Post by Deleted on Jun 1, 2018 17:26:53 GMT 8
(1) Orlando Magic 56-26 vs (8) Philadelphia 76ers 43-39
The Orlando Magic led by free agent acquisition Giannis Antetokounmpo is up against the Carmelo Anthony led Philadelphia 76ers. Orlando was two games shy to grab the home-court advantage for the entire playoffs but that's three rounds from now after two seasons of not making the post-season. Whereas, the Philadelphia 76ers have made the playoffs last year and a surprising run all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals with the same crew.
If there's playoff Rondo, there's playoff Melo. Melo won a championship in Year 1, led the Sixers to the ECF in Year 2 and will try to upset once again the best team in the East. The Magic are excited to be here but their franchise player Giannis and starting point guard Ricky Rubio will be here for the first time.
It's defense vs offense with the Magic being heavily favored to open being a -17.5 in the first game. Will their be another Sixers miracle run or is it the end for this crew as IT, BoLo, RoCo and Manu are free agents this season?
__________ in six.
(2) Detroit Pistons 51-31 vs (7) Milwaukee Bucks 45-37
Of all the first round match-up, this looks like an evenly match. Ever since Detroit acquired DeMarcus Cousins, they've been in the playoffs for three straight years. BUT, the Milwaukee Bucks are there too. Did they even meet the past two years? Either way, the Pistons arguably have the best frontcourt in the league with DMC and Andre Drummond while the Bucks arguably have the best backcourt with Russell Westbrook and DeMar DeRozan.
The acquisition of DD should have made them even more dangerous but as their record suggests, its similar as to when they made the playoffs each of the past two years. Detroit have decisions to make with the pending free agency of DMC but it looks like there's nowhere to go as they have the money, more importantly DMC's BR's.
Are the Pistons healthy enough to advance in the second round? Or will Westbrook's brilliance (or not) be the reason of the Bucks advancing?
__________ in six.
(3) Toronto Raptors 50-32 vs (6) Brooklyn Nets 46-36
Toronto practically destroyed Brooklyn in their head-to-head matchup in the season going 3-1 against the Raptors opening their match-up -17.5. With Stephen Curry leading the way, they are very much invested in their "small-ball" line-up as proven when they acquired Avery Bradley and James Harden to round out their starting five with Aaron Gordon and whoever else.
While Curry is in every MVP conversation, the Nets are led by the forever underdog point guard Kyle Lowry. Lowry alongside Rudy Gobert are leading the charge for the Brooklyn Nets who went on a spending spree after two years in the doldrums to finally make the playoffs. They quietly made the playoffs and are overlooked in this matchup.
Not much to say but is small ball greater than a balanced team?
__________ in six.
(4) New York Knicks 48-34 vs (5) Cleveland Cavaliers 47-35
Should we count out 'Bron? "The King" is back in Cleveland as they have managed to "re-tool" their roster also with the addition of Marc Gasol for this year. The only consistent? Mike Conley. New York will rely on Jimmy Butler whom they acquired previously and have led them to the playoffs since.
New York owned Cleveland in the regular season but surely, it would be a different ball-game come playoff time. Still, Jimmy Buckets is more than ready to go against LeBron. We could argue how important the pieces are but it looks like it will all boil down to LeBron James vs Jimmy Butler.
__________ in six.
Cleveland Cavaliers