NBA Playoffs Edition

[tps_title]Which team will win the NBA Western Conference Playoffs?[/tps_title]

Image courtesy  of Keith Allison/Flickr.

Image courtesy of Keith Allison/Flickr.

MACIAS: I’m pretty sure I made my case answering my first question. If Durant and OKC are able to put the Spurs in their place and take the West, they have a chance at beating whomever they face from the East in the finals.

CREASMAN: I’m going a little outside-the-box on this one with the Houston Rockets. I still see the potential for Oklahoma City to fold either under a possible injury or because they get tight (and are poorly coached) in stressful moments. I’m also taking a shot in the dark that the San Antonio Spurs can’t keep pulling the rabbit out of their hat.

That leaves me with a Houston Rockets team anchored by many NBA pundits favorite punching bag, Dwight Howard. Howards supporting cast is better than it was when he took Orlando to the finals and they are a far more talented version of the Raptors mentality of “no one believes in us.”

They have a smart coach, a beast in the middle, and a creator on the perimeter who can score from anywhere in James Harden. I could see them causing match-up problems for both San Antonio and Oklahoma City.

BITANGA: The Los Angeles Clippers may surprise many and pound their way to the top of the Western Conference. Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan have evolved this year, CP3 is healthy, and Doc Rivers has some ring savvy in the post-season. They’ll possibly meet the Golden State Warriors in the first round, in which they’ve split the four games they had against each other in the regular season. They may also run into the Oklahoma City Thunder, who they are 2-2 against as well. The Western Conference seems to be a pretty close run, but I’ll give the Clippers the advantage because of their chemistry, their hunger for a first championship, Doc Rivers seating in the seat he’s in, and their drive to get rid of those selfie-banners.

MOHAMED: The Spurs. They’re the best team in the NBA. They were the best team last year. Gregg Popovich is perhaps the best coach in the Modern era of basketball in terms of realizing how to pace through the regular season. No player is playing over 30 minutes per game. They’ve gone big, small, hybrid, any sort of lineup imaginable that shmucks like me can think of. They were 16-0 in March with a NetRtg of 16.6 . I’m intrigued to see how the Spurs handle the length and athleticism of the Thunder, though two years is a long time and the Spurs might be good enough to handle that challenge considering how the Thunder have changed as well.

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