Tuesday starts the final stretch in the road to the NBA finals. With just four teams left, let’s take a look at the match ups for the NBA Conference finals.
Eastern Conference Finals – Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Atlanta Hawks
The Cavs are back in the NBA Finals for the first time since 2007. Of course the key was the offseason return of LeBron James. The Cavs are without the third piece of their version of the “big three” concept, with Kevin Love sidelined after a first round shoulder injury that required surgery. But missing Love proved not to be a problem in the second round as Kyrie Irving continued to show why he’s an All-Star, and JR Smith and Iman Shumpert stepping up.
In the four meetings this season between the Cavs and the Hawks, King James and the crew lost three of the four. Two of the games don’t count in theory, because it was before Mosgov, Smith and Shumpert joined the Cavs.
The Atlanta Hawks emerged like a dark horse this season, to overtake the Eastern Conference and the number one seed. Their head coach, Mike Budenholzer, is a Gregg Popovich disciple, and won NBA Coach of the Year this season. He’s guided a roster of below-radar players to the top spot in the East with the team embracing selflessness and beautiful ball movement. They’ve been dubbed the Spurs of the east.
But I still see the Hawks going down to the Cavs in six games.
Western Conference Finals – Golden State Warriors vs. Houston Rockets
The Golden State Warriors were the number one team in the NBA this season. Point guard Stephen Curry was named the league’s MVP this year. The “Splash Brothers” back court, which also features Klay Thompson, will have their hands full with the MVP runner-up James Harden. The team is on a huge high after coming back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Clippers in the second round. Dwight Howard seems to have relaxed into his role as the number two guy in Houston. Josh Smith and Trevor Ariza have stepped up big time as we’ve traveled deeper into the playoffs. With a huge comeback win in Game 6 over the Clippers, and knocking them out in Game 7, the entire Rockets team just received a surge of confidence.
I have Warriors in 6.
Other things of note about both these series:
– both the number one and two seeds from both conferences have made it to the Conference finals.
– for all the whining about three point shooting ruining the game, the teams with highest three point percentages are still in the playoffs. OPP
Check out the schedule for dates and channel information:
Eastern Conference: Atlanta Hawks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
Game 1 — Wed. May 20, Cleveland at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m., TNT
Game 2 — Fri. May 22, Cleveland at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m., TNT
Game 3 — Sun. May 24, Atlanta at Cleveland, 7:30 p.m., TNT
Game 4 — Tue. May 26, Atlanta at Cleveland, 7:30 p.m., TNT
Game 5 * — Thu. May 28, Cleveland at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m., TNT
Game 6 * — Sat. May 30, Atlanta at Cleveland, 7:30 p.m., TNT
Game 7 * — Mon. June 1, Cleveland at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m., TNT
Western Conference: Golden State Warriors vs. Houston Rockets
Game 1 — Tue. May 19, Houston at Golden State, 8 p.m., ESPN
Game 2 — Thu. May 21, Houston at Golden State, 8 p.m., ESPN
Game 3 — Sat. May 23, Golden State at Houston, 8 p.m., ESPN
Game 4 — Mon. May 25, Golden State at Houston, 8 p.m., ESPN
Game 5 * — Wed. May 27, Houston at Golden State 8 p.m., ESPN
Game 6 * — Fri. May 29, Golden State at Houston, 8 p.m., ESPN
Game 7 * — Sun. May 31 Houston at Golden State, 8 p.m., ESPN
photo via @NBA
