NBA Eastern Conference Finals Preview: Cavaliers vs Raptors

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The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Toronto Raptors will meet in the Eastern Conference Finals, as they both vie to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals. The Raptors are in the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history.

 Cleveland was in the conference finals last year, as they would end up losing to the eventual champion Warriors in the Finals. Cleveland and Toronto matched up three times this year. Toronto took the two out of the three meetings in the season series.

The home team won all three games in this series, which should benefit Cleveland, because they have home court advantage. Cleveland has been red hot during these playoffs, especially from beyond the arc. Cleveland shot 51% from the three point line in their last series against Atlanta, and they were the first team in NBA history to make 15 3-pointers in four straight games.

The Cavs roster is centered around the “Big 3” which includes Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, and Kevin Love. Irving is averaging 24.4 points per game during the playoffs, which leads the team. James has averaged 23.5 points per game, and Kevin Love has averaged 18.9 points per game.

Cleveland has gotten increased production from J.R. Smith and Channing Frye, especially from the three point line.

Toronto’s calling card all season has been their star studded backcourt. Shooting guard DeMar DeRozan has averaged 20.0 points per game, which leads the team. Point guard Kyle Lowry has averaged 18.6 points per game, including a 35 point performance against Miami in Game 7. Toronto is depleted in the front court, as they are without starting center Jonas Valanciunas, who is nursing a sprained ankle.

Bismack Biyombo has stepped up in his absence, as he tallied 17 points and 16 rebounds in Game 7 against Miami. Toronto will need to stop Cleveland from shooting the three ball effectively, while Cleveland will need to stop Toronto’s backcourt. Game 1 is in Cleveland on Tuesday at Quicken Loans Arena.  

2016 NBA Western Conference Final Preview: Thunder vs Warriors

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The Golden State Warriors face the Oklahoma State Thunder in the NBA’s Western Conference Finals, a best-of-seven series that will start in Golden State on Monday evening, at 6 p.m. PT.

The Warriors enter the series as the overall #1 seed in the West, finishing the season with a all-time league best 73-9 record, then winning each of their first two postseason series by a 4-1 margin. First over the Houston Rockets, then the Portland Trailblazers.

Oklahoma City has had a similar stretch as the #3 seed in the West. They dispatched of the Dallas Mavericks in the first round, four games to one. Then, as the underdog to San Antonio, defeated the Spurs by a four games to two margin.

Golden State has one major question mark looming over them right now: Stephen Curry’s health. He injured his ankle in Game 1 against Houston, sitting out Games 2 and 3. He returned to the lineup in Game 4, but sprained his MCL right before halftime. That injury held him out of play until Game 4 of the next round. Coming off of the bench didn’t have any effect on him at all, as Curry finished that game with 40 points, including a league-record 17 in overtime alone. He finished the series without any further incidents. He has also received a ton of help along the way, with Klay Thompson averaging 27 points per game, and Draymond Green averaging 17.7 points, 10.4 rebounds, and seven assists per game.

For Oklahoma City, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook have continued their other-worldly production. Durant has averaged over 27 points per game in the playoffs, including 41 points in the Game 2 victory over San Antonio, and 37 points in the clinching Game 6 against the Spurs. Westbrook has averaged 25.5 points, 10.8 assists, and 6.8 rebounds, including a 36-9-12 line in Game 5 against Dallas, and 35-9-11 in Game 4 against the Spurs.

The Western Conference Finals will be determined by Stephen Curry’s health. Without him, Oklahoma City has the advantage. Seeing as how he’s managed to survive the majority of these playoffs, assuming he’ll be able to play all the way through does not seem to be a stretch. A healthy Curry should lead the Warriors to a 4-2 series win and a second-consecutive trip to the NBA Finals.

How Luke Walton Will Help the Lakers

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The Los Angeles Lakers fired head coach Byron Scott in April, and they were looking for a new coach that can guide this young franchise. They fixed that problem, and they hired a young coach in the process. The team hired Luke Walton, who used to be the Golden State Warriors associate head coach. He got a good start in Golden State, being the assistant of a team that broke the record for most wins in a season, and a team on a quest for its second straight NBA Championship.

In fact, Walton even got some head coaching experience in Oakland. With Steve Kerr recovering from offseason back surgery, Walton went 39-4 while being the interim head coach of the Warriors. Walton is a California man. He was born in San Diego, he played for the Lakers during his career, and he was an assistant with the Warriors. Walton will  inherit a roster that has young talent, and he will for sure take a page out of the book from Gregg Popovich.

Since Kerr played under the legendary coach, Walton used some of Pop’s strategies during the time he was head coach. Walton will implement a new system, and he will help with the struggling defense. Walton also is an attractive young coach, meaning players will want to sign with LA in free agency. It is clear, Walton will do a very good job with the Lakers.

He has coaching and playing experience, and he will help a defense that struggled last year. He is the youngest head coach in the NBA, so he can relate to a younger roster. Walton will improve a Lakers team that was the second to worst team in the league last year. 

Watch Out for the Minnesota Timberwolves

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Nowadays, we are talking about the Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, and the Cleveland Cavaliers when we think of the NBA. But there is one team that is going to be the team of the future. The Minnesota Timberwolves have a very bright future, and three or four years, they could be a top team in the league.

Right away, they possess an intriguing roster with a lot of young talent. But they need help on defense, and they need a veteran to guide the team. They checked both of those boxes, when they hired defensive wizard Tom Thibodeau to be their next head coach. He is a veteran coach who won’t mess around. He will immediately help a young Wolves team in need of guidance.

Right now, this roster possess two number one picks in Karl Anthony-Towns, and Andrew Wiggins. They also have other very solid young talent in Shabazz Muhammad and Zach LaVine. Throw this core together with a solid point guard in Ricky Rubio, and many other solid rotation players, and got the T-Wolves have a very good roster. To make things better for Minnesota, they will likely have a top five pick in this year’s draft, allowing them to add more young talent to their roster.

The team struggled this year, partly because they lost their head coach Flip Saunders, who passed away in September. Now they have a veteran coach, and the team is an attractive free agent destination. Maybe they can score some solid free agents, to improve their roster even more.

The bottom line is, this Timberwolves team is very dangerous. Their core is young and very talented, and they finally have a veteran head coach to help steer the boat. Minnesota will be a force in the league, it will take time, but they have the framework in place to become a very scary team.

NBA Eastern Conference Semifinal Preview: Raptors vs Heat

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The second-seeded Toronto Raptors will face the third-seeded Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Semifinals in a best of seven series starting on Tuesday, May 3 in Toronto. Toronto has the home court advantage as the higher seed.

To reach the Conference Semifinals, the Raptors bested the Indiana Pacers in the first round, winning the series by a margin of 4-3. Toronto clinched the series with an 89-84 victory in Game 7 on Sunday, winning their first playoff series since 2001. DeMar DeRozan has led the way for the Raptors so far, averaging 18 points per game despite shooting just 32% from the field. Kyle Lowry has added 14 points and 7.6 assists, while also shooting 32%. Jonas Valanciunas has put up 13.6 points, 12 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game to provide a solid low-post presence.

Miami had just as much trouble dispatching the Charlotte Hornets, also winning their series in seven games. The clincher was Sunday’s 33-point blowout, propelling Miami to the second round for the first time without LeBron James since 2006. Dwyane Wade and Luol Deng have led the Heat attack, averaging 19 points per game each. Hassan Whiteside continues his remarkable production, contributing 13.1 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 3.4 blocks per game.

During the season, Toronto won 3 of the 4 matchups with Miami. Two of Toronto’s victories were by margins of 14 and 20, with the third going to overtime. Miami won their first meeting of the season by 19.

The schedule for the entire series is as follows:

Game 1: Wednesday, May 3, @ Toronto, 8 p.m. ET on TNT

Game 2: Friday, May 5, @ Toronto, 8 p.m. ET on ESPN

Game 3: Sunday, May 7, @ Miami, 5 p.m. ET on ESPN

Game 4: Tuesday, May 9, @ Miami, 8 p.m. ET on TNT

Game 5 (if necessary): Thursday, May 11, @ Toronto, Time TBD, on TNT

Game 6 (if necessary): Saturday, May 13, @ Miami, Time TBD, on ESPN

Game 7 (if necessary): Monday, May 15, @ Toronto, Time and Channel TBD

NBA Eastern Conference Semifinal Preview: Cavaliers vs Hawks

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In a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference Finals, the Cavaliers and Hawks face-off after very different regular seasons than a year ago.

While the Hawks came in as the one-seed last season, it’s the Cavs who hold the top spot in the east this time around. Hawks SG Kyle Korver is not lighting up the three-point arc like he was last season, and the loss of DeMarre Carroll as a premier defender led to the Hawks as the four-seed this season.

The Cavaliers come into the series with an 18-6 playoff record since LeBron James returned, including a 4-0 record in this year’s playoffs. Additionally, the Cavs swept Atlanta last postseason, giving them another mental edge heading into the series.

The Hawks on the other hand are coming off of a gritty six-game series with the Celtics. While they won through a tough defense that held Boston to 87 points per game in wins, it will be a much tougher assignment against the star heavy Cavaliers.

If Atlanta is going to win this series, they have to be great on the defensive side of the ball. If this series turns into a shootout, Atlanta will not win a game. The Cavs will look to run the floor as often as possible, trying to have a huge number of possessions. Atlanta needs to minimize these chances, even if it means not crashing the offensive boards.

PREDICTION: Cavaliers win series 4-1