3030 Eastern Conference Playoff Preview - The Celtics Awaken
Apr 2, 2016 15:14:27 GMT -6
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2016 15:14:27 GMT -6
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First Round:
vs. 
61-21 39-43
Season Series: 4-0, Bullets
Knicks Player to Watch: Doug Overton - 24.7 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 11.4 apg, 1.5 spg
Bullets Player to Watch: Dejuan Blair - 25.9 ppg, 13.5 rpg, 4.1 bpg
Dumptime's Prediction: PAIN for the New York Knicks, 4-0 Bullets
Overview: The only way this is even a series is if Dougie Fresh Overton makes it one. Unfortunately for him, he is guarding the best PG in the East and maybe even in the league in Kyriesus Irving. A big matchup that KN can take advantage of is Jesus Shuttlesworth against the aging Steph Curry in the backcourt. If I were Eric, I would have my main defensive stud Steph Templeton guard Blair and maybe help cut his production by a little bit. Otherwise, I see this being one of those instances that it was a sweep in the regular season and a sweep in the postseason as well.
vs. 
59-23 48-34
Season Series: 3-1, Nets
Magic Player to Watch: Tyus Edney - 26 ppg, 10.7 apg, 1.9 spg
Nets Player to Watch: Matthew Lockhart - 28.9 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 1.9 spg, 2.6 bpg
Dumptime's Prediction: A close but fair battle, 4-2 Nets
Overview: In my opinion, these are two teams constructed fairly the same. If JHB wants to steal this series he is going to have to rely on Edney going all Jason Kidd against the laundry mat of mediocre PGs that Heebs has. Nets maybe a little bit better than their record since Lockhart was down for a fairly significant amount of time this season. One of the battles that everyone will watch this series will be down low with Kevin Garnett versus Brook "BFB" Lopez. Two of the better big men in this league and a fairly even matchup if I say so myself. These teams need at least one of those guys do outperform the other to have a chance in this series. The other big matchup is on the wings. Rodney Carney and Jerry Stackhouse versus Newcomer Of The Year Stacey Augmon versus Stud Matthew Lockhart. The bad news for JHB is that either of Heebs' wings can shutdown an opponent at any time. The question is can Stack or Carney shutdown Lockhart? Thats where the series lies.
vs. 
61-21 45-37
Season Series: 3-1, Celtics
Pacers Player to Watch: Tex Silverman - 21.7 ppg, 10.6 rpg, 1.2 bpg
Celtics Player to Watch: Lamar Odom - 19.4 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 4.4 apg, 1.1 spg, 1.2 bpg
Dumptime's Unbiased Prediction: Pacers Players Finally Get Relief, 4-1 Celtics
Overview: In the Battle Of Larry Bird, we have two franchises heading in entirely different directions. On one hand, we have TMBSL's feel good story of the year as the Celtics overcome their 16 year playoff drought and end up tying for the league's best record. On the other hand, meanwhile in Indianapolis, they are looking towards the future as they traded their star player in a highly controversial midseason trade. Luckily for the Pacers, the Celtics landed a huge blow during the second to last sim when one of their best players, Shareef Abdur Rahim, broke his collarbone and will be out for the series. Unluckily for the Pacers, the Celtics went on a late season winning streak to claim the 3rd seed from the Brooklyn Nets all without Shareef. I picked Odom as the player to watch as he will take over the #1 scoring spot and SF spot for Shareef so it should be his time to shine going up against Vandiver. On the Pacers end, It will be up to Tex to get him, Vlade, and LeRon Ellis to get up and take on the three headed monster that is Joel Embiid, Joe Smith, and rookie Luther Wright. In the end, I think the Pacers may steal a game or two from the Celtics, but I think the Celtics take the series due to the loss of Cousy.
vs. 
53-29 44-38
Season Series: 3-1, Cavaliers
Cavs Player to Watch: Gerald Martin Johanssen - 16.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 0.9 spg
Bobcats Player to Watch: Rowdy "Playoff MVP" Eavenson - 26.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 8.2 apg, 2.7 spg
Dumptime's Prediction: The Sun Sets on Cleveland, 4-1 Bobcats
Overview: The only 1st round upset where the underdog seed has an .500 or better record against the favorite seed. Sadly for Shaun, one of his best players, Jahlil Okafor, is out for most of this series. The Cavs, much like their Central counterpart the Pacers, sold their team midseason to begin their tank for greatness. This series will feature two frontcourts made up of mainly defensive/rebounding bigs starring Tyrus Thomas on the Bobcats and Tristan Thompson on the Cavs, with Jusuf Nurkic and Sene helping for the Cavs and William Bedford and Serge Ibaka helping for the Bobcats. The main matchup to watch out for is Myles Turner vs. GMJ at the SF position. Will the aging veteran and TMBSL points leader teach the young gun from Houston a lesson? Will GMJ put up a fight? That will decide the series. And of course we have the PG who led the Lakers to the championship last season, Rowdy Eavenson, once again back in the playoffs, except this time playing for the team he beat in the Finals. Good luck with that, Jordan Clarkson.
Round 2:
vs. Season Series: 3-1, Nets
Nets Player to Watch: Daniel "Boobie" Gibson - 23.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 9.3 apg, 2.3 spg
Bullets Player to Watch: Jesus Shuttlesworth - 22.2 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.9 spg
Dumptime's Prediction: Another Heartbreak in Brooklyn, 4-3 Bullets
Overview: This is the Series of all Series in the playoffs in my opinion. Two Eastern Giants face off for the right to go to the Finals. Down low you have Theo Ratliff vs. Hasheem Thabeet in a def/reb battle, but the main event is Kevin Garnett vs. Dejuan Blair, two of the best big men in the league. Both have pretty spectacular offensive stats but Blair has a 1.5 bpg advantage when it comes to the defensive end. Will KG fold in the playoffs like he normally does? Will Blair rise to the occasion and lift his team above his shoulders? On the wings are more interesting, you have Criminally Underrated Willie Naulls vs. Shutdown Wing Matthew Lockhart and Jesus vs. Stacey Augmon. You know why they call him Lockhart? Because he locks you down so hard that it breaks your fucking heart. What needs to happen for KN is Jesus needs to live up to that high draft selection and take over the series. Augmon ain't no brush off defender but between Augmon-Lockhart you would choose Augmon 110% of the time. Another good matchup is Kyriesus Irving vs. BOOBIE Gibson. We all know what Kyriesus can do but he is starting to get that same reputation as that No Good Loser Oscar Robertson had as an elite PG that folds when the tough times come. While I feel like this series is important to Jesus, it might be more important to Kyriesus to finally get over that postseason bump. He is facing a relative unknown PG in BOOBIE Gibson that has put up some pretty nice stats on some pretty bad percentages this season. Sure it has gotten Heebs this far but is it enough to lift his team to the next level? Can BOOBIE make a statement and get past the best PG in the East without getting humiliated? We will see. I see this series being the ultimate coin flip to be perfectly honest. I picked the Bullets because they had homecourt advantage and just to say fuck you to Heebs. Plus I love me some KN.
vs. Season Series: 2-1, Bobcats
Celtics Player to Watch: Isiah Thomas - 13.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 11.4 apg, 2.5 spg
Bobcats Player to Watch: William Bedford - 10 ppg, 12.2 rpg, 3.5 bpg
Dumptime's Unbiased Prediction: Another Heartbreak in Beantown, 4-3 Bobcats
Overview: Probably one of the more evenly matched series in the playoffs. You're going to have the three headed defensive monster on Memphis in Tyrus Thomas - William Bedford - Myles Turner going up against the three headed offensive beast on Boston in Joel Embiid - Joe Smith - Shareef (except for the first game). The matchup that might make for the series is in the backcourt. You're going to have Playoff MVP Rowdy Eavenson vs. 2nd Team All Defensive PG Isiah Thomas. Can good ole Zeke contain Rowdy enough to neutralize Odin's advantage? On the Bobcats, I went with Bedford because he was listed as starting C, but it could be Tyrus Thomas too. Whoever guards Embiid will be real important for the Bobcats in general, can they stop him enough to where he doesn't take over the series? In general, Myles will get his against Odom/Reef, and hopefully when Reef comes back he can help contain Myles enough to where its not too big of an advantage. The last matchup in this series is at the SG position. You're going to have the 6'7" Mike O'Koren and the 6'10" Lamar Odom going up against the 6'3" Goran Dragic and the 7'1" legit AARP member Zinger. Will Odin start Zinger in probably his last playoffs to take away the size advantage that the Celtics have at that position? Or will he stick with the quick little fella to get around the big fellas with his speed? That is another matchup that could have an effect on the series. I picked the Bobcats because of homecourt and because I feel that one game without Reef will ultimately decide the series. But looking at the series it was exactly pretty even. Bobcats won one blowout, Celtics won one blowout at the end of the season, and the Bobcats took the close victory (3 pointer to be exact).
Eastern Conference Finals:
vs. Season Series: 3-1, Bullets
Bobcats Player to Watch: Myles Turner - 25.3 ppg, 8.6 ppg, 2.6 bpg
Bullets Player to Watch: Kyriesus Irving - 24.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 11.6 apg, 2.4 spg
Dumptime's Prediction: KN Finally Gets His Shot, Bullets 4-3
Overview: At first, I thought this was a pretty clear series win for KN and the Bullets, but looking more closely I can definitely see the Bobcats winning this. They have the pieces to beat the Bullets and neutralize their big three. At PG, the Bobcats have Playoff MVP Rowdy Eavenson going up against Playoff LVP Kyriesus Irving. This is a throwback to all of those ECFs back in the good ole day when it was Jason Kidd vs. Oscar Robertson. Will Kyriesus step up against somebody that has been to the mountain top? Will Rowdy contain him enough to where KN can't get an advantage going? This is another series where Jesus needs to tell us what he is all about. The SG position is a decent advantage for the Bullets. Will he let the midget or old man giant get the best of him? Or will he step up to the plate and take his team to the promised land. The TMBSL all time points leader Myles Turner will get his against Willie Naulls. The only other matchup that will help decide this series is best big man in the game Dejuan Blair vs. one of the best defenders in the game Tyrus Thomas. Can Tyrus get enough of Blair to where he is not helping the Bullets win games or win games by himself? I'm talking about 20 ppg and taking a lot of bad shots while taking shots away from Kyriesus and Jesus. In the end, I could see both teams winning this series. It all depends on how the Bullets as a team does against pressure. Will they fold up like lawnchairs like usual? Or will they rise up and finally conquer their demons? Bobcats have a solid, veteran, playoff experienced squad that can take down a team like the Bullets.
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Yes, I went chalk basically, but to be honest the East was basically chalk this season. You had 4-5 teams worth anything, some teams in the middle that weren't good or ready enough, some teams that sold off midseason to get ready for the big 3032 tank and beyond, and a bunch of tankers. Thanks for nothing, Central division.
