If you added up all the years of experience for the writers listed below, you’d have well over a century of basketball journalism expertise. Some of these guys have logged decades with different news outlets, while a few others have logged almost three years of experience while writing for this site.
We’ve got writers stationed across the country and around the globe, and each brings a unique perspective.
Who are the wisest of the bunch when it comes to making predictions?
Well, if there was one guy who had nailed every single series over the first round of the playoffs, I’d be touting him right here and now. But then again, if someone was that good at making picks, he wouldn’t be in the journalism business. He’d have a comped room at the Wynn 365 days a year, and he’d be spending his days and nights counting his bankroll in between forays to the sports book windows.
But with that being said, both Danny Schayes and Peter May nailed the conference finals by picking Heat and Spurs in 6.
I have already weighed in with my NBA Finals pick — Miami in 7, despite two blowout losses. In my book, you don’t pick against the best player on the planet.
Here are the picks of our top columnists and bloggers, along with a short explanation of why their crystal balls guided them to their particular picks.
MARK HEISLER, Columnist, Los Angeles:
Spurs in 6.
“Spurs are bigger and deeper. The Heat doesn’t shown that extra gear it had at the height of its game in last season’s 27-game winning streak, having just played down to all the dog-ass teams in the East. I love Bron but he still doesn’t go in the post, so everything for Miami is outside-in. San Antonio has a paint-protecting D and a great offense that, unlike Heat’s, doesn’t have to turn you over a bunch of times to score 110.”
JAN HUBBARD, Columnist, Dallas:
Spurs in 7.
“I actually managed to get the NBA finalists correct in preseason predictions, but I’ve had second thoughts about who wins. Originally I predicted Miami and with Tony Parker shaky, it probably would be best to stick with that. But I think the Spurs are a special blend of Hall of Famers and superior role players, which makes them by far a deeper team. We go the distance again, but it’s San Antonio in 7.”
CHRIS BERNUCCA, Columnist, Managing Editor, Connecticut:
Heat in 6
“I picked the Heat in October and I am not changing my prediction, even though their margin of error seems even slimmer than it was a year ago. But Miami remains the only team unbeaten at home in the postseason, which means the game’s best player simply has to figure out how to get one road win, which he has done in every playoff series since taking his talents to South Beach.”
PETER MAY, Columnist, Boston:
Spurs in 6
“This was my prediction last year and it should have held true. If Pop doesn’t have another brain camp this time, the Spurs will finally get No. 5 for Tim Duncan.”
DANNY SCHAYES, Columnist, Phoenix:
Spurs in 6
“Motivation is the key here. They are hungry and they want it more. My only caveat is that Tony Parker can go at close to 100 percent.”
JOE KOTOCH, Draft Guru, Cleveland.:
Heat in 6
“The Spurs may be the deeper and more complete team, but Miami has the best player in the world and is defending back-to-back champions. There are a lot of great story lines as we get the rematch that everyone wanted. With Tony Parker’s ankle a potential issue, the Heat should be able to win this series and three-peat.”
SHLOMO SPRUNG, Columnist/Analytics Expert, New York:
Spurs in 7
“Tony Parker’s health will be the biggest factor in the series, but San Antonio’s superior depth and the new 2-2-1-1-1 format favors the Spurs, who have the home court advantage. San Antonio mixed different lineups all season long to gain any sort of edge against a team like Miami and that, and Kawhi Leonard’s improvement since last year’s Finals, will be the difference in the series.”
ANDY KAMENETZKY, Columnist, Los Angeles:
Heat in 7
“I don’t trust Tony Parker’s ankle, and LeBron’s ability to be the best player on the floor is impossible not to trust. Plus, my wife is a die-hard, emotional Spurs fan, so I’m not going to risk her wrath by “jinxing” San Antonio in any way, shape or form.”
BRIAN KAMENETZKY, Columnist, Los Angeles:
Spurs in 7
“They’ve consistently been the better team all season long, the best team in the NBA, and they’ve played at an equally high level in the playoffs against better competition. As long as Parker is healthy, I’ll go with San Antonio in 7.
BOBBY “COACH GONZO” GONZALEZ, Columnist, New York:
Spurs in 7
“I’m going with Spurs in 7 because of the revenge factor from last year’s finals, the fact that they lost the series the way they did, and were able to get through the rugged Western Conference to get back here again. That says a lot about their mental fortitude and toughness. Lastly, I think personnel-wise — even with worrying about Parker’s ankle and Wade playing better than year ago — the Spurs got better and the Heat got worse without Mike Miller. The Spurs might have the No. 1 bench in the league.”
MIKE SCOTTO, Columnist, New York:
Spurs in 7
“San Antonio has waited for this rematch for a year while showing the mental fortitude and grit necessary to make it happen. The Spurs nearly dethroned “King” James last season and this time they will do so. As Tim Duncan said, “We’ve got four more to win. We’ll do it this time.” When the league’s most humble and quiet superstar makes a statement like that, it’s clear the focus is there for this team. As long as Tony Parker stays healthy, Duncan will be right.”
A.J. MITNICK, Columnist/International Editor, Tel Aviv
Spurs in 6
“While the Heat have had a far easier path than the Spurs, and showed great character dealing with the shenanigans of the Pacers, this Spurs team is a bit stronger than the team that lost in 7 games a year ago. Parker’s injury adds a bit of uncertainty for San Antonio, as his pick and roll ability is their bread and butter, but if he is healthy the Spurs should have the upper hand.”
JON MARKS, Columnist, Philadelphia
Spurs in 7
“It’s simple math: 5 > 3. Great as LeBron, DWade and to a lesser extent Bosh are, Spurs have the better
five-man team. That and home court will make the difference.”
JEREMY BAUMAN, Columnist, Chicago
Heat in 6
For 2 1/2 games in the 2012-13 series between these teams, LeBron James forgot he was a knockdown mid-range shooter. Don’t expect him to wait to get the party started this year.
JIM PARK, Chief Blogger, New York:
Spurs in 6
“The Spurs have the complete package. They can attack you in so many different ways while maintaining defensive intensity (top 3 during the regular season), and their depth is simply unmatched. The Heat took care of business in the first three rounds against mediocre to dreadful offensive teams in the East, but will now face a true juggernaut team looking for revenge.”
MICHAEL BRUMAGIN, Tweet of the Day Editor, Atlanta
Heat in 6
“The idea of the San Antonio Spurs’ home court advantage is an illusion. The Miami Heat are 7-4 against them (2-3 at the AT&T Center) over the last two years, including postseason. They haven’t lost a playoff game in Miami since Game 1 of last year’s Finals. Powered by the best in the world, LeBron James, a much healthier Dwyane Wade, a more consistent Chris Bosh and timely contributions from Chris Andersen, Norris Cole, Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis, Miami will three-peat.
I’m a Lebron fan, but I think he gave a really good explanation.
He said his MVP vote went KD, Blake, LBJ. Everyone else basically had KD, LBJ, Blake. So it wasn’t really a huge slight in that regard, Blake did have a great year.
So when it came down to first team NBA, you can only pick two forwards, and he went with his top 2 MVP picks. I really don’t see it as that egregious.
If someone was to say they’d take BG is a better player than LBJ, that would be ludicrous, but thats not what the voting was about. Lebron is still unanimously considered the best in the game, and KD got like 95% of first place MVP votes.
The NBA just released its All-NBA first team, and only Durant was a unanimous vote, with 125 of the 125 media voters. LeBron got 124 out of 125. I was curious to find out who would not vote for LeBron on the first team, and lo and behold, it’s Sheridanhoops.com — according to the official list of votes on nba.com
So I come to your site with great expectation of reading the cogent, insightful piece explaining this vote, prominently displayed for all to see, and I don’t find it.
Please direct me. Thanks
I was also looking for something like that on here after seeing that Chris Sheridan was the only person not to vote Lebron on his first team. Then I read his finals prediction and read this “I have already weighed in with my NBA Finals pick — Miami in 7, despite two blowout losses. In my book, you don’t pick against the best player on the planet.”. Hard to believe that you feel Lebron is the best player on the planet and then you can’t even vote for him as first team all NBA. If this is a ploy to get more people to check out your website it probably will work, but this is the last time I’ll visit it.