2015 NBA Playoffs
- Brad Zellner
- Apr 16, 2015
- 3 min read
The NBA regular season has come to a close and the playoffs start in a few days. I am looking forward to another couple months of playoff action as a new NBA champion is crowned. Last year, fans were just waiting for the Heat and Spurs to reach the finals. That does not seem to be the case this season. When the second season begins on Saturday, there is not one team that is a lock to make it through the playoffs. When looking at the standings, the Golden State Warriors and Atlanta Hawks are the top two teams in the league based on the regular season. Neither team has has much playoff success in the history of the franchises. The Hawks have been to the post season for 7 consecutive and have been eliminated in the first round 3 years in a row. The Warriors have made the playoffs the last 2 years but have not had much success advancing. Teams who contend for the finals are often full of playoff experience and have faced defeat in the NBA Finals. That is why many people expected to see last years Spurs/Heat rematch. Both teams were stacked full of playoff experience and knew what it took to get there. The Warriors and Hawks are lacking much playoff success and that may cost them a championship this year.
The one factor that may help the Hawks is that the Eastern Conference is much weaker than the Western Conference. The Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets all have a .500 or lower record. All 3 teams will be in the Eastern Conference playoffs this season. I am sure fan bases, teams and owners are happy that these three teams have made the playoffs. Having teams with a losing mark get to compete for a championship is not good for the NBA. The Bucks should be thrilled to be in playoff because they had the worse record in the NBA last year. Brad Stevens is proving he belongs in the NBA by coaching the Celtics to the playoffs. They were able to make the playoffs after trading Rojon Rondo and Jeff Green. They also made a host of other player moves that would have some teams struggling to find chemistry. Once again, having a losing record should not make a team eligible for post season. There has been talk of the NBA taking the top sixteen teams regardless of conference. That would guarantee the best teams in the league would make the playoffs.
There are many more Western teams capable of making a championship run. The Spurs are waking up and have won 9 out of 10 as the season ended. It would not surprise me to see San Antonio getting back to the finals. Tim Duncan has played his best ball of the season and the Spurs seem to be healthy going into the playoffs. Golden State and Houston are also capable of winning a few series to get to the finals. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson have both had great years for the Warriors. They will continue to keep the defense trying to figure out ways to stop the two shooters. Curry made 77 straight three point shots in practice a few days ago and Thompson made history with an explosive 37 point third quarter earlier in the year. For the Rockets, James Harden finished as the second highest scorer in the season. He could drop forty points against any team and the Rockets have Dwight Howard healthy. The Western Conference should be the exciting bracket to watch and watch for a few surprises.
The Eastern conference should not have many surprises as the teams who are supposed to win will more than likely advance in early rounds. I expect Lebron James to lead the Cleveland Cavs back to the NBA finals this year. After a rocky start to the season, the Cavs are coming together and look poised to make a deep run. Much of that depends on how well Kyrie Irving plays in his first playoffs. I do not really see any other teams that will step up and play consistently enough to beat the Cavs. The Chicago Bulls have Derrick Rose back but they have been very inconsistent this season on the defensive end. Toronto Raptors have been improving every year in the playoffs but still are probably a year or two away from taking the next step.
This year's version of the NBA playoffs should be another exciting post season with many franchises with a chance to win. There will be a great chance for players to step up and create a playoff history that fans will talk about for years to come. It will take some great offense, superb defense and a little bit of luck to win the 2015 NBA Championship.
Komentarze