One of the most entertaining aspects of sports is predicting what will happen and then seeing whether those predictions will comes true. That was certainly the case when it came to the NBA playoffs as everybody had their picks for what would happen. While the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers made it through as the favorites to reach the NBA Finals, there were certainly some surprises along the way. Here is a look at the NBA playoff predictions we all got wrong.
Western Conference First Round
Los Angeles Clippers over Portland Trail Blazers In Six
The Clippers made it to the postseason as the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference and were a sleeper pick to make a deep run with a healthy Blake Griffin back alongside a strong core led by Chris Paul, J.J. Redick and DeAndre Jordan. Remember, this is a team that was a huge fourth quarter collapse away from making the Western Conference finals last year.
However, Los Angeles lost Paul to a broken finger and then lost Griffin to a quad injury that essentially handicapped their team the remainder off the series. No team can lose two superstars in a playoff series and still expect to win. Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum combined for 46.8 points per game over Portland’s final four games as a Trail Blazers’ team that many predicted would miss the postseason entirely advanced to the second round by beating the Clippers in six.
Eastern Conference First Round
Boston Celtics over Atlanta Hawks In Six
The Celtics entered the playoffs with momentum on their side after climbing to the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference and were a trendy pick to upset Atlanta in the opening round. However, the Hawks offense rose to the occasion in the playoffs with Jeff Teague leading the way and Kyle Korver doing just enough to help Atlanta win the series in six games. Dennis Schroder and Mike Scott both contributed off the bench in key roles and ultimately the Hawks’ ball moving and assists were enough to get the job done against a tough Boston defense. So much for the Celtics being a sleeper pick that could make a push this postseason. They were hushed very quickly by an average team.
Eastern Conference Second Round
Cleveland Cavaliers over Atlanta Hawks In Seven
Cleveland took care of business against the Hawks to advance to the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals but the real surprise here was that for the second year in a row, Atlanta lost to the Cavaliers in a four-game sweep. A lot of people had this pegged as a six or seven-game series, but it never ended up playing out that way.
The Hawks could barely keep up with Cleveland until the final game, a 100-99 loss, as the Cavaliers recorded a 50-point margin over Atlanta in the series. Cleveland hit 50.7-percent of its 38 three-point shots per game including an NBA-record 25 three-point shots in Game 2 and the series ended up being no closer than it was the previous year.
Western Conference Second Round
San Antonio Spurs over Oklahoma City Thunder In Six
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the NBA playoffs was the Spurs losing to Oklahoma City in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs. San Antonio was projected to be the lone team that could stand in the way of Golden State returning to the NBA Finals but they didn’t get the opportunity to stop the Warriors as the Thunder shocked them in six. Remember, it was San Antonio that had only lost at home once this regular season and also broke several records en route to a 67-win season. Oklahoma City showed inconsistencies throughout and appeared flawed.
However, the strategic clash between Oklahoma City’s Billy Donovan and San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich was a marquee event as Donovan took advantage of the combination of Steven Adams and Enes Kanter to smash the Spurs’ front line. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook stepped up with outstanding performances in the series as Oklahoma City surprised nearly everybody by upsetting San Antonio and advancing to the Western Conference Finals.
