The Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Hawks, Miami Heat, and Boston Celtics are the last four teams standing in the Eastern Conference but only two will advance to the next round. Here is a look at the Eastern Conference semifinals.
1 Chicago Bulls vs. 5 Atlanta Hawks
Season Series - Chicago leads 2-1
After a surprsingly tough series against Indiana, the top-seeded Bulls will now face off with an Atlanta Hawks team that upset Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic. During the season, Chicago blew Atlanta out twice and blew a huge lead in the other matchup leading to Atlanta's lone win. Going into this series, one big issue for the Hawks is the health of point guard Kirk Hinrich, who left Game 6 against Orlando with a hamstring injury. If he can't go it is a huge blow to the Hawks. Hinrich is a gamer who would have extra incentive going up against his former team. Without him, the defensively-challenged Jamal Crawford would draw the assignment on Derrick Rose and that would be a recipe for disaster for the Hawks. The Bulls have some injury concerns as well, with power forward Carlos Boozer missing practice with turf toe. Word is he will play, though, and he should be more effective against the smaller Hawks' frontline that he was against the big frontline of the Pacers.
The Hawks take a lot of bad shots and that will lead to a lot of fast breaks for the Bulls and a lot of easy baskets for Rose and company. The Bulls are also much better than the Hawks when it comes to hustle plays. They have the better defensive team, play smarter, and they have the hottest thing going in the league right now in point guard Rose. All that suggests a Bulls trip to the conference final.
Prediction: Bulls in 5
2 Miami Heat vs. 3 Boston Celtics
Season Series - Boston leads 3-1
This is the second round matchup with the most sizzle and sex appeal. For the big three of Miami, anything short of a championship is a disappointment. Meanwhile, for the veteran Celtics, this year may be their last realistic chance of winning it all. During the season, the Celtics won three out of four, though the Celtics' wins came earlier in the season before Miami got its chemistry in order and Miami's lone win was a blowout late in the regular season. Both teams are coming off relatively convincing wins in the opening round of the playoffs.
This series features juicy matchups at just about every position. James vs. Pierce at the three, Wade vs. Allen at the two, Bosh vs. Garnett at the four. The Celtics' guys will compete but the edge in these matchups has to go to the younger, in-their-prime Heat. However, if the Celtics' three can at least hold their own, they will have an excellent chance to win the series. That is because they have a huge advantage at point where Rajon Rando is one of the best in the league and neither Mike Bibby nor Mario Chalmers will be able to quard him. At center the Celtics are better as well with Jermaine O'Neal and Shaquille O'Neal (who is expected back and should be well rested) having the edge over the aging Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Joel Anthony. The Celtics also have the edge off the bench with guys like Jeff Green, Delonte West, and Glen Davis.
This series is expected to be hotly contested, highly competitive, and perhaps even a little chippy at times. In the end, though, one thing stands out. The Celtics are one of the best teams in the league as far as finishing games while Miami is one of the worst. Miami was terrible in the close games this year and that is a bad sign going into a series where most of the games are expected to be close. The math also favors the Celtics as a big four (Rando has joined the other three) should win out over a big three.
Prediction: Celtics in 6
Frank Leal - I have a B.A. from Rutgers University. I always enjoyed writing papers and articles, especially about sports. I took a sports writing ...
Join the Conversation