The NBA Playoffs will soon be upon us like myself over a piece of pecan pie. Yes, folks, I love pecan pie… but not as much as the Association’s postseason. No, seriously. Anyway, we asked the Baller Mind Frame writers (and my son who saw me building the Google Spreadsheet file) six questions and asked them to plug in their answers for them. Below are the results from 25 of the keenest minds regarding the NBA. And me.
Which team is coming in strong for the NBA Playoffs?
The voting was close, but the Toronto Raptors with six votes, edged out the Brooklyn Nets who had five votes of confidence. The Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs, each finished with four votes. The Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Clippers ended up with two with a vote apiece to the Washington Wizards and Oklahoma City Thunder. If the results here hold any weight, then the Raptors and Nets series will be an excellent one to watch. And, as a personal aside, GO BROOKLYN!
Which team is coming in weak into the postseason?
The overwhelming favorite were the Indiana Pacers with sixty percent of the vote (15). The Golden State Warriors and Atlanta Hawks came in tied for second with three votes each. The Houston Rockets received a duo of votes, and the Blazers and Miami Heat each tallied one. While the Pacers won this non-illustrious category of sorts, the playoffs are a wholly different season and they have too much talent and chemistry to become non-factors during the playoffs. But, yes, I voted for them.
Which NBA player will shine during the NBA Playoffs?
Only three players received more than one vote here – Kahwi Leonard and Al Jefferson each got a couple of votes with John Wall easily winning here with six total selections as the player to watch. Other players receiving one vote were: DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry, DeMarre Carroll, D.J. Augustin, Jermaine O’Neal, Monta Ellis, Chandler Parsons, Nene, J.J. Redick, Otto Porter, Jr., Shaun Livingston, Kemba Walker, Chris Bosh, Shane Larkin and Joakim Noah. That’s quite a mix.
Which team will win the NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs?
This didn’t even seem fair. Despite the talk of them falling off this season, to whatever degree, the Miami Heat took this one handily with 19 out of 25 total votes. The only other two teams deemed worthy enough to possibly wrest the East from the Heat were the Nets and Pacers, each with a trio of approvals. It’s so hard… to say goodbye… to yesterday… and, apparently, a LeBron James-led team.
Which team will win the NBA Western Conference Playoffs?
This one was a little more competitive with the San Antonio Spurs (12) beating out the Oklahoma City Thunder (9) and Kevin Durant, who may finally end his streak of finishing second when it comes to awards this season. MVP! MVP! MVP! The other two possibilities with two votes each were the Rockets and Clippers. The Spurs bring in a ton of experience with Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, as well as the genius of Gregg Popovich. They were thisclose to taking it all in last year’s NBA Finals, but they Ray Allen had to kill that vibe. Now I know why all of the atheists rally against your existence!
Which team will win the NBA Finals and be named the NBA Champions?
One vote went toward the Clippers. Five for the Thunder. Eight for the Heat. However, with 11 votes, we predict that the Spurs will reign supreme popping bottles of champagne and tubes of Ben Gay for the whole world to see.
For more in-depth answers to the questions above, read the BMF Roundtable: NBA Playoffs Edition! That said, with all of this prediction stuff out of the way, let’s see what goes down for real for real as the NBA postseason starts tomorrow!