Well, I guess I'm happy that the two upsets in the first round were the two series that I thought were going to be the most interesting and the most likely upsets. It's still disappointing that the team I picked to win it all, Dallas, lost in the first round. The Bucks gave the Hawks a scare as they won games 3-5 after losing the first two, but Atlanta came out hot in the last two games of the series and punched their plane tickets to Orlando earlier today. LeBron James was named MVP today after winning the award for the second year in a row, the 10th player to do so in NBA history. Unfortunately, I like the King and his crew to take down Boston in the Eastern Conference semis. Here are my picks for the Elite 8 of the NBA.
East
Cavaliers vs. Celtics - Cavaliers
I know the Celtics' door is closing for them to win another championship, and as much as I'd love to see the Big 3 win another, I don't think it's going to happen. This will be a great series, but LeBron is on a mission because I know that deep down inside, he wants to stay in Cleveland. If LeBron lost in the second round this year, that would most likely persuade him to sign elsewhere. The Celtics are the Out-Of-Prime team, consisting of five contributing players over the age of 32 (the Big 3, Rasheed Wallace and Michael Finley). I say the Cavs win in 7 because the whole Cavs organization and the fans of Cleveland don't want LeBron having an Empire State of Mind.
Hawks vs. Magic - Magic
The Hawks have a lot of young talent, but I just don't think they're good enough to take down Orlando. They barely escaped a Bucks team that was missing Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut. Atlanta was 1-3 against Orlando in the regular season, and their only win came at home by 2. Orlando was the only team to sweep their first round opponent, and they are currently riding a 10-game winning streak. Dwight Howard didn't even average 10 PPG in their series with Charlotte, and he averaged 9.8 RPG and 26.5 MPG, well below his season average. In his absence, players like Jameer Nelson and Rashard Lewis stepped up for them, and I think they will do it again vs. Atlanta.
West
Jazz vs. Lakers - Jazz
Now I know this is a fairly bold statement, but Utah impressed me in their 4-2 win over Denver, and the Lakers didn't. LA barely escaped the 8 seed in the west, and while the Thunder were impressive, the Lakers won three of their games by single digits. Utah, on the other hand, was very hot against a solid Nuggets team despite missing two of their key players. Andrei Kirilenko may return for this series, which would be a big help for Utah, while Andrew Bynum is dealing with a torn meniscus, so we're not sure what we'll see from him. Utah did lose Game 1 not to long ago, but Deron Williams has been hot, and I think they will improve as the series goes on. I would not be surprised to see Los Angeles move on, but I like Utah in 7.
Spurs vs. Suns - Spurs
San Antonio was very impressive in their first round series with Dallas, while the Suns were not as strong as I thought they would be. With Brandon Roy having little to no impact in this series, it took them 6 games to beat Portland. The Suns have momentum because it seems like Amare Stoudemire might be out of Phoenix after the season, but the Spurs beat the Mavs in 6 with Tony Parker coming off the bench. It seems like everything is clicking for Greg Popovich and his squad, with Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili averaging more points than during the regular season. The Spurs seemed like one of Popovich's other championship teams, and that's why I like San Antonio in 6.
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