The NBA playoffs are back! Cue the music:

As always I’m gonna try to predict how the playoffs will shake out. Not only the first round, but the whole shebang. I won’t go in depth in the later rounds, but here I will give some thoughts individually on all 8 first round match-ups and then some general thoughts on how the rest of the playoffs will play out. Enjoy!

Eastern Conference Quarter Finals:

(1) Boston Celtics vs (8) Chicago Bulls – Celtics in 6

Do I smell an upset? No.

I still have Celtics in 6 because they haven’t won a playoff series under Brad Stevens yet and as we saw with the Toronto Raptors last season, that means the team will at least have some trouble getting over the hump. At the same time Jimmy Butler is the best player in this series and is going to win a game or two based on sheer will.

Rondo has playoff experience and has been better as of late, while Dwyane Wade might turn up his 3PT shooting like he did last year and open up things for a Bulls offence that sorely needs it. Apart from these 3 players I just don’t see a lot of playoff experience and talent in this team to push this 1 vs 8 match-up any further than 6 games.

Who will guard Isaiah Thomas? Will Butler be able to handle all the different defensive players that will pester him, be it Jae Crowder, Jaylen Brown or even Marcus Smart? Is it reasonable to believe that Wade will have another 3PT explosion considering his rather underwhelming % from behind the arc throughout his career?

There are just too many questions surrounding the Chicago Bulls to consider an upset here for a team that really doesn’t have much business being in the playoffs. Don’t count out Jimmy Butler though, who gets a chance to show the Boston Celtics why they probably should have traded for him back in February.

(2) Cleveland Cavaliers vs (7) Indiana Pacers – Cavs in 5

I’m just so happy we get to see this match-up again!

Not to mention LeBron James vs Paul George, which has given us even more memorable moments over the years. Maybe the two best players in the East for the past 5 seasons. Both players’ effort has been sort of… meh, this season though, but there is probably no more talented match-up in the first round except for maybe the MVP battle between James Harden and Russell Westbrook. I say maybe, because these guys are just that good when they are locked in.

Other than those two there are obviously more talent here. Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love fills out the big 3 in Cleveland while Myles Turner and… Lance Stephenson(?) fills out the big 3 in Indiana. The Pacers have gone through a pretty lackluster regular season and it might have something to do with the fact that their roster is just not that good of a fit in the current NBA. Jeff Teague, CJ Miles and Thaddeus Young do have some valuable playoff experience and are good NBA players and the Pacers did finish the season with a 5 game win streak however, so there is obviously enough talent here.

I don’t think the Cavs will struggle though. Sure PG13 will win a game by himself, but I think the Cavaliers will be fine this post-season. I’ve seen LeBron James turn it up way too many times to doubt “The King”. The mauling of the #1 seed Boston Celtics a couple of weeks ago was a warning and I expect the Cavaliers to once again run through the East with ease.

(3) Toronto Raptors vs (6) Milwaukee Bucks – Raptors in 6

Finally the Raptors look like an actual threat in the post-season of the NBA. I loved what they did at right before the trade deadline, adding tough veteran defensive players in Serge Ibaka and PJ Tucker and the additions have already proven their worth to end the season. They have kept up their winning pace without star player Kyle Lowry, and won the last 4 games with him back in the lineup.

The Milwaukee Bucks are not an easy out however and have really stepped it up in the second half of the season. The biggest and longest reason for that is Giannis Antetokounmpo, The Greek Freak. But enough has been said about the most promising star in the league and probable MIP winner, and we need to give some recognition to Khris Middleton.

The Bucks didn’t miss a step after Jabari Parker went down with another ACL injury, they became even better. Back in January for my Top 5 Players in Each Position list, I compared Middleton to the much more heralded Klay Thompson. The only reason I had them separated on the list was the injury Middleton had at the time, which made me uncertain if he’d return the same quality of player.

Gladly, he did, and as a result, the Milwaukee Bucks are now in the playoffs, the first of many post-season appearances in the future I’d imagine. Giannis, Middleton, Jabari and Thon Maker.. the Bucks are loaded with talent that will only get better in the future. Currently the Raptors are just a better team all around and I think they will fairly comfortably knock out one of the most uplifting teams in the NBA. This will be a fun match-up to watch with plenty of young talent.

(4) Washington Wizards vs (5) Atlanta Hawks – Wizards in 5

Hmm, this should be the closest match-up considering the playoff seeds, but there is an obvious top 4 in the East and the Hawks have just not looked that impressive throughout the year.

It has been so inconsistent in Atlanta, fitting for a team with Dwight Howard and generally a confusing roster with a mix of youth movements and win-now players. They still have a good coach and they still have Paul Millsap, so it won’t be a sweep, but how are Dennis Schröder and Tim Hardaway Jr. going to contain the dynamic duo of the Wizards, John Wall and Bradley Beal.

I have been a fan of the Wiz since Otto Porter showed the first signs of why he might get a max contract this summer when he had a terrific 14/15 NBA playoffs, but getting sidetracked by Kevin Durant meant that the Wizards didn’t even make the playoffs the following year.

Now that they are all finally on the same page, I’m really excited to see if the Wizards can also put some pressure on the Cavs, but first they gotta move past the Hawks to set up a really interesting conference semi-finals date with the Boston Celtics. I’m actually excited for the Eastern Conference playoffs again(!) it has been a while.

Western Conference Quarter Finals:

(1) Golden State Warriors vs (8) Portland Trail Blazers – Warriors in 4

The Warriors are just too good. I feel like I will say that a lot this post-season. A 73 win team that added Kevin Durant.. there is just no way to get around it.

I like Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum more than the next one, but they face one of the few backcourts in the league that is better than them. Not only defensively, but offensively as well. Steph Curry has found his unanimous MVP groove and he still has a lot to prove.

Curry has been the figurehead of the Warriors for their historic 3 year run now, and even though he has 2 MVPs to his name, he doesn’t have a single Finals MVP. Even though Curry was returning from injury in this match-up last season, he shot 50% on A LOT of shots and blew the Blazers out of the playoffs and I think he will do the same from the get-go this time.

With Kevin Durant returning to the line-up as well, I just can’t see this as anything else than a sweep. We’re gonna need a monster Dame/CJ/Nurkic game to see something else.

(2) San Antonio Spurs vs (7) Memphis Grizzlies – Spurs in 4

I’m surprised I’m one of the few who has this as a sweep. The Grizzlies have been really poor to finish off the season, with a 10-16 record in their last 26 games. They were swept by the Spurs the last 2 times they faced each other in the playoffs. In the first round last year and in the conference finals in 2012/2013.

Sure, Mike Conley has had a career year and is back to being underappreciated and underrated after he got some well deserved recognition well over a year ago. He is averaging over 20 points per game on 45/40/85% with his usually solid AST/TO ratio of 2.78. He is almost worth the biggest contract in the league.

Marc Gasol is also still chugging along, now a more well-rounded player than he was when he won defensive player of the year 4 years ago. A lesser defender, but a more effective offensive player.

JaMychal Green will be everyone’s favorite “Oh, maybe we can get him for cheap in the summer” player, even though he will likely get a huge contract, followed by a lot of “who?” responses by the NBA casuals. James Ennis has been solid, Vince Carter still has some 40 year old pep in his step and Z-Bo, Zach Randolph has found his niche off the bench.

But the Spurs are just too strong and too familiar with the playoffs, especially against the Grizzlies, to make this in any way interesting. They might have some more trouble later on in the playoffs, due to their age and lack of explosion, but that has never been a problem against the Grizzlies. Clean sweep.

(3) Houston Rockets vs (6) Oklahoma City Thunder – Rockets in 7

It is THE marquee match-up in the first round and for good reason. Harden vs Westbrook, enough said.

It’s a shame the NBA are waiting 2 months until they announce the MVP in an awards show, I’m sure they regret that decision now, where an MVP award could add another wrinkle to this exciting rivalry. But fine… God knows we need another pomp and circumstance awards show.

The sub-plot behind the MVP face-off and probably the fight that will break out between Westbrook and Patrick Beverley, is the supporting casts of each superstar. Much has been said about the rosters around our 2 main MVP candidates and I think this series will be telling and ultimately decided by the strength of the rest of the rosters.

I can see a Eric Gordon game, I can see a Ryan Anderson game, I can very much see a Lou Williams game. But what about the Thunder? I just can’t see anyone other than Westbrook taking over and in a 7 game series ending up on the road, he will just get too tired to finish off the Rockets and end the MVP discussion right then and there. For the fans though, a game 7 in this series would be a nice finale for the regular season, before the really interesting series start in the conference semi-finals.

(4) Los Angeles Clippers vs (5) Utah Jazz – Clippers in 7

The Clippers have looked frisky lately. Finishing 9-2 on the season and seizing home-court advantage in the first round right in front of the team they are facing, the Utah Jazz.

I think that home-court advantage will be vital, because while I think the Clippers have a decent chance at making waves and surprising a lot of people in the playoffs, I really like the Jazz.

Gordon Hayward is having a career year, George Hill has earned a hefty raise come summer, Rudy Gobert might be the Defensive Player of the Year and his advanced stats are off the charts, Rodney Hood is one of my favorite 3&D/glue guys in the league and the list keeps going and going with solid players with veteran experience in Joe Johnson, Boris Diaw, Joe Ingles and Derrick Favors.

While the Jazz are loaded and cruised into the playoffs this season with consistent play despite their injuries, the Los Angeles Clippers have been going through probably their most uneven season since CP3 came over to join forces with Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. Imbriglicated.

But in the playoffs, things like depth matters less and while the Jazz still have a solid core, it’s not quite the same level as CP3, Blake, DeAndre and the less heralded JJ Redick who is also a sneaky free agent this summer.

This is Clippers final shot and I think they know it. They will at the very least go out swinging, but I think they have just enough to see off Utah Jazz when you factor in the vital home-court advantage.

Rest of playoffs, early prediction:

I will likely write a predictions preview for every single round of the playoffs, so fear not. We’ll talk about the Conference Semis, Finals and NBA Finals when we get there. Here’s a quick run-through of how I think the rest of the playoffs will shake out, with my general thoughts after all the prediction picks.

Eastern Conference Semi Finals:

Boston Celtics (1) vs Washington Wizards (4) – Wizards in 7

Cleveland Cavaliers (2) vs Toronto Raptors (3) – Cavs in 6

Western Conference Semi Finals:

Golden State Warriors (1) vs Los Angeles Clippers (4) – Warriors in 6

San Antonio Spurs (2) vs Houston Rockets (3) – Spurs in 6

Eastern Conference Finals:

Cleveland Cavaliers (2) vs Washington Wizards (4) – Cavs in 6

Western Conference Finals:

Golden State Warriors (1) vs San Antonio Spurs (2) – Warriors in 6

NBA Finals:

Golden State Warriors (1) vs Cleveland Cavaliers (2) – Warriors in 5

I don’t think the Golden State Warriors will have too many problems winning the NBA title this year and I don’t really think the Cavaliers will have any issues getting there either. We’ll get the boring and predictable playoff season we all feared back in October, thank God for a highly entertaining regular season.

My only real upset is the Wizards beating the Celtics in the conference semi finals as a 4th seed beating the #1 seed. I just think that the Celtics are a regular season team, with depth and a team chemistry that doesn’t require you to have that one guy who can dominate a game on both ends. Isaiah Thomas can take over on the offensive end, like he did throughout regular season games and 4th quarters, but I think John Wall has an extra gear, especially defensively, that will prove to be too much for the Celtics.

Some would also believe that the Houston Rockets would at least be a tough out for the San Antonio Spurs and might even be the favorite in such a match-up, but unlike OKC last season, the Houston Rockets doesn’t overwhelm you with length and athleticism. Pop will have a game plan on how to slow down and disrupt the Rockets’ 3 point barrage and James Harden will likely struggle again in the playoffs, like he has a habit of doing. Just like his teammate Lou Williams, the herky-jerky foul drawing tactics don’t hold up as well in the playoffs where the refs tend to swallow their whistles and allow more physical defence. The Spurs are also masters at playing hard without fouling.

A lot of people seem to have forgotten, but basically everyone were salivating last season on the thought of a Warriors-Spurs playoff series. OKC played spoiler and instead gave us a thrilling OKC vs Warriors series that proved to be incredibly decisive for the future of the NBA and especially this season’s playoffs.

I would still be excited to see the Warriors-Spurs series, with the Warriors trying to go through the San Antonio machine for the first time in the Popovich era. If you are not convinced enough to be excited for this series, let me remind you of the opening game of this regular season, where the Spurs absolutely dismantled the Warriors.

I do believe that the Warriors will go through in 6, possibly 7 games however, which will be the toughest test they’ll face this season. In the finals I think the Warriors will be highly motivated to avenge a 3-1 lead loss and finally close out the Cavs in 5. No dick kicks, no nonsense and Kevin Durant. The odds are in the Warriors’ favor.