I think we all know the matchups by now, so lets start with the No. 1 seed: the Chicago Bulls going up against the Indiana Pacers. Though the Pacers are a young talented ball club that will probably see the playoffs for many years to come, this year is not the year they shock people. The Bulls are too strong, especially for the Pacers. Darren Collison (or any other guard on the Pacers) will get absolutely punished by Derrick Rose, he might even put up Oscar Robertson numbers in the first round.
Keeping that in mind, and the fact that Psycho T (Tyler Hansborough) will be the main defender against Carlos Boozer, I think it is fair to say that the Pacers might squeak out one at home, or just get swept.
As for the first look at the controversial Miami Heatles in the playoffs, they have to take on a bit more of a challenge against the Philadelphia 76ers. Doug Collins has really got this team playing hard and they have surprised some people with their record and the reemergence (sort-of) of Elton Brand. But, this is a team that struggled down the stretch and could not even pull together a winning season after losing 5 of their last 6, causing a .500 season.
The 76ers are not a high caliber team that can rest starters and just coast before the playoffs, they legitimately struggled down the stretch. The Miami Heat also swept the season series, and they will be looking to make a statement in the first round. Unfortunately the 76ers will suffer, and the Heat will almost definitely sweep.
The 3 vs. 6 seeds is where the matchups get a bit more interesting. But not as interesting as many pundits are saying. It is the extremely popular opinion to pick the Knickerbockers over the senior-citizens in Boston. Boston has looked tired and beat-down after the Kendrick Perkins trade and everyone is counting them out this season. Where have I seen this before? Oh yeah, LAST YEAR when the Celtics ran train on the entire Eastern Conference before pushing the Lakers to 7 games.
I do think that it will be a more competitive series, but I think the Celtics will handle the Knicks pretty easily. The Knicks haven't come together well and they are worse off after the 'Melo trade. They look like they basically just waiting on Chris Paul in 2012 so they can finally compete. With this roster they will never succeed, and I think that the Knicks might win one or two at home but that is being generous. If it would have been their former roster, I may have said otherwise. Lets face it, if Garnett snarls at Amare once, Amare will probably poop his pants.
The last first round matchup is the Magic vs. the Hawks. No one is really talking about the Hawks winning this series except maybe in Atlanta barbershops (and even then, they are not sure). On paper, I think the Hawks have one of the better starting lineups in the East. In fact, that group can definitely compete against the Magic.
They have Al Horford and Josh Smith as one of the best defensive tandems in the NBA, and they should be able to handle Superman (Dwight Howard) better than a lot of teams can. The Hawks also have some scoring power with Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford, while Kirk Hinrich is a good defender. Their only problem is the complete lack of depth. If Horford gets in foul trouble for example, a guy with the first name Zaza is the next best thing. And he is behind Jason Collins, who is an absolute bum. They have no second stringers at all, which is what they should have went after in the off-season instead of giving Joe Johnson huge contracts.
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