Angelo Aversa

The Eastern Conference match-ups are set, and for obvious reasons, they dont look as exciting as the Western match-ups. Here are my picks on who advances through the 1st round in the East.

(1) Boston- (8) AtlantaWinner: Boston in 4. How a team makes the playoffs 8 games below .500 is beyond me. I’ll leave it at that.

(2) Detroit- (7) Philadelphia Winner: Detroit in 5. While the 76′ers have been one of the hottest teams in the NBA coming down the stretch, the playoffs come down to one thing, experience, which the pistons have a lot of and the 6′ers have very little of.

(3)Orlando - (6)TorontoWinner: Toronto in 7. This will be, I believe, the most entertaining series in the East with both teams superstars, Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh leading the way. I think you’ll see a lot of points, in a series that will go the distance.

(4)Cleveland- (5)WashingtonWinner: Cleveland in 6. After the Cavs run to the finals last year, look for them to be hungary again this year and King James will show why he is the most dominant player in the game. As for the Wizards, they just look like a tired team who have ran out of gas.  

Angelo

Angelo Aversa

After the Raptors win tonight over the Heat, the Detroit Pistons will play the Philadelphia 76′ers in the first round of this years playoffs. The 76′ers are considered to be one of the hottest teams in the league right now, and with the Pistons not playing a meaningful game in the last couple weeks, will they be mentally prepared for this hot 76′ers team? Who do I think will win this series? Check back at the end of the season where I will post my prediction for this series, along with all others series from both the Eastern and Western Conferences. Double A 

Angelo Aversa

The Pistons have now lost 3 of 4 and are in a little slump. Rip Hamilton missed his 2nd consecutive game with a hip injury. Billups led the way for the Pistons scoring 24 points. Chris Bosh had 21 for the Raptors. It wasn’t the best effort for the Pistons tonight and this is not the way they want to be playing going into the playoffs. A good sign for this team however, is their bench. They have a long bench of about 11 solid players who can get in there and step up. I think that coach Flip Saunders may shorten it come playoff time however, which I disagree with. With the season almost over, things should start to heat up in the East.