Adam’s Playoff Bracket with First Round Preview

First Round: Eastern Conference

(1) Boston Celtics vs. (8) Atlanta Hawks: Boston in five.
Doc Rivers is going to hurt the Celtics dearly during the playoffs, the first crack will be a one-game collapse against Atlanta. Better coaches will watch the tape and figure out what happened.

(2) Detroit Pistons vs. (7) Philadelphia 76ers: Detroit in six.
Andre Iguodala will make himself so much money during this series he’ll celebrate his first round loss by printing a million dollar bill and lighting a cigar with it.

(3) Orlando Magic vs. (6) Toronto Raptors: Toronto in seven.
Orlando is completely and utterly reliant on the three-point shot for offensive production. In order for that to be successful in the playoffs you historically need Hakeem Olajuwon or some other dominant big man who draws double teams for the kick-out. Dwight Howard isn’t ready yet and Jose Calderon and T.J. Ford will abuse the Orlando backcourt.

(4) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (5) Washington Wizards: Cleveland in six.
LeBron James just has bigger genitals than the entire Washington Wizards squad combined. And no Deshawn, that is not an invitation to whip it out and show it to a 14-year-old...again.


First Round: Western Conference

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (8) Denver Nuggets: Lakers in seven.
Pau finally wins a playoff game and the Nuggets push this much farther than anyone expects.

(2) New Orleans Hornets vs. (7) Dallas Mavericks: Hornets in six.
For some reason the 7 seed is the chic pick right now. I’ll explain my reasoning a little better as to why I think the Mavericks are heavy underdogs in this series in depth elsewhere, but for now let’s just say that Avery Johnson will be crying high pitched tears in approximately two weeks.

(3) San Antonio Spurs vs. (6) Phoenix Suns: Suns in six.
If someone shoves Steve Nash into the scorer’s table this year expect Shaq to sit on them until they apologize.

(4) Utah Jazz vs. (5) Houston Rockets: Jazz in five.
So Rafer Alston and Yao aren’t playing and the Jazz beat them last year.....hard to make a case for Houston here. At least Tracy McGrady will get his vitamin water ads on tv constantly.

Eastern Semis

Boston vs. Cleveland: Boston in four.

Detroit vs. Toronto: Detroit in four.


Western Semis

L.A. Lakers vs. Utah: Lakers in five.

Phoenix vs. New Orleans: Phoenix in six.


Eastern Finals

Boston vs. Detroit: Detroit in six.

Western Finals

Lakers vs. Phoenix: Phoenix in seven.


NBA Finals

Detroit vs. Phoenix: Detroit in six.