THE FIRST QUESTION BEFORE ANY NBA SEASON STARTS IS, WHO WILL BE PLAYING THE WARRIORS IN THE FINALS ?

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Appears the dinosaurs are not extinct in Canada. Finally another team, instead of those Lebron James teams always getting the same results in the finals. Loss after loss!!! Did Michael Jordan ever lose a championship?

Toronto Raptors make their first ever NBA finals appearance. Toronto brings a very exciting team this year versus a very tough opponent in Golden State Warriors who have now made it to the finals five years in a row. Warriors, a dynasty looking to add, so as to be one of the best teams in NBA history. Meanwhile Raptor fever has many Toronto fans wanting Kawhi Leonard to stay long term in their city. Offers of fans buying him a house up North are on the table. It’s Kawhi Leonard who has taken this Raptor team on his shoulders and led them past a tough Milwaukee Bucks team. Golden State has shown their team depth as they have had some big injuries to a few of their players. One of their stars in Kevin Durant. Boogie Cousins, they have played plenty of games without his services. Golden State’s obstacle was the Rockets as always and they took them out easier than the year before. Finished them off without Kevin Durant.

Toronto won both regular season games versus the Warriors in regular season. Kevin Durant has been ruled out of game one of the finals. Will he be able to come back and play any of the games in the finals? Regular season and even without Kevin Durant on the court, does not change anything. The Warriors have not lost a game after Durant got hurt. The Warriors have won a title without Kevin Durant. While the Raptors took a last second shot in a game seven to advance to the conference championship.

THE X-FACTORS

The coach of the Raptors drew up a game plan to make the Bucks star, Giannis Antetokoumpo, look ordinary. Can Nick Nurse come up with a plan to stop or at least contain some of the Warrior fire power?

Warriors have so many players to talk about on their roster. Everyone seems to forget about the Draymond Green. The Dennis Rodman on the team that does the dirty work. Great defense, rebounding and he can score at will as he is playing at a very high level during these playoffs, especially with Kevin Durant MIA.

If the Raptors are going to hang with the Warriors or if they want to win this series, they will need Pascal Siakam to play his best defense. If Kawhi Leonard continues to play at the level he is playing. They need Pascal to take down some of the Warrior firepower to have a chance.

I think this series will be very good. I think the Toronto Raptors are one of the most talented teams the Warriors ever played in the finals. They are better than that Lebron James team that beat the Warriors that one year. I think that year the Warriors’ sudden collapse was their own doing which is why the Cavaliers overtook them. I can see this series going the distance. At the end it will come down to the shot. I like Seth Curry’s shot much better then Kawhi Leonard. I think the Warriors find a way to contain Leonard. But Toronto has a talented roster in depth at all positions like Golden State. Other players chip in for the Raptors to keep the dinosaurs from going extinct early on. Warriors have proved with or without Durant they are a very dangerous team. Toronto can’t count for all. Steve Kerr outcoaches Nick Nurse. All the experience in this type of games go to the Warriors.

WARRIORS IN SEVEN

THE 2018-2019 STANLEY CUP

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The Stanley Cup comes down to the St. Louis Blues versus the Boston Bruins. We had both these teams ousted in the first round. I believe we had both teams eliminated in round two as well. Matter of fact, we only picked the Bruins in the last series to win versus the Scorpions who did not quite rock it like a hurricane versus Boston in the Championship round. This year’s playoffs, with all the upsets, comes down to another championship in the four major sports that has Boston versus St. Louis. The Red Sox prevailed over the Cardinals in that one.

Who do you root for as a fan out of these two teams? As a Chicago Blackhawk fan I can play the divisional rival card. Don’t ever root for the rival, St.Louis Blues. However some people will root for the closest team to their city which would be the Blues. The biggest question I have is, are we not getting sick of Boston winning every sports championship? Red Sox last year in baseball. Do not get me started on the pure hate for the Evil Empire and the Patriots. Celtics I thought in the beginning of the season they would be representing the eastern conference in the NBA. Celtics have won far too many Basketball championships.

The Boston Bruins have won six Stanley Cups and will be looking for their seventh. Meanwhile the Blues have never won a cup and have appeared in the Stanley Cup finals three times to have won nothing. Last time the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup was in the 2010-2011 season. The last time the Bruins were in the cup they lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2012-2013 season.

Both teams to make it this far have had great goal tending. Tuukka Rask is the veteran goal keeper for the Bruins. The Blues have the rookie, Jordan Binnington, who has been sensational. I like the roster depth on the Boston Bruins as they are deep at most of their positions. The Blues have had the best record on the road. Bruins feature one of the best lines in the game. However the Blues have gotten some high octane scoring as they advanced deeper into the playoffs.

The common theme in these playoffs has been the play of some of these young teams that came in, excelled and their team got the big upset. Columbus Blue Jackets knocked out the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Carolina Hurricanes took out the defending champions. I think this common theme rides out and the St.Louis Blues great run comes to an end by the hands of the Boston Bruins. Bruins still have a small core from their last appearance in the cup finals. That experience prevails as the Blues goaltender finally comes back to earth and looks human again.

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Tukka Rask outplays Binnington. His performance reminds all Bruins fans of their best goalie of all-time, in Eddie Lebec

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BRUINS WIN THE CUP IN SIX GAMES

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Carla Lebec is happy as she still has season tickets from the Bruins since the great Eddie Lebec passed away on Cheers.

The Chicago Bears brain trust are a head scratcher in my mind. They draft well. They have made some nice free agent signings. They have made some interesting trades that have panned out. All of those right moves, they are like the Catholic church and hiding the one move they have completely messed up on. The one weakness they have not addressed this off-season that knocked them out of the playoffs. The player they had already in place but they got rid of. The mistake that still haunts Ryan Pace at night as he wakes up with the cold sweats. The cutting of Robbie Gould is a move that haunts the Bears like the goat that jinxed the Cubs for decades.

Last season the Bears gave Cody Parky, a free agent, big money to replace the mistakes from the previous year of mistakes that kicked the ball for the Chicago Bears. They signed Parky in hopes that the Robbie Gould mistake would go away. In the Bears’ books, they were fixing the sports car that the young 16 year daughter took out without a drivers license and crashed through their own garage door. They spent money to fix that car and door immediately so none of neighbors would ask them questions on what happened. Sometimes after the crash, the car with the work done is never the same. Cody Parky was not the same kicker from Miami Dolphins as he was with the Chicago Bears. The one game, he hit the uprights four times as the ball did not pinball the right way and were flat out misses. Then in the first round of the playoffs, to drive down the length of the field in the last minute of the game. To get the ball in position for an easy field goal to win the contest and move on to a second round. Another kick, another off the goalpost for a miss. Hollywood could not even write a story about this.

Robbie Gould wants out of San Francisco. He actually still has his family living in Chicago. He even went to the Bears playoff game versus the Eagles and watched Cody Parky miss the kick that could have sent the Bears to the second round. Since Robbie Gould was cut by Ryan Pace, he has been almost perfect with the New York Giants and the San Francisco 49ers. While the Bears have paraded every dick and harry in an helmet to come up with weak numbers in a position that has haunted them. A position that is an obvious a glaring weakness. Still a position they have not addressed in the off season. The Bears even know Robbie Gould wants out of San Francisco. The 49ers are holding on to Robbie with a franchise tag, but he does not want to kick for the 49ers. He wants to come home where he belongs as the Bears best kicker in the history of the franchise.

Sounds easy to just make a trade for Robbie Gould with the 49ers. You’d think they owe us especially for all the draft picks we gave them just to move up one spot to grab Mitchell Trubisky. Is Ryan Pace this stubborn to admit that he made a huge mistake years ago releasing Robbie Gould for having a down year? The Bears still have some money on the books to pay the ineffective Cody Parky from last year. Is bringing every person that kicked a ball at one point off the streets, the answer to solve this weakness that plaques your team right now? Or even the trade with the Raiders for Eddie Pineiro in a deal that will cost the Bears a late round draft pick. Which is a deal dependent on if Eddie Pineiro even makes the squad. Which tells me the Raiders know the guy is hot garbage and perhaps he gives them a draft pick or he would have ended up at the curb anyways.

Why is going on and on about a kicker so important anyways? Some teams would just put a band-aid on their kicker position. Which the Bears have done and are still trying to do that. This position is not the reason why they made the playoffs. The defense and the up and coming offense is that reason for the Bears resurgence in the Central division. In baseball a closer is huge for teams winning the World Series. They need somebody to close the door. In football a kicker does come into play as the closer role to make the one kick to put you over the top or tie the game to send it to OT with crucial seconds left. The Bears should have a great team for the next few years. However the window in the NFL shuts pretty quickly. Without the missed kick in the first round of the playoffs would the Bears have gotten to the Superbowl last season? The Bears defense definitely shut down the Rams team that represented the NFC in the Superbowl. You would love to think the Bears would have put up more points on the Patriots than the Rams did in the Superbowl. Speaking of the Patriots, they seem to always have a good kicker as their destiny continues this long. With the Bears window opened all the way, we do not want to go down the road of missing a crucial kick especially in the Superbowl. We do not have to live the life of Buffalo Bills fans in the 1990s when Scott Norwood missed that kick with seconds left. Some say if the Bills had won that game, they might have won a few Superbowls with that team. Ryan Pace needs to man up, admit he made a mistake, go get Robbie Gould from the 49ers and bring him home where he belongs. This is more than being wrong and not asking for directions when you’re lost driving. These days your phone can guide you to your next destination. Let the phone guide you to call up the 49ers and get this deal done.

The past regular season for the New Orleans Pelican fans is a season to forget about. It’s a season where the team finished in the bottom of the standings. With a record of 33-49. Besides the record, the season will be remembered for the team’s best player demanding a trade. Anthony Davis wants out of the big easy as he let it be known to the basketball world. Not just any team, the LA Lakers are his preferred destination. To form your typical NBA way of things, the big three combo. To join forces with Lebron James and bring the once upon a time ago LA Lakers off life support, which they’ve been on since Kobe Bryant left the building. The Pelicans never traded Anthony Davis because as the painful season continued on, he was eventually shut down with injuries.

The playoffs in the NBA are down to the final four teams. The league held their annual sweepstakes for the number one draft pick for the up and coming season. A metal cage style of lottery balls being spun around, bouncing up and down as teams hope to get the number one selection. It’s a no-brainer that this off-season is all about the Zion Williamson sweepstakes. Zion Williamson from the University of Duke. The most exciting rookie probably since Lebron James entered the league. A player who could instantly make an impact on day one while lacing up his sneakers. The New Orleans Pelicans now have new hope because they are the team that pretty much won the lotto. They will add a player who could jump start their team, after all the things that occurred last season.

Would Anthony Davis stay since the team will land Zion Williamson? If he did change his mind, New Orleans Pelicans would have two true superstars. They would have two big men that could dominate underneath. If they could add another shooter to the mix from downtown, with some decent role players this teams could become a legitimate force in the NBA landscape. Could management convince their old superstar to come back and play with Zion Williamson? Those might be fences that can not be mended. Since the Pelicans were able to get the lucky ball to win the Zion sweepstakes, Anthony Davis still wants out. Those two playing along side of each other is just a pipe dream.

The Pelicans have the rights to Anthony Davis for another year. If they do not convince him to come back to the team, they probably get more if they trade him during the summer time. If they wait until the trade deadline come February, they would not get what Anthony Davis is worth. The Pelicans need to put some talent alongside Zion Williamson so they do not go down this same road in the future. You would have to be careful if you are the Pelicans and still have a disgruntled player on the court. Polluting your young superstar’s mind with these typical NBA trade demands. Typical… I have to play with my buddies while abandoning cities that have to change on the fly when these players go elsewhere. Everyone hopes a Zion Williamson is a type of guy like a Michael Jordan. A guy like Giannis Antetokounmpo for the Milwaukee Bucks. Guys that want to beat you, not join forces with you.

If I were the Pelicans, I’d now have new life and hope after feeling like the team fell into some kind of dark abyss from the Anthony Davis situation. I would find the best deal for the team to put some pieces alongside Zion Williamson, who now is the face of the franchise. Zion Williamson is now competing with Drew Brees for the cover of New Orleans’ sports landscape. If I were the Pelicans, I would not do Anthony Davis any favors helping him with a situation he wants. Maybe they should send him to the Lakers with Lebron James. Since he got their that franchise turned into hot garbage. Magic Johnson had to walk away, now with Lebron running things. Would be great to see Lebron James and Anthony Davis sink like the Titanic as the Lakers sink deeper and become those forgotten Clippers teams from once upon a time ago.

We went 3-1 last round in our NBA predictions. Only to continue to get burned by the Portland Trail Blazers. Are they for real? Did the road to the NBA FINALS just get easier for the Warriors? Will the Durant injury be fatal enough to derail the Warriors? Can almighty Buck bring another ice age to the raptors?

THE WESTERN CONFERENCE

GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS VERSUS PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS

Portland Trail Blazers keep making us eat crow. We thought since they were missing one of their best players to start the playoffs, they would have been ousted in the very first round. Sure you can say the Trail Blazers led by Damian Lilliard and CJ McCollum have made the playoffs six straight seasons. This is the first time they got past the first round. Both Lilliard and McCollum are playing out of their minds since the playoffs have started. Will that keep up against the defending champions?

The Golden State Warriors have suddenly hit an injury bug. They have lost Boogie Cousins in the first round and he is out the rest of the playoffs. Then Kevin Durant has been out with a calf injury. We can not forget the Warriors have won before either of these players arrived in Golden State. Can they win without Durant is the big question?

Warriors have made it to the NBA finals the last four seasons. Last time Portland made it to the finals was back in 1992 where Clyde the Glide Drexler lost to the best player ever in the NBA. Michael Jordan Bulls. Last time the Blazers won the NBA championship was in 1971. Warriors last season. I think with Durant out, Stephen Curry and the rest of the group become even hungrier to prove they can get to the finals without a Durant. I think the Blazers finally cool off. I think it’s old times as Warriors make quick work of the Blazers and advance to the finals for the fifth straight year. Can you say splash brothers?

WARRIORS IN FIVE

EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

MILWAUKEE BUCKS VERSUS TORONTO RAPTORS

It took the Toronto Raptors seven games to knock off the the Philadelphia 76ers. The Raptors since they came into the league back in 1995 have only made the conference championship one time, in 2016 to lose. It took a last second jumper from Kawhi Leonard to get the team to its second eastern conference championship.

The Milwaukee Bucks man handled the Celtics after they won a game. The Bucks had the best record in the whole entire league with 60 victories. This is another city that has not won in it seems like forever. 1971 was the last time the Bucks prevailed as champions. It’s been two decades since the Bucks have made it to the Eastern conference finals.

This will be the first Eastern Conference Championship not involving Lebron James in a very long time. THANK GOD!! That got very old and exhausting. The Raptors have the more playoff experienced roster compared to the Bucks. The Bucks have the best player in the league with Giannis.

BUCKS IN SIX

We need Stu Grimson to take us out to the back of the shed and calmly beat some common sense into our woeful playoff hockey picking in the second round.

                      

PLEASE NOT THE FACE:

Going 1-3 in the last round deserves a new look, I guess. However we are feeling confident as we are going the opposite. Like George Costanza picking the opposite of what he is thinking. This will help when we predict the two teams in the Stanley Cup.

BOSTON BRUINS VERSUS CAROLINA HURRICANES

The Hurricanes have been blowing through the playoffs with strong winds. Blowing away the defending Stanley Cup champions.The Hurricanes handled an Islanders team that is strictly all about the defense. Wiped out an Islander team that was coached by last year’s Champion Capitals. The team is young and hungry. They love having fun. They like to celebrate their wins with NFL end zone types of stuff.

The Bruins have the best power play. They have the best goalie still standing in the net. Tuuka Rask has been awesome with a .938 save percentage. They are a team with plenty of depth. A team that still has a few of their old core from their last Stanley Cup. Bruins are one of the two teams left that have scored over 100 points in regular season. 

THE X-FACTOR: ZDENO CHARA

This series will not be the Hurricanes as David and Chara as Goliath. Zdeno Chara will make every Hurricane feel like they aged ten years after this series. He will push them around like how the Gooch pushed around Arnold Jackson on Different Strokes. The kids will cry when all is said and done. 

BRUINS WIN IN SIX

ST.LOUIS BLUES VERSUS SAN JOSE SHARKS

Who the hell is Jordan Binnington? He has been the Blues’ messiah behind the net. Perhaps he sold his soul to the devil. He is the biggest reason why the Blues, who should have been out in the first round, are not on summer vacation. Can the Blues snap a drought of 49 years of not being able to make it to the big prom dance with Stanley? That kind of sounds gay. But in the happy sense, the Blues are and have been very awesome on the road. Home ice is not a threat and perhaps not even the Shark tank.

San Jose Sharks like to live on the edge so far in the playoffs. Go very deep into each series and finally knock off their opponent in game seven. Like Rocky Balboa trying and determined to go the distance versus Apollo Creed. Sharks have taken out two talented teams that are no slouches. The Golden Knights and the Avalanche were picked by many. Sharks are built to win this now with all the veterans that they are stocked up in. You have to like the depth of this team and all this experience is playing great hockey. They have Joe Pavelski back.They have home ice. They are the other team that has had 100 points in regular season. They have all the breaks bouncing their way.

THE X-FACTOR ERIK KARLSSON

Erik Karlsson has been awesome on the defensive side on the ice for the Sharks. Helping run the power play. Helping on the penalty kill. He has that wicked slap shot that explodes off his stick from half ice. His stellar defense has helped out his goalie Martin Jones to see less shots. Which has helped with his confidence in stopping what he does see.

Sharks have been the only team we have been right about throughout this whole mess of upsets in the NHL playoffs in 2019.

NOTHING NEW SHARKS IN SEVEN

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In 2018 the Arizona Cardinals drafted Josh Rosen as their future quarterback out of UCLA. The Cardinals moved up to get the young gunslinger at number ten and traded some draft picks to seal the deal. Only a year later, the Cardinals this time had the number one draft pick in 2019, which means things did not go right in 2018. The Cardinals could not pass up a dual threat type of quarterback that can run and throw. A Heisman trophy winner. A very athletic type of person not only great in football, but who can play well in baseball. You could of said the next Bo Jackson. However Kyler Murray chose football over baseball. Then the Cardinals chose Kyler over Josh. The Cardinals traded Josh Rosen after the draft to the Miami Dolphins. What if the Arizona Cardinals made the wrong choice?

If you compared both Josh Rosen and Kyler Murray’s college resume, who is the better quarterback without taking a professional snap? Hands down Kyler Murray. When the San Diego Chargers drafted Phillip Rivers they had Drew Brees already in place. Eventually Brees was let go due to an injury. Phillip Rivers and Drew Brees were even teammates for two seasons. Who was the better college quarterback between Drew Brees and Phillip Rivers? Stat wise goes to Phillip Rivers as the better college quarterback. Both had similar numbers though. Rivers had a higher rating and completion percentage but the yards and touch downs thrown are pretty close. The Chargers figured Brees’ days were done when he got injured. However if they thought Drew Brees was the guy, they would have never drafted Phillip Rivers.

How can you pass up on somebody very athletic like a Kyler Murray. He was so athletic he was picked in the first round in two major sports. He was picked number one over all in football. People will compare him to Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks. Wilson has two Superbowl appearances and a ring from winning one of them. Wilson now is one of the highest paid quarterbacks in the league. Kyler Murray last year was outstanding as he led the Oklahoma Sooners to the Orange Bowl. Kyler Murray passed for over 4000 yards while completing 69% of his passes. He had 42 touchdowns in the air. Threw only 7 interceptions. Then the dual threat also ran for over a 1000 yards while scoring twelve touchdowns.

Josh Rosen completed only 60.8% of his passes at UCLA. The original plan for Josh Rosen was to watch from the sidelines. Sam Bradford the starting quarterback for the beginning of the 2018 season was God awful. Rosen was thrown into the wolves den which would actually be Bears.The Bears defense is the first action he faced in the NFL. That has to ruin many young quarterbacks’ confidence taking on the best defense in the league and surviving. Rosen did survive and he went on to play the rest of the regular season. Josh Rosen played in 13 games in his very first year in the NFL. He threw for 2,278 yards in the air. He had 11 touchdowns and yikes, 14 interceptions. Rosen had the worst offensive line in the league. Cardinals should be ashamed of themselves to have no protection at the time for their future. Rosen also had to work with a few different offensive coordinators. Plus he had no rushing attack. Larry Fitzgerald was their best receiver and he got hurt. The rest were a bunch of bums. With all those circumstances he went into Green Bay and knocked the Packers out. Which cost them the playoffs and their long time head coach who was fired after that game.

The only knock on Kyler Murray is that he is short to play quarterback in the NFL. He is only a hair shorter than Russell Wilson when he arrived in the NFL. Drew Brees has been vertically challenged his whole career as a quarterback in the league and look what he has done. The Murray pick does look like a no brainer. However some people thought Ryan Leaf was better than Peyton Manning that year they both got drafted. Dual threats like Murray need to follow the same blueprints of Steve Young and Russell Wilson. Not just become a running quarterback like Mike Vick and RG III. Which those two have experienced multiple injuries. Injuries after which they were not the same each time they came back. But the difference between Young and Wilson over the dog killer and RG III is getting hit. Murray needs to be able to pass in the pocket and run when he needs to. Not running for your life Charlie Brown on every other play. Vick and RGIII and many other running quarterbacks can not just stand in pocket all Sunday and throw. Sometimes it could take one hit and Kyler Murray might not have much of a career. He has to show he can stand in the pocket and deliver the ball right when he is being tackled. We know he can throw on the run. We know he can run like Forest Gump.

Drew Brees left San Diego and won a Superbowl with the New Orleans Saints. He has become one of the top quarterbacks of all-time. He is playing still at a high level closing in on 40 years of age. Phillip Rivers has been an Iron Man type in Chargers history. He has won a few playoff games. Never has gotten to the Superbowl. If you can find a Charger fan, they will tell you they should have kept Drew Brees. In the NFL sometimes a quarterback will be traded to second team and take off. Brett Farve was in Atlanta and then traded to Green Bay. If Kyler Murray does pretty good like Phillip Rivers is doing in LA, the Cardinals will be very happy with that. Rivers is a great quarterback. However if Josh Rosen leads the Dolphins to a Superbowl and Murray never gets there, this move will go South for the Arizona organization for giving up on him that quick. Both these quarterbacks will be compared for years to come. If both of them stay in the league and become starters for their team, for years they will be dissected like a worm in 8th grade science class. The Cardinals are like that person who gets married just because the person said yes, which is Josh Rosen. Then the long years of the secret crush turns out to be available and likes you back as you drool all over yourself. Suddenly you drop the Rosen like a bad habit. Just hope she does not come back with confidence to beat your team in the big game like a Brees in the night.

In the first round we went 6-2 in the 8 playoff match ups. We took a gamble on the Nets upsetting the Sixers. It looked like we had something there. But that blew up in our face. Not sure why we get suckered into picking the Oklahoma Thunder year after year. It bit us in the rear once again. We still went 6-2.

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The first round we picked after kicking our glue habit for only a week.

Obviously we still have a drinking problem. Don’t pour gasoline on yourself. Don’t stab yourself in the chest or that will be a bloody mess.

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We Know Kareem Abdul Jabbar.

The tall pilot in the plane with the sky hook may have helped us pick round two of the 2019 NBA Playoffs. Now you have to read what is going down in round two. Probably nothing to get excited over. But you made it this far so dive right in.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS VERSUS HOUSTON ROCKETS

Will the Warriors have problems with the Boogie Man being injured? Boogie Cousins aka the Boogie man was uncovered in the Clippers series and will be gone the rest of the playoffs. Meanwhile The Rockets were 3-1 versus the Warriors in regular season. This is starting to be the norm in Western conference when the Rockets meet the Warriors in one of the rounds in the Western playoffs. Rockets gave the Warriors their biggest challenge in the playoffs last season. Can they do it again and have enough in the tank to prevail this go around? James Harden and Chris Paul still have their work cut out for them. No Boogie but the Warriors still have Seth Curry, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant. Boogie Cousins did not play for the Warriors last year. Plus Steve Kerr has an option with Andre Iguodala to sick on James Harden.

HOUSTON YOU STILL HAVE A PROBLEM

The Rockets don’t have the depth to out slug the Warriors in a best out of seven series.

WARRIORS IN 6

PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS VERSUS DENVER NUGGETS

The Portland Trail Blazers handled the Thunder with ease in the first round. They did that without one of their star players who is out for the year, center Jusif Nurkic. The Thunder have a history of flopping in the first round as that has been a common thing since Kevin Durant went Golden. The Denver Nuggets were battle tested with the Spurs in a long series that the Nuggets finally concluded. Nothing to be ashamed of as the Spurs can give most teams a fight even without the weapons they used to have. Damian Lillard came up big for the Trail Blazers in round one. He will have to play out of his mind to get his team past the Nuggets. The Trail Blazers will have lots of problems trying to contain Nikola Jokic. The Nuggets were the second best team in the West all season. I think the long series versus the Spurs will help the Nuggets in this round.

Nikola Jokic will strut his stuff in round two. Nice rainbows from all over the court. RIP CITY AFTER RIP CITY FOR THE NUGGETS!!!!

NUGGETS IN FIVE

EASTERN CONFERENCE

TORONTO RAPTORS VERSUS PHILADELPHIA 76ERS

Both of these teams have made trades in the regular season to help their team get better. The Raptors have had more games played together as a team in their trades than the 76ers. The Philadelphia 76ers have the better starting five going head to head with Toronto. The Raptors have more depth that will help them get through a seven game series if needed. I do like the Toronto Raptors defense which might be the best remaining. I know it is the NBA and most think it is just an offensive game. But defense is still the key in any sport. Plus it is the key in winning championships in almost very sport. This should be a well played series.

The man above will miss a key shot in a key game that will cost the 76ers. I see also Jimmy Butler will try to do more than he can and that will hurt his team. Taking shots he should not take. Missing a wide open guy. He will bring the 76ers down in round two.

RAPTORS IN SEVEN

MILWAUKEE BUCKS VERSUS BOSTON CELTICS

People thought the Celtics were on life support. Maybe every Boston professional sports team has an easy button they can push, and the team suddenly thrives in the playoffs. Maybe they are just bored and love drama in regular season to keep things interesting. Brad Stevens has some great schemes as the Celtics easily handled the Pacers. Milwaukee is the number one team in the Eastern Conference. Bucks offensive when things are rolling looks very hard to contain. Kyrie Irving will come alive in this series and the Celtics will need his best games if they want to get past the Almighty Bucks. I like Brook Lopez down and under and able to easily beat his defender Al Horford. I also think Gordon Haywood will make some noise in this series. The Celtics will throw the kitchen sink after the Bucks but Milwaukee pulls out this series out at the very bitter end.

BUCKS IN SEVEN