When it comes to basketball playoff prognostication, there’s a thin line between making picks with the heart and with the brain. You don’t have to be NSA certified to know that the Dallas Mavericks are my favorite team. Back in December, after they acquired Rajon Rondo from the Boston Celtics, I boldly predicted the Mavs would win the 2015 NBA championship. It wasn’t just a knee-jerk reaction or fanboy pick. Coach Rick Carlisle has a talented and deep team at his disposal. Point guard was the only weak link in the starting lineup and Rondo seemingly fit the bill. On paper, the pick was justified. However, basketball is played on hardwood instead college-rule loose leaf. In real life, Rondo has fit in about as well as Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley in a Smart Car. The move has been an absolute disaster. So while I’m team #TeamMavs in heart, let’s just say my real life expectations have been lowered. Without Rondo, the Mavs could still have enough to beat the Rockets, but beyond that, my brain can’t call it.
If not the Mavs, then who?
When it comes to the eye test, nobody grades out higher than the Golden State Warriors. The one-two punch of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson is the most vicious we’ve seen in the backcourt since Chris Childs two-pieced Kobe Bryant back in the day. Whenever one of the dynamic deep threats is off, the other is w-e-t. Neither is often off for more than a quarter or two anyway. In the rare chance it happened, both Harrison Barnes and Leandro Barbosa are excellent knockdown shooters. Andre Iguoldala and Draymond Green can get hot at any time. All of the aforementioned Warriors can get to the rack also. To make matters worse Andrew Bogut and David Lee (when healthy) are beasts on the boards. The Warriors have been the best team in basketball for nearly the entire season and even in a brutal Western Conference, the team appears to be the cream of the crop.
The Bulls could be a problem
At the start of the season most people expected the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers to duke it out for Easter Conference supremacy. However the Atlanta Hawks came out of nowhere and ran laps around the rest of the East for most of the season. Meanwhile the Bulls learned the hard way that Derrick Rose’s injury reserve-itis was contagious as he and other players regularly went in and out of the lineup due to injuries the entire season. Rose is back (for now) and playing at a high level, as are most of his previously afflicted teammates. Nicola Mirotic may miss a few games after a Game 2 skirmish, but the Bulls shouldn’t have any problem finishing off the Milwaukee Bucks without him. Jimmy Butler continues to play like a stud. Pau Gasol and Joakhim Noah are holding it down in the paint. Even oft-injured small-forward Mike Dunleavy Jr. has been in the lineup consistently and contributing. If the Bulls’ good fortune can continue (which is a big if), they still represent a bigger challenge to the Cavs than the Hawks. Call me stubborn, but while the Warriors eventually won me over, I’m still not sold on the Hawks’ meteoric rise.
Anthony Davis is ready
In his first two postseason games the New Orleans Pelicans’ Anthony Davis is averaging 30.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3 blocks and 1.5 steals per game. While the Warriors will certainly prove too much for Davis and the Pelicans in this series, we might be witnessing a matchup between this year’s MVP (Curry) and next year’s (Davis). The 22-year-old 6’10” power forward can do it all on the basketball court. He can shoot, dribble, post up, play shut down defense, rebound, block shots, pass the ball, etc. Though Curry deserves the MVP (sorry James Harden) this season and James is still the best player in the game, the heir to the iron throne is Davis. It’s not unreasonable to believe that Davis could bypass James as the top dog sometime next season. He’s only in his second season but is putting up big boy numbers and willed his team into the postseason. Even in the ridiculous Western Conference, the Pelicans could be one player away from being a legitimate contender. As his confidence continues to grow, Davis will routinely have his way with whatever poor sucker has the unfortunate assignment to guard him. If Davis continues to show that his heart is as big as his game, the rest of the league is in serious trouble.
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