FOUR PREDICTIONS FOR THE NBA PLAYOFFS

NBA / Basketball

Written by Eddie Huband

Dallas will sweep Utah in round one.

The age of Luka has officially arrived.

Source (Background Photos): Getty Images

The 4th year Slovenian has been on an absolute tear lately, overcoming a slow start to the year for averages of 28.3 ppg, 9.1 rpg, and 8.8 apg.

Now that his supporting cast has solidified, there’s no reason to think he’ll finally break out of the first round at least.

The Mavs enjoyed a bit of addition by subtraction by swapping Kristaps Porzingis for the erratic Spencer Dinwiddie. The trade has worked wonders. Dwight Powell, Porzingis’ replacement upfront, is less talented but better on defence and more reliable to stay on the court.

I’ve never been a Dinwiddie truther per se, but he’s fit in perfectly as the third playmaker they desperately needed alongside Luka and Jalen Brunson.

Head coach Jason Kidd has this team playing defence at a high level as well; the Mavs are 7th in the league in defensive rating.

Their likely first-round matchup, Utah, is in for a long series.

The Jazz isn’t void of talent by any means, but this is a bad matchup for them, as they have no one on the perimeter with the size or length to stick with Luka. The Mavs will also attempt to go small in the frontcourt and play Rudy Gobert, Utah’s best defensive weapon, off the floor completely.

Donovan Mitchell is a prideful player that will do his best to not get swept, but as I said, this is a terrible matchup for the Jazz.

If they get bounced in a convincing fashion, it could mark the end of the Mitchell era in Salt Lake City, as rumblings about the all-star guard seeking a trade have been circulating.

James Harden will be disappointing

Not exactly a hot take considering his playoff resume. The way he’s played since joining the Sixers has been fine, not great.

Harden just looks a step slow when you watch him compared to the glory years in Houston. His first step just isn’t getting the separation that he used to. He’s averaging 22.2 points per game this year, which is low by his standards.

The assist numbers are still amazing, but if Embiid gets triple-teamed, which he will, then Harden will need to hit shots, and that’s something he’s never done consistently in big moments.

He also, since coming to Philly, has sucked against Brooklyn and ducked Miami twice. This is also a bet on Philly drawing Toronto in the first round, which is becoming more and more likely. If you watched the two teams play on Thursday, you’d probably have noticed that it’s a horrible matchup for Harden.

The Raptors have a ton of big, physical wings to throw at him and wear him down, and the always-scheming Nick Nurse will certainly hunt him and force him to defend in pick and roll situations every time down the court.

What makes this even more interesting, is that say he does stink this postseason and the Sixers bow out in the first round. They’ve already agreed to give him a max extension at the end of the year, but would you feel good about paying a 32-year old James Harden for a long-term contract?

A bad showing these playoffs certainly wouldn’t help.

Brooklyn will lose in the first round

It’s looking like the Nets will face either Boston or Milwaukee, as one of those two will likely be the #2 seed, and they’ll probably take care of Cleveland in the first play-in game to get the #7 seed.

As frightening as it is to go up against Kevin Durant and to a slightly lesser extent Kyrie Irving, I think both potential #2 seeds would beat the Nets.

Even without defensive anchor Robert “Time Lord” Williams who’s out with a torn meniscus, the C’s are outstanding defensively. They’ve been the hottest team in the league since basically the new year, and Jason Tatum has taken the new step as a true offensive superstar.

He’s making plays for others, he’s upped his shooting efficiency and he’s engaged on defence.

The Nets have a talent advantage up top in this matchup, but give me the best defensive team in the NBA that also has home court.

The Bucks present a different set of challenges, mainly that they’re not afraid of Brooklyn one bit. Milwaukee has a championship pedigree to lean on now, and they also have possibly the one player on earth capable of going toe-to-toe with a guy like Durant in Giannis.

If you could build a payer in a lab to at least try to slow down Kyrie Irving defensively, it’s Jrue Holliday. Plus, I don’t really trust the Nets’ supporting cast, especially if Seth Curry is at 75 percent healthy.

Both these series would be close, but I have the Nets losing in seven in either scenario.

We’ll have a finals rematch

I think Milwaukee is the most complete team in the east, though it's so close between them, Boston and Miami, and honestly, I could see either three of those teams making a finals run.

The big three of Giannis, Khris Middleton, and Holliday have the ability to get good shots down the stretch of playoff games, and they have the know-how on how to get through an NBA postseason.

If I had to choose, they’re my pick to win the east.

On the other side, I see little way of resistance for the Phoenix Suns, who are absolute cyborgs. The Suns have had one of the 15 greatest regular seasons of all time, and they aren’t going to lose to anyone in the west.

In fact, I’ll go even further and say this finals series won’t much of a series. I think Phoenix wins the title in five, bearing injuries.

Phoenix seems like a team on a mission this year, it reminds me of when the Spurs blew it in the 2013 finals against Miami, and came back the next year and kicked Lebron’s rear ends\.

If the Suns get there again, they’re not letting it slip away this time.