NBA Playoffs 2015

[Troublemaker]

Let's get this thread rolling.

1st-round matchups are below. Duke players are shaded blue. UNC players are shaded red for those interested in that. (Didn't want to shade them the vomit-inducing blue.)

Minutes per game for each player are also shown. Let me know if any mistakes or omissions.


EAST


1 Atlanta Hawks - Elton Brand (< 10 mpg), GM Danny Ferry
vs
8 Brooklyn Nets - Mason Plumlee (21.3 mpg), GM Billy King


4 Toronto Raptors - Tyler Hansbrough (~15 mpg)
vs
5 Washington Wizards


3 Chicago Bulls - Mike Dunleavy (29.2 mpg)
vs
6 Milwaukee Bucks - John Henson (18.4 mpg), Miles Plumlee (< 5 mpg), Jabari Parker (OUT)


2 Cleveland Cavaliers - Kyrie Irving (36.6 mpg), Brendan Haywood (0 mpg)
vs
7 Boston Celtics - Tyler Zeller (21.2 mpg)


WEST


1 Golden St Warriors - Harrison Barnes (28.4 mpg), James Michael McAdoo (0 mpg)
vs
8 New Orleans Pelicans


4 Portland Trailblazers
vs
5 Memphis Grizzlies - Vince Carter (16.5 mpg)


3 Los Angeles Clippers - JJ Redick (30.9 mpg), Austin Rivers (19.3 mpg), Dahntay Jones (0 mpg)
vs
6 San Antonio Spurs - Danny Green (28.7 mpg)


2 Houston Rockets
vs
7 Dallas Mavericks - Raymond Felton (< 10 mpg)

[Troublemaker]

I'm going to start the playoffs rooting for a Cavs - Clippers Finals, but that is VERY unlikely to happen considering the Clippers' most likely path is Spurs --> Rockets --> Warriors

[pfrduke]

I'm going to start the playoffs rooting for a Cavs - Clippers Finals, but that is VERY unlikely to happen considering the Clippers' most likely path is Spurs --> Rockets --> Warriors

The Clippers got shafted by the silly "division champ must be a 4 seed" rule. Memphis, which finished at the 5 seed, gets a much easier matchup than the Clippers at the 3 seed. LA (56-26) has to play the Spurs (55-27, and also, the Spurs), while Memphis (55-27) gets Portland (51-31) and gets home court. It should be Clips-Blazers and Griz-Spurs.

[Duvall]

The Clippers got shafted by the silly "division champ must be a 4 seed" rule. Memphis, which finished at the 5 seed, gets a much easier matchup than the Clippers at the 3 seed. LA (56-26) has to play the Spurs (55-27, and also, the Spurs), while Memphis (55-27) gets Portland (51-31) and gets home court. It should be Clips-Blazers and Griz-Spurs.

Wait, the 5 seed gets homecourt against the 4 seed?

[Richard Berg]

I'm amazed that Vince Carter can still play 16.5mpg productively.

[pfrduke]

Wait, the 5 seed gets homecourt against the 4 seed?

Correct. When the 4 seed gets the 4 seed by virtue of being a division winner, but has a worse record than the 5 seed, the 4 seed does not get home court advantage.

[grossbus]

Geez, I didn't know Brenda was still n the league!

[Troublemaker]

The Clippers got shafted by the silly "division champ must be a 4 seed" rule. Memphis, which finished at the 5 seed, gets a much easier matchup than the Clippers at the 3 seed. LA (56-26) has to play the Spurs (55-27, and also, the Spurs), while Memphis (55-27) gets Portland (51-31) and gets home court. It should be Clips-Blazers and Griz-Spurs.

Oh, agreed. I would even argue that that the Clips should've been the 2 seed over the Rockets since the two teams had the same record, but L.A. had the better conference record. Instead, the Rockets got the 2 seed by being a division winner. I mean, who cares about divisions in the NBA? Most sports sites like ESPN default to listing NBA conference standings to see who currently occupies 1 thru 8 instead of listing division standings. I follow the league pretty well, and I just tried to name the 6 divisions and was only able to get 5 right after checking. It's ridiculous that it plays such a huge role in seeding.

[Tom B.]

I'm amazed that Vince Carter can still play 16.5mpg productively.

Vince Carter is the answer to a great trivia question:

Among UNC alums who've played in the NBA, who has the second highest career NBA scoring total?

[pfrduke]

Oh, agreed. I would even argue that that the Clips should've been the 2 seed over the Rockets since the two teams had the same record, but L.A. had the better conference record. Instead, the Rockets got the 2 seed by being a division winner. I mean, who cares about divisions in the NBA? Most sports sites like ESPN default to listing NBA conference standings to see who currently occupies 1 thru 8 instead of listing division standings. I follow the league pretty well, and I just tried to name the 6 divisions and was only able to get 5 right after checking. It's ridiculous that it plays such a huge role in seeding.

Ouch - I had thought the Clippers lost a legitimate tiebreaker to the Rockets, not one based on winning a division. So really the Clippers should have been hosting the Mavericks, or at worst hosting the Blazers, but instead because of the division winner rules they get stuck hosting the Spurs.

[superdave]

The Spurs are something like 15-2 in the last 30 days. The Cavs have a somewhat similar record since mid-March. They seem to be on a collision course.

I am very interested to see if Golden State can do in the playoffs what they have done in the regular season. Will they get pushed around like the 2005-2007 Suns or will they be able to sprint past bigger slower teams?

[tbyers11]

The Spurs are something like 15-2 in the last 30 days. The Cavs have a somewhat similar record since mid-March. They seem to be on a collision course.

I am very interested to see if Golden State can do in the playoffs what they have done in the regular season. Will they get pushed around like the 2005-2007 Suns or will they be able to sprint past bigger slower teams?

Based on records over recent games, Clippers are 15-1 and Warriors 16-2 as well. Lots of "hot" teams going into the playoffs.

Warriors are a high-flying offensive team, just behind the Clippers #2 in Offensive Efficiency. However, they are also the best Defensive Efficiency team in the league, too. Bogut, Green, and Iguodala are strong defensive players.

I don't see them getting pushed around like those Suns teams whose defense was league average or slightly worse. Efficiency stats from Holiinger's stats at ESPN here.

[ikiru36]

The Spurs are something like 15-2 in the last 30 days. The Cavs have a somewhat similar record since mid-March. They seem to be on a collision course.

I am very interested to see if Golden State can do in the playoffs what they have done in the regular season. Will they get pushed around like the 2005-2007 Suns or will they be able to sprint past bigger slower teams?

While it does remain to be seen whether the Warriors can carry this over to the Playoffs, they are very different than those Phoenix teams which dominated the league offensively, efficiency-wise but were middle of the road in defensive efficiency (using Hollinger #s, anyways). One of the amazing things about this Warriors team is that it essentially tied for #1 in offensive efficiency with more than a 1 point spread from the rest of the league AND sits alone as the #1 team in defensive efficiency with more than a point spread from the rest of the league. Best of all, they do this while also leading the league in pace, making for some very fun basketball to watch!

All that said, they have relatively little playoff experience on the squad as a whole, and a (seemingly excellent but) rookie coach so they still have a lot to prove. I, for one, am excited to see what they can accomplish and (ex-cheaters aside) am pulling for them to go on a deep run.

Go Dubs!!!!! Go Blue Devils!!!!!!!!! GTHCGTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(P.S. - tbyers11, great minds and all that :0)

[A-Tex Devil]

Ouch - I had thought the Clippers lost a legitimate tiebreaker to the Rockets, not one based on winning a division. So really the Clippers should have been hosting the Mavericks, or at worst hosting the Blazers, but instead because of the division winner rules they get stuck hosting the Spurs.

Other than maybe Memphis, though, the Clips are about the worst possible team for the Spurs, too. They don't match up that well with them. I was surprised the Spurs let that NoLa game go considering all of that. That said, they are the Spurs.

[elvis14]

The thing that bums me out is that I really like both the Clippers (JJ, Austin, DJ) and the Spurs (Duncan, Parker). I hate that one of these teams has to go home after the first round. There are other teams I'd much rather see go home early. For me Golden State is kinda like the Spurs, a good team with players that I really like (Curry, Thompson) that I really like to watch. Even though both contain players I really don't like (GS: Harry Skype, SA: Dancin' Danny).

I am really looking forward to this years playoffs. So many good teams in the Western Conference and in the East we get to see Kyrie make a real run at it and we get to see if the Hawks are for real and if the Bulls and get it together.

[CDu]

The thing that bums me out is that I really like both the Clippers (JJ, Austin, DJ) and the Spurs (Duncan, Parker). I hate that one of these teams has to go home after the first round. There are other teams I'd much rather see go home early. For me Golden State is kinda like the Spurs, a good team with players that I really like (Curry, Thompson) that I really like to watch. Even though both contain players I really don't like (GS: Harry Skype, SA: Dancin' Danny).

I am really looking forward to this years playoffs. So many good teams in the Western Conference and in the East we get to see Kyrie make a real run at it and we get to see if the Hawks are for real and if the Bulls and get it together.

This has the potential to be a fantastic Playoffs. So many good teams out West, and 2 maybe 3 good teams in the East. I say "maybe" because the second half of the season wasn't kind to the Bulls in terms of health, as Butler [dislocated an elbow - ouch!], Rose [had his repaired meniscus removed], and Gibson were out all at the same time for a long stretch; Noah was in and out of the lineup during that time too). But they are supposedly healthy now (Rose certainly looked like it two games ago before sitting out the second half against Atlanta), and will have a warmup series against the Bucks before facing (presumably) the Cavs.

I still think it'll be Bulls or Cavs in the East, as I'm still hesitant to buy into Atlanta deep in the playoffs. Out West though, I won't even venture a guess. Golden State looks great. San Antonio is always a threat. Houston has defense and one of the best players in the league. The Clippers can give teams fits with their size/athleticism inside and Paul's brilliance.

Regardless, should be fun!

[elvis14]

This has the potential to be a fantastic Playoffs. So many good teams out West, and 2 maybe 3 good teams in the East. I say "maybe" because the second half of the season wasn't kind to the Bulls in terms of health, as Butler [dislocated an elbow - ouch!], Rose [had his repaired meniscus removed], and Gibson were out all at the same time for a long stretch; Noah was in and out of the lineup during that time too). But they are supposedly healthy now (Rose certainly looked like it two games ago before sitting out the second half against Atlanta), and will have a warmup series against the Bucks before facing (presumably) the Cavs.

I still think it'll be Bulls or Cavs in the East, as I'm still hesitant to buy into Atlanta deep in the playoffs. Out West though, I won't even venture a guess. Golden State looks great. San Antonio is always a threat. Houston has defense and one of the best players in the league. The Clippers can give teams fits with their size/athleticism inside and Paul's brilliance.

Regardless, should be fun!

Yeah, when I say it'll be interesting to see if the Bulls can get it together it's all about seeing if they can raise their game to a high level now that they are healthy again. I'd really like to see D.Rose be healthy for a while and get back to being an MVP caliber player. Don't know if it'll ever happen but it would be fun to watch.

[gurufrisbee]

In some sports winning your division deserves a decent advantage earned for the playoffs. Baseball - absolutely. Football - pretty much. Basketball? Not really.

It is slightly better than it used to be when the division winner got at least the 3 seed AND home court advantage.

Between a number of factors in the first round I am rooting for:

Atlanta
Washington
Chicago
Cleveland
Golden State
Portland
Clippers
Dallas

[CDu]

Yeah, when I say it'll be interesting to see if the Bulls can get it together it's all about seeing if they can raise their game to a high level now that they are healthy again. I'd really like to see D.Rose be healthy for a while and get back to being an MVP caliber player. Don't know if it'll ever happen but it would be fun to watch.

Yeah, Rose has had several games where he looked like his old self. Unfortunately, between the ankle injuries early in the season and the reaggravation of the meniscus (which led to the removal of the meniscus) he hasn't maintained it. Well, that and he has played pretty lazily for most of the season, likely trying to stay healthy. His game the other night against Brooklyn was pretty spectacular, but then he shut it down again last night against Atlanta. So we just don't know.

Hopefully he is able to give it a real go in the playoffs. These will be his first playoffs in basically 4 years. And the Bulls are good enough everywhere else that, if he's even close to his old self, they have a real shot. But if he's just a shell of himself, they won't get past the Cavs.

[theAlaskanBear]

Yeah, Rose has had several games where he looked like his old self. Unfortunately, between the ankle injuries early in the season and the reaggravation of the meniscus (which led to the removal of the meniscus) he hasn't maintained it. Well, that and he has played pretty lazily for most of the season, likely trying to stay healthy. His game the other night against Brooklyn was pretty spectacular, but then he shut it down again last night against Atlanta. So we just don't know.

Hopefully he is able to give it a real go in the playoffs. These will be his first playoffs in basically 4 years. And the Bulls are good enough everywhere else that, if he's even close to his old self, they have a real shot. But if he's just a shell of himself, they won't get past the Cavs.

Bulls should beat Milwaukee, but this could be a tough series. If the Bucks can push the pace a little higher they definitely have the length and the defensive to go toe-to-toe, and the young bodies to run the break. Chicago will get it done with homecourt. I think the Bulls definitely have their work cut out if they make it to CLE but honestly I think Cleveland's defense is a bigger issue than most realize. Kevin Love is definitely dealing with back problems, but maybe the regular rest days will help him. Cavs are only 18th in league D and they have insane stretches like against WAS the other night where a 2nd string team torched them offensively for the first couple of quarters. Turnovers are also a problem. I would be very surprised if the Cavs cakewalk through the East. It is going to be a battle.