Binge Sports: 2015 NBA Playoffs-Conference Finals
Welcome back to Binge Sports and our continuing coverage of the 2015 NBA Playoffs. Before we get to that, allow me to remind you of a fan vote currently happening here at Binge Sports. Yesterday, during my intro for a wrestling version of the Binge SportsCast, I put up a vote asking you if you wanted our own MovieFreak to come on my show later this week to discuss the Tom Brady situation. For those of you who don’t know, he’s a big Patriots guy and he’s very upset, mind you hilariously upset, about this whole thing, so I leave it to you. To listen to the podcast and/or vote, click HERE.
With that out of the way, it’s conference finals time in the NBA and we’re down to the final four teams. The top two seeds from each conference have found their way in, and action gets underway tomorrow night. Seeing as how they’ll kick things off, let’s start in the Western Conference.
(2)HOUSTON ROCKETS v. (1)GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
HOW THEY GOT HERE
Round 1: Houston def. Dallas 4-1, Golden State def. New Orleans 4-0
Round 2: Houston def. Los Angeles 4-3, Golden State def. Memphis 4-2
ROUND 2 POLL RESULTS
33% voted for Houston
100% voted for Golden State
SCHEDULE
Game 1: @Golden State-Tue. May 19-9:00E/8:00C-ESPN
Game 2: @Golden State-Thu. May 21-9:00E/8:00C-ESPN
Game 3: @Houston-Sat. May 23-9:00E/8:00C-ESPN
Game 4: @Houston-Mon. May 25-9:00E/8:00C-ESPN
Game 5 (if necessary): @Golden State-Wed. May 27-9:00E/8:00C-ESPN
Game 6 (if necessary): @Houston-Fri. May 29-9:00E/8:00C-ESPN
Game 7 (if necessary): @Golden State-Sun. May 31-9:00E/8:00C-ESPN
PREVIEW
Well, there certainly won’t be any shortage of offense in this series. After a surprising loss at home early in the second round, Golden State found their form against the Memphis Grizzlies, actually making the last few games look quite easy. On the other side, things were anything but easy for the Houston Rockets. After a pair of blowout losses, they reeled off three straight wins to stun the Los Angeles Clippers in seven. That included an epic Game 6 comeback where they were down by nineteen points in the third quarter.
The big matchup here is quite obvious. While they won’t really guard each other, the winner of the MVP (Curry) and the runner-up (James Harden) will battle for a spot in the NBA Finals. If the season series is any indicator, the title will go through the Bay area, as Golden State won all four games against the Rockets this year. It should be noted, however, that Dwight Howard was inactive for two of those. While Houston may have more playoff experience, with veterans like Harden, Howard, Trevor Ariza, and Jason Terry that have actually been to the NBA Finals, I still think that the Warriors are the more talented team. I’d say the Warriors in five, maybe six.
[yop_poll id=”242″]
(2)CLEVELAND CAVALIERS v. (1)ATLANTA HAWKS
HOW THEY GOT HERE
Round 1: Cleveland def. Boston 4-0, Atlanta def. Brooklyn 4-2
Round 2: Cleveland def. Chicago, Atlanta def. Washington 4-2
ROUND 2 POLL RESULTS
33% voted for Cleveland
33% voted for Atlanta
SCHEDULE
Game 1: @Atlanta-Wed. May 20-8:30E/7:30C-TNT
Game 2: @Atlanta-Fri. May 22-8:30E/7:30C-TNT
Game 3: @Cleveland-Sun. May 24-8:30E/7:30C-TNT
Game 4: @Cleveland-Tue. May 26-8:30E/7:30C-TNT
Game 5 (if necessary): @Atlanta-Thu. May 28-8:30E/7:30C-TNT
Game 6 (if necessary): @Cleveland-Sat. May 30-8:30E/7:30C-TNT
Game 7 (if necessary): @Atlanta-Mon. June 1-8:30E/7:30C-TNT
PREVIEW
Speaking of making things look easy, the Cavaliers dominated the Chicago Bulls over those final two games. After the dramatic buzzer beater from Derrick Rose in Game 3, LeBron James answered with one of his own in Game 4. As soon as he hit that shot, I knew that series was over. Rose isn’t enough of a leader to pull a team through. The guy has tons of talent, and he’s still young, but right now, the Bulls need more. On the other side, I know that Washington was the sexy pick, but the Hawks are a number one seed for a reason. They’re a good basketball team. It certainly didn’t help the Wizards that John Wall was really never at 100%, but we’ll be seeing more from them in the years to come.
As for this series, let’s state the obvious. LeBron James is the best player in the world. His overall shooting was off against Chicago, but he was still able to lead his team to these conference finals. But the question is whether or not his supporting cast can fight through all the injuries and get to the finals. Kyrie Irving is the second best player in this series when he’s healthy. But he’s not. That opens up the door for Atlanta. DeMarre Carroll has looked very good in these playoffs, averaging 17 points and hitting on 44% of his threes. If Kyle Korver can break out of his slump (well, at least a slump for Korver), the Hawks have a shot. I still think LeBron finds a way back to the NBA Finals. My pick is Cleveland in six.
[yop_poll id=”241″]
There you have it. Stay tuned later this week as we’ll be discussing these two series and more during an all-new Binge SportsCast. Until then, tell me who you voted for and why. As always, you can comment below or follow me on Twitter @BingeSports and/or @THElukenorris. And obviously it’s Monday, so you know the flagship show is ready to go. Head back to the homepage for an all-new BingeCast.