Basketball Daily Dose: Dose: NBA Playoffs Preview
The NBA Playoffs start on Saturday and since there were no games on Thursday or Friday, here is a playoffs preview Daily Dose, along with the latest injury updates. Follow me on Twitter right here! And if you’d rather listen to a preview than read one, check out Mike Gallagher’s podast, which has a DFS slant. This is the Western preview, while the East is coming on Friday.
EAST
No. 1 Cavaliers vs. No. 8 Pistons
Game 1 Sunday @ CLE 3 pm
Game 2 Wednesday @ CLE 8 pm
Game 3 Friday @ DET 7 pm
Game 4 Sunday @ DET 8:30 pm
Cavs starters: Kyrie Irving, J.R. Smith, LeBron James, Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson
Key bench players: Matthew Dellavedova, Iman Shumpert, Channing Frye, Timofey Mozgov
Injuries: Mo Williams (knee), Iman Shumpert (knee)
Williams is very iffy for Game 1, while Shumpert has a decent chance of playing.
Pistons starters: Reggie Jackson, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Marcus Morris, Tobias Harris, Andre Drummond
Key bench players: Stanley Johnson
Injuries: Reggie Jackson (abdominal strain)
Jackson is dealing with an abdominal injury and is a bit iffy for Game 1. However, since it’s the playoffs and he’s had some rest, I’m guessing he plays.
Maybe the Pistons win a game, but this is Cleveland’s series to lose and they’re heavy favorites to win the East. Prediction: Cavs in 4.
No. 2 Raptors vs. No. 7 Pacers
Game 1 Saturday @ TOR 12:30 pm
Game 2 Monday @ TOR 7 pm
Game 3 Thursday @ IND 7:30 pm
Game 4 Saturday @ IND 3 pm
Raptors starters: Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, DeMarre Carroll, Luis Scola, Jonas Valanciunas
Key bench players: Norman Powell, Terrence Ross, Patrick Patterson, Bismack Biyombo
Injuries: None
Pacers starters: George Hill, Monta Ellis, C.J. Miles, Paul George, Ian Mahinmi
Key bench players: Ty Lawson, Lavoy Allen, Myles Turner, Jordan Hill
Injuries: C.J. Miles (shoulder)
The Pacers’ lineup isn’t set in stone and Miles, who is expected to play in Game 1, sounds like he’ll be good to go. Whether the Pacers start Miles or Allen remains to be seen.
The Raptors come in healthy, although they’re still trying to adjust to the return of Carroll, and the Pacers will not be an easy out. Look for this series to go deep, and I’m going out on a limb and picking an upset. Prediction: Pacers in 7.
No. 3 Heat vs. No. 6 Hornets
Game 1 Sunday @ MIA 5:30 pm
Game 2 Wednesday @ MIA 7 pm
Game 3 Saturday @ CHA 5:30 pm
Game 4 Monday @ CHA TBD
Heat starters: Goran Dragic, Dwyane Wade, Joe Johnson, Luol Deng, Hassan Whiteside
Key bench players: Amare Stoudemire, Josh Richardson, Justise Winslow, Gerald Green
Injuries: Chris Bosh (blood clot)
Bosh is unlikely to play in the postseason, but anything’s possible. Their chances of doing some damage in the East would be much better with him, although they’re still an imposing challenge for whoever they’re facing.
Hornets starters: Kemba Walker, Courtney Lee, Nicolas Batum, Marvin Williams, Al Jefferson
Key bench players: Jeremy Lin, Frank Kaminsky, Cody Zeller
Injuries: Nicolas Batum (ankle)
Batum says there’s no way he’s going to miss Game 1 so expect to see him out there on Sunday. Jefferson has been coming off the bench, but could start in Game 1 over Zeller.
The Heat simply have more high-powered weapons than the Hornets and should win this series to advance, although the Hornets will put up a fight. Prediction: Heat in 6.
No. 4 Hawks vs. No. 5 Celtics
Game 1 Saturday @ ATL 7 pm
Game 2 Tuesday @ ATL 7 pm
Game 3 Friday @ BOS 8 pm
Game 4 Sunday @ BOS 6 pm
Hawks starters: Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver, Kent Bazemore, Paul Millsap, Al Horford
Key bench players: Dennis Schroder, Tim Hardaway Jr., Thabo Sefolosha, Kris Humphries
Injuries: Tim Hardaway Jr. (hamstring/groin)
Hardaway suffered an injury in Wednesday’s ugly loss and it sounds like he could miss some time, which would mean more run for Bazemore, Schroder and Sefolosha.
Celtics starters: Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, Amir Johnson, Jared Sullinger
Key bench players: Marcus Smart, Evan Turner, Kelly Olynyk
Injuries: None
This should be a grueling series and while the Hawks come in reeling after a tough loss at Washington, the Celtics are riding on a cloud after pulling off an amazing 24-point comeback win against the Heat. This series is probably a coin toss, but I’ll take the home team Hawks with the home date for Game 7. Yeah, I’m a homer, but the Hawks are going to need strong play out of Bazemore and Korver if they’re going to advance. Prediction: Hawks in 7.
