Round II

No NBA playoff games today for the first time in a while. But alas, I learned long ago that questioning the National Basketball Association's scheduling decisions can only result in a headache. With the second round of games right around the corner, here are my round II picks.

#1 Chicago Bulls vs. #5 Atlanta Hawks
-The Bulls seemed to struggle in almost every single first round game, but luckily for Chicago, Derrick Rose helped the East 1 seed avoid "Spurring" in the conference quarterfinals. The Hawks made doubters (myself included) look foolish behind strong play by Jamal Crawford, of all people.

- Atlanta Hawks in 6. Maybe it's because I feel stupid about picking the Magic in round one, or maybe it's because Joakim Noah is the most annoying man on Earth. Either way, I like the Hawks to win this series because the Bulls looked so bad against Indiana.


#2 Miami Heat vs. #3 Boston Celtics
- Both Miami and Boston made relatively quick work of their first round opponents. Boston surprised a lot of critics by completing the sweep against the Knicks, while Miami surprised no one by playing adequately and with an arrogent demeanor.


- Boston Celtics in 5. The Heat were 1-3 against the Celtics this season and are too annoying to go any further in the playoffs. Erik Spoelstra will once again be exposed as an unremarkable coach.


#8 Memphis Grizzlies vs. #4 Oklahoma City Thunder
-Yesterday, Memphis completed the first round stunner by becoming only the second #8 seed to win a first round series since the playoffs took their current format. Kevin Durant and company downed Denver quickly, in just 5 games.

- Memphis Grizzlies in 7. What the hell.

#2 L.A. Lakers vs. #3 Dallas Mavericks
-Neither first round series tells us that much. Dallas and L.A. each dropped 2 games against good but not great teams, but had a fairly strong grasp on each of the other games.


- L.A. Lakers  in 5. Because the NBA wants one more year of Celtics-Lakers.