Cleveland Cavaliers – Chicago Bulls

The King vs. The Rose. Derrick Rose could have his way with the plethora of guards Cleveland will throw his way. Mo Williams, Daniel Gibson, Anthony Parker and Delonte West are all sure to be pricked by Roses combination of size and agility during the first round matchup. Unfortunately he can’t guard the King.

The teams split the season series 2-2. Both Chicago wins came with two points, the first in November and the second while LeBron sat out on April 8. Chicago must hope LeBron returns cold from his brief sabbatical as they won’t stand a chance as the Cavs will exploit a defense that has fallen off the past several years.

Look for a big series from the King (of course) and Williams. The Bull’s pushed the Celtics to seven games last year in the first round, but don’t look for a repeat of the drama. Rose might be able to eek one win, but Cavs runaway in 5 games.

Orlando Magic – Charlotte Bobcats

Congratulations to Charlotte for making its first playoff series since the Hornets bolted for the Big Easy. But it won’t last long.

The Bobcats may have mastermind Larry Brown pulling the strings, but this isn’t his Piston teams, and the Magic have too many weapons. Charlotte some the length to throw at Howard in Theo Ratliff and Tyson Chandler, and they could even dust off Nazr Mohammed if fouls become an issue.

But Howard’s strength is a huge advantage inside against anyone and he went for 27 points on 12-of-14 shooting on March 14, the teams’ only meeting after Charlotte dealt for Ratliff at the trade deadline.

The key could be the perimeter defense on both sides.  Charlotte must keep a hand in the face of Orlando’s dead-eye 3-point shooters.

On the flip side Orlando must contain the Bobcats’ aestheticism from the wing with Stephen Jackson, Gerald Wallace and Boris Diaw. Brown knows how to prepare a team for postseason play, but when you are over-matched there ain’t much a 102-lb gray-haired coach can do. The games will be close, but Orlando just has too much firepower from outside. Orlando in 5 games.

Atlanta Hawks – Milwaukee Bucks

Joe, Joe, it’s the Joe Johnson show. In three meetings against the Bucks since February 28, Johnson has railed off 24, 27 and 31 points respectively. John Salmons is no match defensively against Johnson but can score on the opposite end to make Johnson. And score they will, neither team scored less than 95 points in the three meetings so look for a helter skelter series.

Rookie Brandon Jennings has been a rolling tumbleweed of inconsistency all season and games of 2 and 3 points against the Hawks this season and his lack of defense could be exposed in this series.

If the Bucks want any chance to keep this series close Andrew Bogut will have to play out of his mind. The Hawks aren’t the biggest or deepest team inside and Bogut could exploit it….Oh wait, Bogut just got hurt and is out for the season because God seems to hate all of Milwaukee. Without Bogut the Bucks have to go with Kurt Thomas in the middle and Atlanta’s aestheticism and depth off the bench will overwhelm Milwaukee. Hawks in 4 games.

Boston Celtics – Miami Heat

Memo to Boston: if you have a switch, now would be the time to flip it. The Celtics have been limping through the season like they spent some time in a bathroom with Ben Roethlisberger—too soon?

They are about as old as the cast of Three’s Company and have the chemistry of a pubescent boy band. Boston has won all three machups this season with Miami, but Dwyane Wade has scorched their defense going off for 27, 44 and 30. They have also given up more than 100 points to the Heat is their last two meetings. Not what you’d expect from a Celtic defense.

The Heat aren’t as deep as they were during their championship run, but if the Celtics have to keep all their attention on Wade–who on that Boston team is going to take him? who? The elderly Ray Allen or Paul Pierce? Rajon Rondo? Nate Robinson?–he can find teammates who can make open shots. Look for Boston to play the “let Wade get his and shut everyone else down” approach.
For Miami to have a chance Michael Beasley will have to be a dominating force inside, something he hasn’t shown the ability to want to be consistently.  The Wade scoring machine will keep the series close but the rest of the pieces will fall apart in the long run. Boston limps like a tottering old man to the second round in 6 games.

Related posts:

1. ⊚  NBA Eastern Conference First Round Preview
2. ⊚  NBA Western Conference First Round Preview
3. ⊚  The Top-5 Eastern Conference All-Stars (of my era)
4. ⊚  NBA Playoff series in two sentences
5. ⊚  The Odds in Round 2 of the NBA Playoffs