[tps_title]Which team will win the NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs?[/tps_title]
Image courtesy of Keith Allison/Flickr.
MACIAS: A cardboard cutout or the Brooklyn Nets. The obvious choice here would be the Miami Heat, but screw that, I’m going with the six seeded Nets. Even though they had a bipolar year, they come up big when it counts and are great under pressure (where it counts the most) thanks to head coach Jason Kidd.
CREASMAN: I don’t even know who the Miami Heat’s closest competition in the East is. Part of me wonders if the Heat are disappointed that Derrick Rose got hurt (again) the Knicks turned into a dumpster fire, and the rest of the conference has done little to inspire fear. They could have used the practice.
When things come down to it, the Heat have to win games against grown professional men with pride and they will have to show up and perform. But sans an injury to LeBron James, if the Heat don’t win the East, it will be one of the biggest upsets in modern NBA history.
BITANGA: The Miami Heat are looking to hit a three-peat this season, and with Lebron James leading the way, there’s no stopping them in the East. It also helps that that the Indiana Pacers have broken down, since they were the Heat’s only major threat. The rest of the East doesn’t really have the tools to beat the Heat in a playoff series. They are the reigning and defending NBA Champions, and in a weak Eastern Conference, they should have no real problems making it to the NBA Finals this year.
MOHAMED: Yikes, I was hoping to avoid this question till… ever considering how the top seeds have been lately, but since I have to pick one, I’ll pick the Pacers. I realize how much of a soap opera they’ve been since the all star break, I realize that their offense until recently had as much efficiency as a clogged toilet, but two things to consider: first is that what the Heat are trying to accomplish is nearly unprecedented in the modern era. Trying to make four straight finals hasn’t been done since Larry Legend did so from 1984-87. We saw the Lakers fizzle out in spectacular fashion in 2011 in part because of exhaustion. Also, as Jacob Frankel illustrated on Hickory High, post all star break performance isn’t the best indicator of future playoff success, though the Pacers might be pushing it too far.
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