By JJ Marshall, Jr., Designated Contributor
JJ Marshall Jr. is a former three-year basketball letterman at Louisiana Tech. Since the DW founders aren’t, therefore that makes him DW’s official NBA correspondent by process of elimination.
1. Pelicans vs Blazers Have I mentioned that I am a homer? The micro-matchups here are endless. Jrue Holiday is having a career year (especially since Boogie Cousins went down), and is one of the best perimeter defenders in the league. Damian Lillard torched the Pellies in the last matchup between the two teams, especially in the fourth quarter. New Orleans has perimeter defenders that can matchup with Lillard and CJ McCollum. The issue for Portland is they have nobody who can deal with Anthony Davis. Nobody in the league does. Davis has struggled with his jumper the last few weeks, but he always finds a way to get points. He is putting up Shaq-esque numbers in the last few months, averaging over 30 points and 12 rebounds. This series is going to be a shootout. Expect it to go seven games. The Pels should avoid a game seven in Portland where it has been tough to win this season. My prediction: New Orleans in six.
2. Rockets vs Wolves
Jimmy Butler came back from injury to drag the Wolves into the playoffs for the first time in 14 years. His reward is a first round matchup with a historically great offensive team. Butler will have to guard James Harden, who will become the MVP in a few weeks (why don’t we just call it the offensive player of the year?). Harden will guard Jeff Teague on the other end of the floor, as the Rockets will do their best to hide their “most valuable player” on defense. I don’t trust the Rockets one bit, but I have to admit how good they have been in the regular season. Before Butler was injured, he was leading the Wolves to the 3-seed in the loaded West. Don’t let the 8-seed fool you, Minnesota might be the third best team in this bracket. Perhaps that is why Houston coach Mike D’antoni was hedging about his championship hopes in an interview last week. He does not want to face Minnesota in the first round. My prediction: Houston in seven.
3. Raptors vs Wizards
Another one seed I don’t trust is Toronto. They have stumbled into the playoffs after blowing huge leads and forgetting about the spacing and ball-movement that made them special. That they have been so bad the past few weeks and still retain the one seed should tell us two things: 1. The East is bad and 2. The Raptors were excellent before this recent skid. Toronto is the deepest team in the league with a bench that has allowed Kyle Lowry to play a season-low 32 minutes per game. Head Coach Dwane Casey is hoping that this reduction of minutes will allow Lowry to be fresh for the playoffs. The Wizards have a stacked team as far as talent is concerned, but they are a headache. Their players don’t get along, none of them like John Wall, and some Wizards fans even think they are better without him. This is put up or shut up time for Wall. If he catches fire and the Wizards steal a game or two, we could be in for a fantastic series. These two teams have history, talent, and both teams play fun, energetic basketball. My prediction: Raptors in seven.
4. Thunder vs Jazz
Apologies to the Cavs, 76ers, and the rest of the East. I just expect LeBron to coast to the finals, I don’t care about the Heat, Kyrie is injured, and Giannis can’t find a coach who maximizes his talent. This Thunder/Jazz series, though… Look out! There are so many fun storylines and matchups. The Jazz might be the hottest team heading into the playoffs. Rudy Gobert should win defensive player of the year playing alongside Donovan Mitchell (who should be the Rookie of the Year) makes for an exciting opponent for Russell Westbrook and company. I’m intrigued by how much Westbrook will allow Paul George to be a real second option and not someone who picks up Russ’ crumbs. Also, I assume Carmelo Anthony is still playing, so….There’s that. Will Hero Ball win out? Will Donovan Mitchell continue his dominance once the playoffs start? Will Westbrook attempt to steal the ball from his own teammates with a game on the line? I love this game. My prediction: Jazz in six
