Ladies and Gents, it’s time for the NBA Playoffs! The 2013-2014 NBA season has been
terrific. We had a masterful regular
season performance by the entire San Antonio Spurs roster, KD stepping up to
the challenge and putting On a MVP performance from day 1, and LeBron and the
Heatles sleep walking/muddling their way to the 2-seed in the East. We had the Phoenix Suns get this close to the playoffs despite being
picked to finish in the league cellar.
The Charlotte Bobcats doubled last season’s win total (21) to make the
playoffs, and the Wiz are back in the playoffs for the first time since
2008. Before we get into our playoff
preview, let’s take a quick look at some of BDL’s best and worst preseason
predictions.
The Kevin Durant Division – Good Bets That Made BDL
Money
BDL’s Prediction, Actual Result
Charlotte Over 26½, 43-39
Where to begin? Big
Al, Steve Clifford, Big Al, the East was awful, Kemba, Big Al and a
surprisingly competent roster. The
Bobcats sensed the power shifts in the East and took advantage. Even though the East was historically weak,
the Bobcats played genuine playoff basketball in the second half of the season,
going 22-11 since February 1.
Portland Over 38½, 54-28
We expected them to be good, and they turned out to be way
better. Plus their division was worse than
predicted. It’s fun to have a bet that
won in early March.
Knicks Under 49½, 37-45
The Knicks are lucky to have 37 wins. Everyone at BDL feels disappointed we didn’t
win this bet by more. Honestly, other
than Carmelo, JR Smith and Tyson Chandler, what made this line so high? One the easiest bets of the season other than
Portland. They played a crap schedule
and lost. Run, Carmelo. Run far, far way.
Denver Under 45½, 36-46
Losing Iggy was tough.
People don’t give him enough credit for being a great baller. Many forget how good Denver was for the past
several years, outperforming expectations yearly. It was time for a correction back to being
average. Plus, the West was insane.
San Antonio Over 55½, 62-20
They ripped off a 19 game winning streak, have the best
coach in basketball, and the most stable roster in the NBA. What is Pop’s “Wins Over Replacement Coach?” Is he worth 8, 9, 10 games a season for the
Spurs? After games 6 and 7 in last
season’s Finals, the Spurs knew how important home court advantage is in the
finals, and they went out and won it.
OKC Over 52½, 59-23
Kevin Durant is the second best player in basketball. It’s incredible how the Thunder came together
following Westbrook’s injury. They knew
how valuable home court advantage is in the early rounds of the playoffs. They have been playing for May and June all
season.
New Orleans Under 39½, 34-48
The Brow is good, but he wasn’t that good. Plus, the Pelicans played in the West and
their division was the best in basketball.
Eventually the Spurs and Dallas won’t be as good. If The Brow can get more help, the Pelicans
should be fine for the future.
Boston Under 27½, 25-57
A nice stealthy tank job.
One of BDL’s best predictions because we were not super comfortable with
the pick, but snuck it in. The question
for Boston is to now figure out where to go from here. The Atlantic Division is awful, and they have
the cap space to make some noise this offseason.
Atlanta Under 39 ½, 38-44
We knew the Hawks and Wiz would be fighting for the 2nd
spot in the Southeast, and neither team knew the ‘Cats would be for real. Consider how bad the East is when you realize
the Hawks made the playoffs without their best player, Al Horford, for nearly
the entire season. If you’re a Hawks
fan, ask yourself: would you rather have
a top-7 pick, or the 8th seed?
The New York Knicks Division - Losers
Phoenix Under 20½, 48-34
Ouch. Where to
start? Goran Dragic is unbelievable, and
Jeff Hornacek might be Pop 2.0. The only
solace we take is that they missed the playoffs…but it would have been fun to
see them play against the Spurs. Juice
is still pissed about everything dealing with Phoenix and is happy they all
live in an oven. He is also a curmudgeon,
who hates fun. Bless you, Phoenix.
Milwaukee Over 28½, 15-67
The Bucks were in a weird spot. They made the playoffs in 2013, Larry Sanders
went crazy halfway through the season, and never really got much out of OJ Mayo. A bona fide tank job since around Day 15. Yet, all at BDL were very high, and left very
disappointed. To quote Lloyd Christmas,
we were “way off.”
Lakers Over 36½, 27-55
A comedy of error and injury. Losing Kobe certainly hurts, but signing him
to a two year, $48.5 million dollar contract hurts more. And the Steve Nash contract. Perhaps there is a Phil Jackson curse? We all know Phil wanted to come back to L.A.,
but Jimmy Buss ran Phil off to New York.
The curse of the Zen Master? Stay
tuned, but if the Lake Show drafts Joel Embiid, and his back breaks in the
preseason, don’t say you weren’t warned.
Brooklyn Over 52½, 44-38
This is what happens when you decide to start playing
basketball on January 1. They Nets are
actually a good team, and if they played all season like they did down the
stretch, the over would have definitely been in play.
Miami Over 61½, 54-28
We thought Miami would care about home court advantage, and
that they’d have to eclipse 60 wins to get past the Pacers. It’s actually strange. The East was terrible this season, and the
Heat played 52 games against them. Loses
to Philly, Boston, Detroit, Sacramento and Utah are truly headscratching. Is LeBron tired? Will the Heatles find their playoff gear soon
enough to avoid a very disappointing post season? Stay tuned.
Minnesota Over 41½, 40-42
The team that cost Juice the second most money this season,
and they let him down like a $20 dollar hooker:
sad, broke and weeping in an alley.
Never again will BDL put our eggs in the basket of a team that plays no
defense. If Kevin Love is actually a top
10 NBA player, he should make the playoffs at some point in his career, right?
