NBA Conference Finals Match-Ups and Predictions

Eastern Conference Finals:

(1) Cleveland Cavaliers vs (3) Orlando Magic:
Orlando never gave up the lead in game 7 to Boston and won in dominating fashion over the defending champs to move on to the conference finals against MVP Lebron James and the Cavaliers who have not lost a playoff game this postseason. In most sports, there is usually a lot of concern about whether a long break can affect a team mentally while they wait for their opponents, but the Cavaliers are a team that have not been challenged much this year and the regular season probably felt like a long rest (at least for Lebron James, who sat most fourth quarters). The Cavs match up better with Dwight Howard in the frontcourt than the KG-less Celtics, and obviously Lebron James gives them advantages in every part of the offensive zone. I like Orlando's balance better and I'm not convinced the Cavaliers have actually played a "good" team in the playoffs yet, and maybe Orlando can catch the Cavaliers sleeping early to get an early series lead. Still, that's a long shot. Cleveland wins in 6.

Western Conference Finals:

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs (2) Denver Nuggets:
Who would've thought the Denver Nuggets would actually live up to their seeding and play in the conference finals? Charles Barkley is convinced the Nuggets are the best playoff team in the West, and based on their play he may be right. But it isn't like the Lakers have been playing poorly more than they have been playing without motivation against the Rockets. Amazingly, a lot of fan votes and expert picks are going towards the Nuggets in a hard-fought 6-7 game series, but I'm simply not buying it. The regular season match-up (and any team will tell you the regular season doesn't mean anything come playoff time) had the Lakers with a 3-1 edge, with 2 of their wins coming early before Billups and the Nuggets took off late in the season to grab the #2 seed. Billups will be heavily looked at as the X-factor in the series, but the guy I'm watching for is Carmelo Anthony. Not because he is their top scorer and the face of the franchise, but because of this statistic: in the 4 games played against the Lakers, Anthony was held to an average of 14 points a game. If Anthony scores around 14 points a game in this series, the Nuggets are going to get swept. Los Angeles wins in 6.