The NBA Playoffs are about to start again with the final seeding coming down to the last day of the season. Now the opponents have been set and we can see which series will be walk-overs and which will be barn-burners as they each clash in best of seven series to crown a new champion. The Miami Heat avenged their Finals loss the previous year by taking out the Oklahoma City Thunder 4-1 and Lebron James was named the Finals MVP. The Heat winning was supreme vindication for James, who had repeatedly come under fire for amazing individual performances but failing to win a championship after he and Chris Bosh signed with Miami and promised to deliver multiple titles. With last years win the Heat have come under less scrutiny and appear to be more relaxed, even going out of their way to bring us a Harlem Shake video but their play has by no means diminished as they ran off with the Eastern standings via a twenty seven game win streak. With Miami essentially turning the East into a one horse race, the exact opposite has happened out West. The Oklahoma City Thunder have captured the top seed from San Antonio, the Denver Nuggets have surprised everyone playing exemplary team-ball and the Los Angeles Clippers have stolen the spotlight from the once prolific Lakers. Who will come out of the West? Do the Heat have an easy road to their third consecutive Finals appearance? Lets break down each team before making playoff bracket predictions. To ensure ease of reading and in case anyone is unsure of how the playoff system works, Ive broken things down and laid our which games will be played in each round followed by what I think the result of the best of seven series will be. Ive also separated the conferences to guide you through all three rounds of the West before taking on the East and then the Finals themselves.
Guide: Record: Final regular season record PPG: Points per game PA: Points allowed per game (Brackets show their league rankings in respective catagories) Lets get started in the West...