As I promised earlier this week on the podcast, today, I have my NBA playoff preview. The reason it has taken me so long is because the playoffs weren't fully set until last night. Sorry Miami Heat, you guys really turned it around after starting 11-30, but that poor start killed you guys, and the terrible Chicago Bulls took your spot. So, with this preview I will go round by round and matchup by matchup. I will give 3 or 4 sentences, unless I get really fired up for a series, and I will pick a winner all the way to the title. At the end of this piece I will pick a winner, and I will give you final winners for every big award. So, lets get to it.

I'm going to start with the Eastern Conference. Our 1-8 matchup is Boston-Chicago. I'd be a very teeny tiny bit nervous if I were a Celtic fan. There is something to Rajon Rondo wanting revenge, Dwayne Wade is always great in the playoffs and Jimmy Butler is the best player on either team that will take the floor. That being said, Boston has a much better coach and a much, much better team, by far. Brad Stevens will coach circles around Fred Hoiberg, Isaish Thomas will score at will, and I have the Celtics finally winning their first series under Stevens in 5 easy games.

The 2-7 matchup has the Cavs facing off against the Pacers. I was so incredibly high on the Pacers before the year but, they never found a rhythm and the team was never cohesive. Paul George has been playing great as of late, and Myles Turner has only gotten better and better, but the Pacers are not much of a threat, especially to the Cavs, even with their defensive deficiencies as of late. George will try to make things interesting, but LeBron James will shut him down, and unfortunately for the Pacers, they have no one else. I have the Cavs in 5.

The 3-6 matchup is going to be awesome. Toronto is at full strength and playing pretty well. Milwaukee is super young, but they are fun and they are long and they have Giannis. Milwaukee can make this a series. Like I said, they have length everywhere on the floor and will give DeRozan, Lowry and Ibaka headaches, but Toronto is a seasoned playoff team and I think Dwayne Casey is a very good coach. He will make the difference, and I have Toronto advancing in 6 games, but those 6 games will be a load of fun. Look out for Milwaukee next year though.

The 4-5 could be a good matchup according to some, but not me. I feel like Washington is going to obliterate Atlanta. Washington is better at every position, in my opinion, on the floor. Wall is much better than Schroder, Beal is better than any 2 guard the Hawks have, and the Wizards front court is better than the Hawks, including Paul Milsap. This is going to be the only first round sweep in the East. Washington should, and will, crush Atlanta.

On to the second round for the East.

The first matchup we have is Boston-Washington. I am/will be so pumped when this matchup comes to fruition. These teams genuinely hate each other, and we don't have many more rivalries like this in professional sports. I think this will be a hard fought, rough and tumble series. But, when I sit down and really think about it, I am going with the Wizards in 7. The Celtics have the better coach in Stevens, but the Wizards have better players and the Celtics won't be able to hide their flaws. Thomas cannot guard Otto Porter, John Wall or Bradley Beal and the Celtics frontline is no match for the Wizards.

The other matchup is a rematch of last year's Eastern Conference Finals, with the Cavs facing the Raptors. I really, really have been trying to convince myself that the Raptors can beat the Cavs in a series. The Cavs stink on defense, and that greatly favors guys like DeRozan, Lowry and Ibaka. The Raptors also seem tougher than the Cavs. I'd much rather have guys like Ibaka, Jonas Valenciunas and PJ Tucker than Tristan Thompson, Kevin Love and whoever in the hell else the Cavs put out there. But, LeBron James is the best player in the world. He showed that he can single handily win series for this team. But, is he tired? Are Kyrie and Love tired? A lot of these guys haven't played this much basketball over three years in their whole lives. With all this being said, I'll go with Cleveland in 7. LeBron is just too damn good, and he will find a way to get his team back to the East Finals.

That gives us Cleveland-Washington in the Eastern Conference Finals. Here comes my hottest take of all time. I think the Wizards will win this series in 6 games. The Wizards are the Cavs biggest threat and nightmare in the East. I also don't think the Cavs can just turn on the switch. I think the guys not named LeBron James on the Cavs roster are tired and that will show in the East Finals. I also love the way Wall and Beal and Porter Jr have played all season long. So, I have the Wizards representing the East in the Finals. That is my big time hot take for the East. The Cavs will not make it to a third straight Finals.

Lets move to the West, the far superior conference, now. The 1-8 matchup is Golden State-Portland. I know Damian Lillard has been on record saying that the Blazers will win in 6 games. That is great that he has that much confidence in his team, but sorry to say Dame, the Blazers are getting swept. The Warriors have everyone back, and they won't even break a sweat in this first round series. Warriors in 4.

The 2-7 matchup has San Antonio-Memphis. I love Memphis with the grit and grind. I love guys like Marc Gasol, Mike Conley, Tony Allen and Vince Carter. Those guys aren't nearly enough to stop the Spurs. Kawhi is on a mission. Danny Green is a great defender and 3 point shooter. LaMarcus Aldridge is quietly very decent. Pau Gasol has been fine, when healthy. And, the Spurs are coached by the best coach in the NBA. Memphis will try all their tricks, but it won't matter, Spurs in 4.

The 3-6 is the best matchup in the entire first round. We get OKC-Houston. I CANNOT wait to watch Harden and Westbrook trade blows and try to one up each other. It will be fast and ferocious, up and down basketball. I wouldn't be shocked if each team is in the 100's for every game. I think this will be a very competitive series, and both main guys will want to prove why they should be the MVP. But, in the end, the Rockets roster is better and deeper, and I think they will win in 7. This series is going to be must watch basketball, and I'm so excited to see these 2 teams play.

For the 4-5 matchup. we get a sneaky good series between Utah and the Clippers. This is going to be a very underrated and dare I say, very competitive series. The Clippers have home court, and that will be a big, big deal for them. I love the head to head matchups in this series too. I think Rudy Gobert will cancel out DeAndre Jordan and Gordon Hayward will do the same with Blake Griffin, but no one on Utah is close to Chris Paul, and that will be the difference. I see this series going 7, if the Clippers can stay healthy. I think they will win because they have the best player in Chris Paul. The two teams styles couldn't be more different, but I think this will be a very good, hard fought 7 game series.

Lets move to the second round.

The first matchup is Golden State-Clippers. I think we all know how this will end. Not only do the Warriors own the Clippers on the floor, but they also own their minds. The Warriors not only crush them physically, they do the same to them mentally. The Clippers just cannot beat the Warriors. Again, the Warriors sweep their way to the West Finals. The other matchup features San Antonio and Houston. This is where Houston's run of scoring in the high 100's stop. The Spurs defense is too good and plays with too much pride to let the Rockets shoot open three after open three. The Rockets will still jack up 30 threes a game, but the Spurs will defend them. And, the Rockets have no one that can stop Kawhi. James Harden doesn't play defense, Patrick Beverly is too small and slow, Sam Dekker is too slow, Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson think defense is optional and Trevor Ariza is not the defender he once was. The Spurs front court is far superior as well. I think the Rockets will get a game, possibly 2, but the Spurs will advance to face the Warriors in the West Finals.

So, we have the 2 best teams in all of the NBA facing off in the West Finals. This will be the only time the Warriors break a sweat, but I see them winning in 5. The Spurs have too much pride to get swept, but they will only win one game. The Warriors will be like a machine by this point, and most importantly of all, they should be at full health. Kawhi can only guard one guy, and the Warriors will use whoever Kawhi isn't guarding. The Warriors will represent the West in the Finals.

Instead of the rubber match between Cleveland and Golden State, I have Golden State facing Washington. Golden State will crush the Wizards, if my prediction is correct. Golden State would crush anyone, but they will absolutely destroy the Wizards. John Wall will be great, but Steph will cancel him out, and Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and, Kevin Durant especially, will be out for blood. This will be an easy sweep for Golden State. Golden State will be your 2017 NBA champions, and they will do it by going 16-1. They are just too damn good.

As far as the awards go, first off, I hate that the NBA is waiting to give them out until a month after the season ends. That is so dumb. Anyway, I have Russell Westbrook as MVP. I think I have made that very, very clear. Defensive Player of the Year should always be Kawhi, but Draymond Green will win it this year. Coach of the Year, which should always be Poppovich, will go to Mike D'Antoni. Most Improved Player should be Giannis Antentekoumpo. He is an incredible talent and he will be a force for the rest of his career. As for Rookie of the Year, Embiid would have gotten it if he played 40 plus games, but he only played 31. So, I guess I'd give it to Embiid's teammate, Dario Saric. He stepped up when he needed to, and he and Embiid are the future for the 76ers.

There you have it, my 2017 NBA playoff preview and prediction and all my awards predictions. You read it correctly, a Washington vs. Golden State finals. I cannot wait for Saturday for these games to start. Lets get to it.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. When Washington makes the finals, Ty is going to celebrate by doing the Dougie. Does that make Ty a non-profesional? 

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