Sixers, Rockets in the NBA Finals?: NBA postseason update, predictions

The 2018 NBA Playoffs are now upon us. This year is actually one of the tightest playoff races we’ve had in years.
The Eastern Conference first round playoff matchups consisted of: (1) Toronto Raptors vs. (8) Washington Wizards, (2) Boston Celtics vs. (7) Milwaukee Bucks, (3) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (6) Miami Heat, and (4) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (5) Indiana Pacers.
The Western Conference first round matchups consisted of: (1) Houston Rockets vs. (8) Minnesota Timberwolves, (2) Golden State Warriors vs. (7) San Antonio Spurs, (3) Portland Trail Blazers vs. (6) New Orleans Pelicans, and (4) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (5) Utah Jazz.
In the Eastern Conference, in recent years, all-pro forward LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers have cruised their way to the NBA Finals without any competition. This year looks like it will not be the case as they enter the playoffs as the fourth seed.
In my opinion, the team that makes it out of the East is the Philadelphia 76ers. Yes, Cleveland fans, the 76ers.
The 76ers will make it to the promised land because of the way their offense is being ran by rookie point-forward Ben Simmons. Ben Simmons averaged 15.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 8.2 assists over the course of the regular season.
I don’t think that Cleveland will make it to the Finals this year because the chemistry is not together. Whenever a guy leaves their man open, it’s automatically Kevin Love’s fault. Plus, with all of the additions and subtractions that they have made this year, LeBron can’t seem to make this team function together.
As of April 23, they are tied to the Indiana Pacers in the series 2-2. Not to disrespect the Pacers, but if they can’t get their act together while playing the Pacers, they will not make it past the first round of the playoffs.
I predict the next round matchups to be the (1) Raptors vs. (4) Cavs and the (2) Celtics vs. (3) 76ers. Cavs will lose to the Raptors in 6 games because they will not stop Kyle Lowry and Demar Derozan. The 76ers will beat the Celtics in 6 games because although the Celtics have a great defensive-minded coach in Brad Stevens, Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid will be too much for the Celtics.
In the Eastern Conference Finals, the 76ers will beat the Raptors in 7 games. The Raptors cannot matchup against Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. The 76ers have made all of the right moves in the offseason to get to this point.
In the West, I have the Rockets as the Western Conference Champions. The way that James Harden and Chris Paul has led this team this year has been absolutely phenomenal. These star guards led the Houston Rockets to a franchise-record 65 wins.
I summarized their route to the NBA Finals as follows: The Rockets will sweep the Timberwolves, the Warriors will sweep the Spurs, the Pelicans will sweep the Blazers, and the Thunder will beat the Jazz in 6 games. I feel as if the Thunder has too many experienced players to lose in the first round to the very young Utah Jazz, led by rookie Donovan Mitchell. (Of course, things didn’t quite work out that way. I did get the Pelicans sweep right, though.)
The next round matchups would be (1) Rockets vs. (4) Thunder and the (6) Pelicans vs. (2) Warriors. If Stephen Curry is healthy for the Warriors, the Warriors will beat the Pelicans in 6 games. If Curry comes back healthy, I feel like Jrue Holiday’s defense just won’t be enough to stop Steph Curry’s shooting and ball handling. Plus, the Pelicans don’t have a legitimate small forward to matchup against Kevin Durant. Unfortunately, this series will be over in 6 games.
The Rockets will beat the Thunder in 5 games. The Rockets are just too good for the Thunder. Matchups aren’t an issue in this series, but shot selection and ball movement will be the factor. Everyone knows that Westbrook, George, and Anthony like to shoot the ball. With all of them consistently shooting the basketball and limiting ball movement, the Thunder—in the words of Lavar Ball—will shoot themselves out of the game.
That sets up the Western Conference Finals matchup between the Rockets and the Warriors, just as how everyone expects it to be. The Rockets will beat the Warriors in 7 games. Even though the Rockets are shooting 41.3% from the field compared to the Warriors’ 52.7%, the Rockets will defeat the Warriors in a long, fought battle.
The two teams meeting in the Finals are the Rockets and the 76ers. The Rockets will beat the 76ers in 5 games because the Rockets are a most experienced team than the very young 76ers. This is the 76ers first playoff appearance since 2012 and I don’t think that they have all of the pieces to win it, yet. Give it a year or two, and the 76ers will be on top.