Post 2020 playoff predictions here

[perks-a-beast]

1ST ROUND

1 - Milwaukee (4)
8 - Orlando (1)

4 - Indiana (3)
5 - Toronto (4)

2 - Philadelphia (4)
7 - Miami (1)

3 - Boston (4)
6 - Brooklyn (2)


1 - LA Clippers (4)
8 - Portland (1)

4 - Denver (2)
5 - Golden State (4)

2 - Houston (4)
7 - San Antonio (3)

3 - LA Lakers (4)
6 - Utah (6)

2ND ROUND

1 - Milwaukee (4)
5 - Toronto (1)

2 - Philadelphia (4)
3 - Boston (3)


1 - LA Clippers (4)
5 - Golden State (2)

2 - Houston (2)
3 - LA Lakers (4)

3RD ROUND

1 - Milwaukee (4)
2 - Philadelphia (2)


1 - LA Clippers (4)
3 - LA Lakers (2)

FINALS

1 - Milwaukee (1)
1 - LA Clippers (4)


 CHAMPS = LA CLIPPERS. FINALS MVP = KAWHI.

Who ya got?

[Moranis]

1. Milwaukee
2. Philadelphia
3. Indiana
4. Brooklyn
5. Boston
6. Toronto
7. Orlando
8. Miami

Mil over Mia, Phi over Orl, Ind over Tor, Bro over Bos
Mil over Bro, Phi over Ind
Mil over Phi

1. Houston
2. LAC
3. Portland
4. Denver
5. LAL
6. Utah
7. Golden State
8. San Antonio

Hou over SA, GS over LAC, Uta over Por, LAL over Den
Hou over LAL, GS over Uta
Hou over GS

Mil over Hou

I'm really torn on the west.  Very hard to figure out what to do.  Probably overestimating Golden State a great deal, but I think they are going to be a surprise team come playoff time with the best top 4 in the sport (Curry, Klay, Dray, and DLo). 

[bdm860]

1. Milwaukee
2. Philadelphia
3. Indiana
4. Brooklyn
5. Boston
6. Toronto
7. Orlando
8. Miami

Mil over Mia, Phi over Orl, Ind over Tor, Bro over Bos
Mil over Bro, Phi over Ind
Mil over Phi

1. Houston
2. LAC
3. Portland
4. Denver
5. LAL
6. Utah
7. Golden State
8. San Antonio

Hou over SA, GS over LAC, Uta over Por, LAL over Den
Hou over LAL, GS over Uta
Hou over GS

Mil over Hou

I'm really torn on the west.  Very hard to figure out what to do.  Probably overestimating Golden State a great deal, but I think they are going to be a surprise team come playoff time with the best top 4 in the sport (Curry, Klay, Dray, and DLo).

Man losing to Brooklyn would be brutal.

I don't know if it replaces losing to Philly as my "least enjoyable" playoff scenario, but it's up there, they're neck and neck that's for sure. 

Darkest time line?  Kyrie hitting a Damian-Lillard-esque game winning 3 from C's logo to end the series.  Kill me now.

[PhoSita]

I really can't see the Nets beating the Celts in a playoff series unless there are injuries or KD is able to play.

[Fafnir]

I really can't see the Nets beating the Celts in a playoff series unless there are injuries or KD is able to play.

Lavert would have to really pop if both groups were healthy.

[Who]

Clippers over Sixers in the finals.

[Moranis]

I really can't see the Nets beating the Celts in a playoff series unless there are injuries or KD is able to play.

The Nets won 42 games last year and got better in the off season (not including KD).  I think they have the right mix of inside/outside, veterans/up and comers, etc.  I expect Irving to miss a fair amount of regular season games (and who knows about LeVert), otherwise I think they'd be the 3rd seed (especially with Oladipo out for a bit).  And the Nets are at least 2 deep at every position (obviously varying degrees of talent)

PG - Irving, Dinwiddie
SG - Harris, Temple, Nwaba
SF - LeVert, Chandler
PF - Prince, Kurucs
C - Jordan, Allen

That is just a nice mix of talent and skill sets.  Obviously injury concerns with Irving and LeVert are very real, as is trying to blend all of the new people, but come playoff time, I think that team could be very dangerous even without Durant.

[gouki88]

I really can't see the Nets beating the Celts in a playoff series unless there are injuries or KD is able to play.

The Nets won 42 games last year and got better in the off season (not including KD).  I think they have the right mix of inside/outside, veterans/up and comers, etc.  I expect Irving to miss a fair amount of regular season games (and who knows about LeVert), otherwise I think they'd be the 3rd seed (especially with Oladipo out for a bit).  And the Nets are at least 2 deep at every position (obviously varying degrees of talent)

PG - Irving, Dinwiddie
SG - Harris, Temple, Nwaba
SF - LeVert, Chandler
PF - Prince, Kurucs
C - Jordan, Allen

That is just a nice mix of talent and skill sets.  Obviously injury concerns with Irving and LeVert are very real, as is trying to blend all of the new people, but come playoff time, I think that team could be very dangerous even without Durant.

Kyrie will get even more exposed playing for Brooklyn against a strong defensive team than he did here I believe

[Moranis]

I really can't see the Nets beating the Celts in a playoff series unless there are injuries or KD is able to play.

The Nets won 42 games last year and got better in the off season (not including KD).  I think they have the right mix of inside/outside, veterans/up and comers, etc.  I expect Irving to miss a fair amount of regular season games (and who knows about LeVert), otherwise I think they'd be the 3rd seed (especially with Oladipo out for a bit).  And the Nets are at least 2 deep at every position (obviously varying degrees of talent)

PG - Irving, Dinwiddie
SG - Harris, Temple, Nwaba
SF - LeVert, Chandler
PF - Prince, Kurucs
C - Jordan, Allen

That is just a nice mix of talent and skill sets.  Obviously injury concerns with Irving and LeVert are very real, as is trying to blend all of the new people, but come playoff time, I think that team could be very dangerous even without Durant.

Kyrie will get even more exposed playing for Brooklyn against a strong defensive team than he did here I believe

He can't really be much worse than he was in the playoffs for Boston.  And since the whole chain of posts relates to Boston vs. Brooklyn, I'm not sure the defensive part really matters since Kemba Walker isn't exactly a good defender and I think Smart would struggle immensely to stay in front of Irving.

[gouki88]

I really can't see the Nets beating the Celts in a playoff series unless there are injuries or KD is able to play.

The Nets won 42 games last year and got better in the off season (not including KD).  I think they have the right mix of inside/outside, veterans/up and comers, etc.  I expect Irving to miss a fair amount of regular season games (and who knows about LeVert), otherwise I think they'd be the 3rd seed (especially with Oladipo out for a bit).  And the Nets are at least 2 deep at every position (obviously varying degrees of talent)

PG - Irving, Dinwiddie
SG - Harris, Temple, Nwaba
SF - LeVert, Chandler
PF - Prince, Kurucs
C - Jordan, Allen

That is just a nice mix of talent and skill sets.  Obviously injury concerns with Irving and LeVert are very real, as is trying to blend all of the new people, but come playoff time, I think that team could be very dangerous even without Durant.

Kyrie will get even more exposed playing for Brooklyn against a strong defensive team than he did here I believe

He can't really be much worse than he was in the playoffs for Boston.  And since the whole chain of posts relates to Boston vs. Brooklyn, I'm not sure the defensive part really matters since Kemba Walker isn't exactly a good defender and I think Smart would struggle immensely to stay in front of Irving.

I don't think he'd be worse, and I'm certainly not saying we're a defensive juggernaut similar to the way Milwaukee was last season, but I think there is still room for him to be exposed.

Especially if he's starting alongside Harris, a poor defender, LeVert, who IIRC is an average defender, and Prince, a 6'7" SF who is a weak rebounder for that position. I think that team could have massive scores dropped on it, especially considering Jordan is a step slower on defence.

I personally would start Allen and maybe Wilson Chandler if Prince starts to be exposed

[mr. dee]

I really can't see the Nets beating the Celts in a playoff series unless there are injuries or KD is able to play.

The Nets won 42 games last year and got better in the off season (not including KD).  I think they have the right mix of inside/outside, veterans/up and comers, etc.  I expect Irving to miss a fair amount of regular season games (and who knows about LeVert), otherwise I think they'd be the 3rd seed (especially with Oladipo out for a bit).  And the Nets are at least 2 deep at every position (obviously varying degrees of talent)

PG - Irving, Dinwiddie
SG - Harris, Temple, Nwaba
SF - LeVert, Chandler
PF - Prince, Kurucs
C - Jordan, Allen

That is just a nice mix of talent and skill sets.  Obviously injury concerns with Irving and LeVert are very real, as is trying to blend all of the new people, but come playoff time, I think that team could be very dangerous even without Durant.

Last year's Nets were one of the fastest paced team in the league. Kyrie have a habit of slowing down the pace with his dribbling. And I doubt he (or his knee rather) can keep up running and printing on Kenny Atkinson's system.

[jpotter33]

I really can't see the Nets beating the Celts in a playoff series unless there are injuries or KD is able to play.

The Nets won 42 games last year and got better in the off season (not including KD).  I think they have the right mix of inside/outside, veterans/up and comers, etc.  I expect Irving to miss a fair amount of regular season games (and who knows about LeVert), otherwise I think they'd be the 3rd seed (especially with Oladipo out for a bit).  And the Nets are at least 2 deep at every position (obviously varying degrees of talent)

PG - Irving, Dinwiddie
SG - Harris, Temple, Nwaba
SF - LeVert, Chandler
PF - Prince, Kurucs
C - Jordan, Allen

That is just a nice mix of talent and skill sets.  Obviously injury concerns with Irving and LeVert are very real, as is trying to blend all of the new people, but come playoff time, I think that team could be very dangerous even without Durant.

Kyrie will get even more exposed playing for Brooklyn against a strong defensive team than he did here I believe

He can't really be much worse than he was in the playoffs for Boston.  And since the whole chain of posts relates to Boston vs. Brooklyn, I'm not sure the defensive part really matters since Kemba Walker isn't exactly a good defender and I think Smart would struggle immensely to stay in front of Irving.

Absolutely false. Smart is the perfect defender for the likes of guys like Kyrie, because he's an incredibly disciplined individual defender that doesn't usually fall for the fakes or dribbling moves that Kyrie relies on to get past most guys. Think about Harden and how he has had so much trouble against him throughout the years. Kyrie is a similar player with a similar style to Harden.

The guards that have always given Marcus trouble are the speedy ones, like Kemba, Wall, Fox, etc.

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

I really can't see the Nets beating the Celts in a playoff series unless there are injuries or KD is able to play.

The Nets won 42 games last year and got better in the off season (not including KD).  I think they have the right mix of inside/outside, veterans/up and comers, etc.  I expect Irving to miss a fair amount of regular season games (and who knows about LeVert), otherwise I think they'd be the 3rd seed (especially with Oladipo out for a bit).  And the Nets are at least 2 deep at every position (obviously varying degrees of talent)

PG - Irving, Dinwiddie
SG - Harris, Temple, Nwaba
SF - LeVert, Chandler
PF - Prince, Kurucs
C - Jordan, Allen

That is just a nice mix of talent and skill sets.  Obviously injury concerns with Irving and LeVert are very real, as is trying to blend all of the new people, but come playoff time, I think that team could be very dangerous even without Durant.

Kyrie will get even more exposed playing for Brooklyn against a strong defensive team than he did here I believe

He can't really be much worse than he was in the playoffs for Boston.  And since the whole chain of posts relates to Boston vs. Brooklyn, I'm not sure the defensive part really matters since Kemba Walker isn't exactly a good defender and I think Smart would struggle immensely to stay in front of Irving.

Absolutely false. Smart is the perfect defender for the likes of guys like Kyrie, because he's an incredibly disciplined individual defender that doesn't usually fall for the fakes or dribbling moves that Kyrie relies on to get past most guys. Think about Harden and how he has had so much trouble against him throughout the years. Kyrie is a similar player with a similar style to Harden.

The guards that have always given Marcus trouble are the speedy ones, like Kemba, Wall, Fox, etc.

Don't know if it's true but it seems to me he has trouble with little guys altogether, I think his best is against stronger players who like to bang. I remember Kyrie lighting Smart up in the playoffs.

[Somebody]

I think Brown would defend Irving the best on our roster. Kyrie really struggles with length on him imo.

[Moranis]

I really can't see the Nets beating the Celts in a playoff series unless there are injuries or KD is able to play.

The Nets won 42 games last year and got better in the off season (not including KD).  I think they have the right mix of inside/outside, veterans/up and comers, etc.  I expect Irving to miss a fair amount of regular season games (and who knows about LeVert), otherwise I think they'd be the 3rd seed (especially with Oladipo out for a bit).  And the Nets are at least 2 deep at every position (obviously varying degrees of talent)

PG - Irving, Dinwiddie
SG - Harris, Temple, Nwaba
SF - LeVert, Chandler
PF - Prince, Kurucs
C - Jordan, Allen

That is just a nice mix of talent and skill sets.  Obviously injury concerns with Irving and LeVert are very real, as is trying to blend all of the new people, but come playoff time, I think that team could be very dangerous even without Durant.

Kyrie will get even more exposed playing for Brooklyn against a strong defensive team than he did here I believe

He can't really be much worse than he was in the playoffs for Boston.  And since the whole chain of posts relates to Boston vs. Brooklyn, I'm not sure the defensive part really matters since Kemba Walker isn't exactly a good defender and I think Smart would struggle immensely to stay in front of Irving.

Absolutely false. Smart is the perfect defender for the likes of guys like Kyrie, because he's an incredibly disciplined individual defender that doesn't usually fall for the fakes or dribbling moves that Kyrie relies on to get past most guys. Think about Harden and how he has had so much trouble against him throughout the years. Kyrie is a similar player with a similar style to Harden.

The guards that have always given Marcus trouble are the speedy ones, like Kemba, Wall, Fox, etc.

Harden is much slower than Irving.  The 2017 playoffs, Irving absolutely torched the Celtics.  Now I get Lebron was his teammate, but that was the series Boston lost IT and Smart started 3 of the 5 games.  Irving shot 62% from the field (50% from 3).