We all had varying degrees of luck/prescience in the second round with our picks, but like the Pacquiao-Mayweather bout, we all nailed the Holyfield-Romney result with flying colors — though none of us foresaw Mitt’s six-pack abs being quite so popular. Those abs are like Matthew Dellavedova — more impressive than you knew.
So we move on to the conference finals with a collective breath of fresh air. No more Miami Heat. No more Indiana Pacers. No More San Antonio Spurs. No more Oklahoma City Thunder.
What we get instead are teams that hit 3s — lots of them.
Golden State is taking an astounding 29.9 attempts per game and making a league high 11.5 per game. They’ll face a Houston team that is taking 28.5 per game and making 9.9. No wonder the over/under on Tuesday night’s Game 1 has been set at a whopping 219. Yes, it should be a shootout … literally.
But will that shootout also happen from the FT line? The Hack-a strategy remains a tactical weapon in the West finals, with Dwight Howard having made only 41 percent of his postseason attempts, Josh Smith making 44 percent and Corey Brewer making just 60 percent. Those three combined offset James Harden’s 94 percent average from the charity stripe.
And then we have Andrew Bogut, who is making only 25 percent. Get him out of the game, and Howard could be the most important player in this series.
In the East, it could be quite a 3-point shootout as well — though you would not know it from the betting line, with the over/under set at a comparatively low 197 for Game 1.
Atlanta is attempting 28.8 3-point attempts per game and Cleveland is just a shade below that at 28.4. And unlike in the last round, J.R. Smith will not be sitting out the first two games due to a suspension. He is good for taking 10 3s just about any night he steps onto the floor.
Klay Thompson is sporting the best individual 3-point percentage at .477, which brings up an interesting question: Who is going to guard him? If it is Jason Terry or Pablo Prigioni, it’ll be lights out. If it is James Harden, then who is going to be on Steph Curry? Bight it be defensive stopper but relatively slow-footed Corey Brewer? Or maybe Trevor Ariza? That is just one of the many things to watch for Tuesday night when the ball goes up for Game 1.
But back to the point of this column, which is looking into the crystal ball pictured above and seeing who might be able to nail the winners and the exact number of games. Jim Park, our chief blogger, has been coming the closest in the first two rounds — and doing so with a big wide smile on his face. He picked Curry for MVP, Steve Kerr for Coach of the Year and Golden State for the NBA championship way back in the preseason, likely setting himself up for a job with ESPN by the time next season starts.
So here we go.
To the winner go the spoils — sitewide bragging rights at our annual SheridanHoops barbecue, and first dibs on the IPAs that will be buried beneath the 99 cent 18oz ghetto Buds.
CHRIS SHERIDAN, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief
Atlanta-Cleveland: Cavs in 6.
Golden State-Houston: Warriors in 7.
CHRIS BERNUCCA, Managing Editor/Columnist
Atlanta-Cleveland: Hawks in 7.
Golden State-Houston: Warriors in 6.
BOBBY GONZALEZ, Columnist/ Future NBA Coach of the Year
Atlanta-Cleveland: Cavs in 6.
Golden State-Houston: Warriors in 6.
JAN HUBBARD, Columnist/Author of NBA Encyclopedia
Atlanta-Cleveland: Cavs in 6.
Golden State-Houston: Warriors in 5.
DANNY SCHAYES, Columnist/NBA Labor Expert
Atlanta-Cleveland: Cavs in 6.
Golden State-Houston: Rockets in 6.
MARK HEISLER, Hall of Fame Columnist
Atlanta-Cleveland: Hawks in 7
Golden State-Houston: Warriors in 5.
JIM PARK, Chief Blogger/Fortune Teller
Atlanta-Cleveland: Cavs in 7.
Golden State-Houston: Warriors in 5.
JACOB EISENBERG: Columnist, Tassel Owner
Atlanta-Cleveland: Hawks in 7.
Golden State-Houston: Warriors in 6.
SHLOMO SPRUNG, Analytics Expert/Columnist
Atlanta-Cleveland: Cavs in 6.
Golden State-Houston: Warriors in 6.
MICHAEL SCOTTO, Columnist/PayPal Security Skeptic
Atlanta-Cleveland: Cavs in 6.
Golden State-Houston: Warriors in 6.
JOE KOTOCH, Draft Guru
Atlanta-Cleveland: Cavs in 6.
Golden State-Houston: Warriors in 5.
JON MARKS, Columnist/Mahorn Savior
Atlanta-Cleveland: Cavs in 6.
Golden State-Houston: Warriors in 6.
MAXWELL OGDEN, Reporter/Night Owl
Atlanta-Cleveland: Cavs in 6.
Golden State-Houston: Warriors in 5.
SheridanHoops.com has been publishing since September, 2011. The publisher has been covering the NBA since 1990. He just turned 50. Follow him on Twitter.