NBA Playoff Conference Finals Predictions: Life after LeBron

Alas, the top seed has been vanquished and we're down to our final four teams in the NBA—and maybe finally in store for a couple of competitive series after three of the last four series ended in sweeps.

Three of those four missing expert picks from the Yahoo experts did finally show up for last round, but the boys at Ball Don't Lie never posted conference semifinal picks. They may get to it this round, but so far nothing from them and instead of using gratuitous photos of the author for spots where I'm still waiting for expert picks from now on, I will instead be using this classic image of a monkey washing a cat.


I should also note that my standings here are ranked according to the most number correct (series predictions with exact number of games, in parentheses to the right, is a tiebreaker), not percentage:

1. (3) John Hollinger, ESPN: 11-1 (2)
2. (6) Sergio Gonzalez, CBS Sports: 10-2 (3)
2. (6) Tim Legler, ESPN: 10-2 (3)
 2. (2) David Thorpe, ESPN: 10-2 (3)
5. (12) Ken Berger, CBS Sports: 10-2 (1)
5. (12) Kenny Smith, Yahoo: 10-2 (1)
7. (5) Chris Broussard, ESPN: 9-3 (4)
 8. (6) Johnny Ludden, Yahoo: 9-3 (3)
9. (9) Henry Abbott, ESPN: 9-3 (2)
9. (14) Jamey Eisenberg, CBS Sports: 9-3 (2)
9. (9) Chad Ford, ESPN: 9-3 (2)
12. (22) Greg Urbano, CBS Sports: 9-3 (1)
13. (1) Kelly Dwyer, Ball Don't Lie: 8-0 (4)
14. (14) J.A. Adande, ESPN: 8-4 (2)
14. (14) Nunzio Ingrassia, CBS Sports: 8-4 (2)
14. (3) Trey Kirby, Ball Don't Lie: 8-0 (2)
14. (14) Jalen Rose, ESPN: 8-4 (2)
14. (14) Chris Sheridan, ESPN: 8-4 (2)
14. (14) Marc Stein, ESPN: 8-4 (2)
14. (14) YOURS TRULY: 8-4 (2)
 21. (22) Marc J. Spears, Yahoo: 8-4 (1)
22. (14) Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo: 7-4 (2)
22. (9) Dan Devine, Ball Don't Lie: 7-1 (2)

Yeah, so on all three of the series where there's been a difference of opinion, I was wrong on all three counts. But with only two series this round and a couple fairly matched teams, like I said last round, we've at least got some variety shaping up here:

Apparently, only the black experts like the Celtics over at Yahoo:

ESPN gives us our first votes for Phoenix:

Looks like CBS Sports is slacking ...:

... and nothing from Ball Don't Lie yet either:

Now, I think this is a fair time to point out that last year with roughly the same group of experts, out of the four possible Finals scenarios resulting from the conference finals, the only one that nobody predicted was Orlando-Los Angeles—which of course was what we got.

And so far, the only scenario I'm not seeing is Boston-Phoenix. Hmmm ...

Anyway, I need to get the hell out of the house (and put the NHL picks up in a sec too), so let's not waste any more time:

Boston Celtics over Orlando Magic in six games

I've heard some people talk about confident the Orlando Magic looked so far in their first two rounds where they swept a Bobcats team that was just happy to finally be making the franchise's first playoff appearance and an Atlanta Hawks club that apparently dies upon entry into the second round each year. As the No. 2 seed, yes, they should have looked confident dismantling those clubs, and indeed they took care of business. But as much as some want to pin Cleveland's downfall on LeBron's Game Five or assorted members of his supporting cast, the real reason the Cavaliers got bounced last round was because they ran into a Celtics team that hasn't played this well in years. And considering how Boston really clamped down once their last series became a best-of-three, I'm guessing they haven't forgotten that the Magic are the same club that bounced them last year. If you're picking Orlando in this series though, you trust Vince Carter a lot more than I do. I'm not going to be surprised, however, if he ends up forcing up a number of ill-advised shots either out of desperation. If Ray Allen can find his outside stroke and help reduce double-teams on either Paul Pierce or Kevin Garnett, then Boston's Big Three should help put them over the top as Rajon Rondo will likely be having his way with Jameer Nelson and further proving why it won't be long before you're referring to these Celtics as his team.

Los Angeles Lakers over Phoenix Suns in seven games

I know. This is typically the point in the playoffs where I begin to find whatever reasons I can to believe the Lakers have to be ousted before the Finals—in addition to the usual wishful thinking. And believe me—there's some good reasons this year. Phoenix's offensive efficiency is like hella scary. Consider:

How good were the Suns with the ball in 2009-10? The gap between their top-ranked offense and Orlando's second-ranked squad was greater than the distance between Orlando and #10 Dallas. Incredibly, the Suns have become even more efficient in the postseason, where they're averaging 113.2 points per 100 possessions.

And don't be fooled by the Suns having to go six games in that opening series with the Blazers—it was about as lopsided as a six-game set could be, really. But as much as we know Steve Nash is going to be absolutely insane in this series, blowing by Derek Fisher time and time again, all while playing without an eye or leg or something, I can't ignore the rest of the matchups here. Yes, I think Phoenix has a helluva bench and can indeed present the Lakers with a pretty deep team to compete with, but aside from your total mismatch at the point, I can't be sold on how the rest of the spots play out for the Suns. Am I really supposed to believe that either Grant Hill or Jason Richardson's going to be able to slow down Kobe Bryant? I am willing to bet Ron Artest can slow down Richardson on the other end. And Pau Gasol has the size to diminish Amar'e Stoudemire's presence in the low post or at least force more midrange shots, but the Lakers just have the size in general down low. L.A.'s fortune, I assume, will be determined on a game-to-game basis by the performance of their bench. But in the end, the champions should advance to defend their title in the same matchup I had at the beginning of this season.