Eastern Conf. Semi Finals Analysis/Predictions by Lauren Beasley
It certainly was a pretty eventful first round of the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. Miami Heat nearly swept the New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers struggled to beat the weakened Orlando Magic. Philadelphia 76ers upset the injured Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics showed they aren’t too old to beat they young Atlanta Hawks.
Nonetheless how they won, Celtics, Heat, 76ers and Pacers have all made it to the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. This semi-final round has the potential to be very interesting and I expect it to bring a lot of intensity.
Indiana Pacers vs. Miami Heat
Now this is the matchup that I am the most excited to see, because Indiana Pacers have the tools to wear down Miami Heat and make this great series. Now as much as I like the Pacers, I don’t believe they will pull upset but they can cause havoc.
The Pacers match up with Heat basically in every way, except in the post, where they have an advantage with Roy Hibbert.
Defensive wise the Pacers are matched well, George Hill matches up with Mario Chalmers very well. Paul George great length and versatility will do him good against the Dwayne Wade.
Then Pacers can put Danny Granger on LeBron James, who matches up very well in LeBron in body and skill or they can have Tyler Hansbrough come off the bench and be LeBron’s personal shadow.
David West versus Chris Bosh makes an interesting matchup both offensively and defensively. Lastly the Pacers have Roy Hibbert who in my opinion is the one of the key X-Factors in this game, technically no one matches up with him very well on the Heat, so he can be a defensive and offensive threat.
The Pacers other X-Factor is their bench, everybody knows the Heat are truly at their best, when their bench is producing well, so Pacers bench will need to match the Heat’s bench or play better. Pacers will need good bench play from players like Darrin Collison, Leondra Barbosa, Tyler Hansbrough, Davonte Jones and more.
Now Miami Heat still should win this series, but it won’t be easy. I look forward to seeing how LeBron James and Dwayne Wade will do offensively and defensively against Danny Granger and Paul George.
Chalmers played well against the Knicks but he didn’t have any young quick guards checking him, now he will have that challenge against the Pacers playing against guards like George Hill and Darrin Collison.
Chris Bosh has had an underrated season but has played well, now he faces a good veteran power forward in David West, they are very different in skill and body but nonetheless this will be a good battle.
However the main X-Factor for the Heat will be their bench play. They have to play well, they did well against the Knicks but considering the way the Knicks played, that’s not saying much.
At the end of the day I believe the Miami Heat will win in a 6 game series.
Philadelphia 76ers vs. Boston Celtics
Now this is series is somewhat a surprise, considering the fact that before Derrick Rose’s injury most people thought it would be Bulls versus Celtics, not Sixers versus Celtics.
Nonetheless the Sixers triumphed over the injured Bulls and they deserve their shot at the title.
Now this series has the makings of a good series. Boston is still the favorite but the Sixers have enough intensity to make it interesting.
I will start with the Celtics, the main thing that they have on their side, is Rajon Rondo, who will be a key X-Factor to this series. Sixers have no one who matches up well with him or someone who can slow him down. Rondo also will need to be cautious of Lou Williams because he is capable of going off at any time.
Celtics will also need great play from Kevin Garnett, now the Sixers have good post presence with Elton Brand and Thaddeus Young, so this won’t be easy. However if the Celtics receive great play from Garnett, there should be no question that they should win.
I am interested to see how Paul Peirce and Ray Allen will play due to the main fact both are still slightly unhealthy and they will have their hands full Andre Inguodala and Evan Turner.
Now I will move on to the Sixers. Their play starts with play of their wings in Andre Inguodala and Evan Turner; both had their huge moments in the Bull series. They will be one of the X-Factors in this series if the Sixers want any chance of truly winning.
The Sixers post presence will be the biggest X-Factor though, Elton Brand and Thaddeus Young have the real potential to make things very difficult for the Celtics. Brand has experience and good strength while Young brings the intensity and athleticism to take Celtic by storm.
Lou Williams was mediocre against the Bulls, but he has to be at his best against Rondo both offensively and defensively. Williams is the only player on the Sixers who knows how to create room for himself, so he needs to definitely do that against Rondo and defensively he needs to pressure Rondo and force him to become a shooter.
Overall the Sixers starting five and bench will have to be huge. Sixers will need to use their youth and speed to their advantage. Celtic unfortunately didn’t receive much rest so they need to be aware of that. Overall it will be interesting to see who will step up in this series for both squads
In the end I believe the Boston Celtics will win in a 6 games series.
Nonetheless how they won, Celtics, Heat, 76ers and Pacers have all made it to the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. This semi-final round has the potential to be very interesting and I expect it to bring a lot of intensity.
Indiana Pacers vs. Miami Heat
Now this is the matchup that I am the most excited to see, because Indiana Pacers have the tools to wear down Miami Heat and make this great series. Now as much as I like the Pacers, I don’t believe they will pull upset but they can cause havoc.
The Pacers match up with Heat basically in every way, except in the post, where they have an advantage with Roy Hibbert.
Defensive wise the Pacers are matched well, George Hill matches up with Mario Chalmers very well. Paul George great length and versatility will do him good against the Dwayne Wade.
Then Pacers can put Danny Granger on LeBron James, who matches up very well in LeBron in body and skill or they can have Tyler Hansbrough come off the bench and be LeBron’s personal shadow.
David West versus Chris Bosh makes an interesting matchup both offensively and defensively. Lastly the Pacers have Roy Hibbert who in my opinion is the one of the key X-Factors in this game, technically no one matches up with him very well on the Heat, so he can be a defensive and offensive threat.
The Pacers other X-Factor is their bench, everybody knows the Heat are truly at their best, when their bench is producing well, so Pacers bench will need to match the Heat’s bench or play better. Pacers will need good bench play from players like Darrin Collison, Leondra Barbosa, Tyler Hansbrough, Davonte Jones and more.
Now Miami Heat still should win this series, but it won’t be easy. I look forward to seeing how LeBron James and Dwayne Wade will do offensively and defensively against Danny Granger and Paul George.
Chalmers played well against the Knicks but he didn’t have any young quick guards checking him, now he will have that challenge against the Pacers playing against guards like George Hill and Darrin Collison.
Chris Bosh has had an underrated season but has played well, now he faces a good veteran power forward in David West, they are very different in skill and body but nonetheless this will be a good battle.
However the main X-Factor for the Heat will be their bench play. They have to play well, they did well against the Knicks but considering the way the Knicks played, that’s not saying much.
At the end of the day I believe the Miami Heat will win in a 6 game series.
Philadelphia 76ers vs. Boston Celtics
Now this is series is somewhat a surprise, considering the fact that before Derrick Rose’s injury most people thought it would be Bulls versus Celtics, not Sixers versus Celtics.
Nonetheless the Sixers triumphed over the injured Bulls and they deserve their shot at the title.
Now this series has the makings of a good series. Boston is still the favorite but the Sixers have enough intensity to make it interesting.
I will start with the Celtics, the main thing that they have on their side, is Rajon Rondo, who will be a key X-Factor to this series. Sixers have no one who matches up well with him or someone who can slow him down. Rondo also will need to be cautious of Lou Williams because he is capable of going off at any time.
Celtics will also need great play from Kevin Garnett, now the Sixers have good post presence with Elton Brand and Thaddeus Young, so this won’t be easy. However if the Celtics receive great play from Garnett, there should be no question that they should win.
I am interested to see how Paul Peirce and Ray Allen will play due to the main fact both are still slightly unhealthy and they will have their hands full Andre Inguodala and Evan Turner.
Now I will move on to the Sixers. Their play starts with play of their wings in Andre Inguodala and Evan Turner; both had their huge moments in the Bull series. They will be one of the X-Factors in this series if the Sixers want any chance of truly winning.
The Sixers post presence will be the biggest X-Factor though, Elton Brand and Thaddeus Young have the real potential to make things very difficult for the Celtics. Brand has experience and good strength while Young brings the intensity and athleticism to take Celtic by storm.
Lou Williams was mediocre against the Bulls, but he has to be at his best against Rondo both offensively and defensively. Williams is the only player on the Sixers who knows how to create room for himself, so he needs to definitely do that against Rondo and defensively he needs to pressure Rondo and force him to become a shooter.
Overall the Sixers starting five and bench will have to be huge. Sixers will need to use their youth and speed to their advantage. Celtic unfortunately didn’t receive much rest so they need to be aware of that. Overall it will be interesting to see who will step up in this series for both squads
In the end I believe the Boston Celtics will win in a 6 games series.