By: Farres Maruf, Josh Stromberg, and Sakeef Salman

With the first round of the NBA Playoffs right around the corner, we take a look at all of the matchups that will take place in the Eastern Conference bracket and discuss which teams have the best chance of advancing to the next round.

Cleveland Cavaliers (1) vs Detroit Pistons (8)

Season Review

Cavaliers: For a team that’s at the top of the Eastern Conference, it’s been a very tumultuous season for the Cavs. The Cavs fired head coach David Blatt just 41 games into the season, and promoted assistant coach, Lebron James Tyronn Lue, to head coach. Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love have both disappointed this season. Irving missed the first 2 months of the season because of a knee injury from last year’s finals and he hasn’t meshed with Lebron and the offense like people were expecting him to. Love is averaging his lowest PPG, 16.1, since he became an All-Star back in 2011. The Cavs acquired Channing Frye from the Magic at the trade deadline to add more depth to the frontcourt. Frye has been used in small ball lineups for the Cavs instead of Love because of Love’s inability to guard Centers, or anyone really. Lebron has also really stepped up his game as he heads into his “Zero Dark 23” mode (rolls eyes). Since March, Lebron is putting up his standard 27 points, but is now shooting a blistering 59.7% from the field, as well as 44.8% from beyond the arc. It’s a good sign because Lebron’s really struggled with his outside shot this season, but we all know that he was probably just coasting the first ¾ of the season.

-Farres

Pistons: Under the leadership of Coach/GM Stan Van Gundy and backed by the stellar play of All-Star Center Andre Drummond, the Pistons are back in the playoffs for the first time in seven years. Drummond started off the season grabbing rebounds at a historic rate, he leads the league in both DRB% at 34.3% and TRB% at 24.5%, not to mention he averaged 14.9 RPG. Drummond’s season has been aided by the play of PG Reggie Jackson, as the pair make for a deadly pick and roll combination. The trade deadline acquisition of Tobias Harris from the Magic also helped the Pistons filling a need they had for a wing scorer. Since acquiring Harris, the Pistons have gone 16-11 (not including the last game of the season where he didn’t play) and were able to grab the 8th seed. Add in a rising two-way stud in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and newly acquired forward Marcus Morris and the Pistons have a really solid starting lineup. The bench on the other hand is a big problem. In fact, the bench as a whole is really weak as the Pistons rank 27th in the league in terms of bench scoring. The Pistons depth behind Jackson at the PG spot is concerning, as they really have no one else besides the evil menace known as Steve Blake. Even though the rotations really tighten in the playoffs, the starters have to rest at some point and when they do come out, that’s when other teams are gonna go on a run.

-Sakeef

Key Matchups

Drummond vs BBQ Chicken

The Cavs don’t have anyone who can match up against Drummond so in the words of Shaq, this should be BBQ Chicken for Drummond. Drummond doesn’t necessarily have a post game but, he has plenty of size on Thompson, Love, and Frye. The Pistons hope for an upset lie on Drummond’s hairy shoulders.

JR Smith vs KCP

This should be an interesting battle. KCP is one of the better perimeter defenders in the league, but to me the only person who can stop JR Smith is JR himself. Depending on which JR we get for this series, it could either be over in 4 or over in 5. This matchup will probably end up meaning nothing in the end.

Under the Radar Players to Watch

Farres: Stanley Johnson

Stanimal has struggled recently, even getting some DNP-CDs. However, if he can get back to his early season form where he was averaging 9 PPG, instead of his 5 PPG in the past month, it would be a big boost to Detroit’s weak bench. Even if his offense doesn’t show up, his defense certainly will. He will be able to guard LeBron when needed because Tobias Harris isn’t the greatest defender.

Sakeef: Marcus Morris

I feel like Morris’ play has been overshadowed by his twin brother’s antics in Phoenix early in the season but he’s had a productive season. He’s been given a lot more minutes as a starter in Detroit, and as a result he’s upped his scoring to slightly over 14 PPG. He’s shooting 36.2% from beyond the arc which really helps space the floor for Drummond (just how SVG likes it), although if Cleveland goes with Channing Frye at the 4 it could lessen his impact. Morris also has the size and strength to finish near the rim as he’s shooting at a 67.1% clip within 3 feet of the bucket.

Josh: Aron Baynes

If this name sounds familiar to you, it’s because Baynes was the victim of Blake Griffin’s dunk-fest in the first game of the playoffs last year. Even though he was thoroughly humiliated that game, he is still a solid defensive player who can score a bucket and grab a rebound if the opportunity presents itself. He won’t have any amazing games, but he’ll play solid enough defense to not let the Pistons completely fall off the horse when the starters are resting.

Predictions

Farres: Cavaliers 4-1

I’m worried about the Cavs. They are coming into the playoffs with many questions surrounding their team and they don’t have the answer to most of them. I think the Pistons will be able to steal a game or 2 but ultimately, their inexperience and Lebron, who’s kinda underrated now, will cause the Cavs to avoid the upset here.

Sakeef: Cavaliers 4-1

This will probably play out like a classic 1-8 scenario where the 8-seed goes down 3-0 and salvages the last game at home to save face. Detroit will give it their best and I’m sure the big hairy beast known as Andre Drummond will have a big showing in his first ever playoff appearance, but their best just won’t be enough as Cleveland advances fairly easily.

Josh: Cavaliers 4-1

They may be the #1 seed, but the Cavs still haven’t gotten it together yet. Players are under performing and their lack of coaching is obvious. The Pistons are on the come up and have a surprising amount of good players, but being the 8th seed in the East is still terrible. Expect the Cavs to self destruct during the first game and steamroll through the rest.

Toronto Raptors (2) vs Indiana Pacers (7)

Season Review

Raptors: After getting dad-dicked by Paul Pierce in the 1st round of the playoffs last season, the Raptors have soared to new heights this season by winning 50+ games for the first time in franchise history The Raptors are lead by the All-Star backcourt of skinny Kyle Lowry and Demar Derozan. Lowry caught a lot of flack last season for completely disappearing in that series against the Wizards, mainly because he was out of shape and unconditioned. It seems like such a simple thing, but Lowry shedding weight has allowed him to become a much better player as he’s increased his scoring average to 21.5 PPG. The scary thing about the Raptors is that they’ve been this good with their prized offseason acquisition, Demarre Carroll, missing a majority of the season. It remains to be seen how they’ll fare when Carroll returns to the lineup, but the recent emergence of rookie Norman Powell has helped fill the void. One void they haven’t been able to fill is at the power forward position. They looked to make a move to acquire one at the deadline but failed to do so. Luis Scola has been wildly inconsistent on both sides of the ball while Patrick Patterson has been serviceable.

-Sakeef

Pacers: The Pacers entered the season trying to implement a new fast tempo, small ball style offense after losing their long time front court duo of David West and the artist formerly known as Roy Hibbert. Their frontcourt looked like a weak spot coming into the season but Ian Mahinmi has been serviceable and Myles Turner has surpassed expectations. Turner, the Pacers first round pick last year, was predicted to be a project with big upside but he’s been contributing much sooner than expected, even becoming a starter for the second half of the season. The PG-13 show was in full swing this season. After Paul George gave us his teaser trailer return last year, he came back this season 100% healthy and at a new position, power forward. George started the season on fire, averaging 27 ppg through the first quarter of the season and garnered some dark horse MVP chatter, but has since cooled off and been pretty inconsistent. Even offseason signing Monta Ellis, who’s been a borderline All-Star for most of his career has been pretty damn irrelevant. He’s averaging only 14 ppg, lowest since his rookie year. With Ellis’ struggles and George’s inconsistency, the Pacers have hovered around .500 and have failed to look like a serious threat this season.

-Farres

Key Matchups

Demarre Carroll vs Paul George

Demarre Carroll is back… Kind of? He’s only played 3 games since his return and might be on a minutes restriction. The Raptors are going to need him to be 100% because he will be tasked with guarding the Pacers best player, Paul George. George is essentially going to be the Pacers entire offense unless Monta Ellis returns to his old form. The Pacers will go as far as George takes them and Carroll will have to do his best to stop him.

Under the Radar Players to Watch

Farres: Monta Ellis

Is it wrong to say Ellis is “Under the Radar”? I haven’t heard his name all season. He was brought in to be the team’s second option and help out Paul George but, he has struggled mightily. He will also have to be guarding Lowry/DeRozan, the Raptor’s best players. If he could get back to his old form, he would give the Pacers a real chance to upset.

Sakeef: Norman Powell

Lost among the incredible rookie seasons of this draft class is Norm Powell. He’s been garnering a lot of attention during the last stretch of the season by making some great highlight reel plays and capped off the season with his first 30 point game of his career in the final game of the season. Powell brings a lot of energy when he’s on the court and I’m hoping to see a few high-flying dunks this series.

Josh: Patrick Patterson

Patterson should have improved, but instead he has declined across the board. That being said, he can still have a decent impact off the bench during this series. He is shooting from three-point land at a decent 36% and has the potential to score more consistently like he has in the past. Look for him to be the floor spacer at the 4-spot that the Raptors so desperately need.

Predictions

Farres: Raptors 4-1

The raptors are too good this time to choke again. They’ll finally get the monkey off their backs and get past the first round. The Pacers have just been too inconsistent to do anything in the post-season. Unless Paul George goes bonkers, I expect the Raptors to get through easily, besides as few nerves through the start.

Sakeef: Raptors 4-1

It’s time for the Raptors to exorcise those playoffs demons, especially Lowry and Derozan who completely disappeared last postseason. The Toronto crowd is going to be raucous and I’m afraid the Pacers are going to be blown out badly in one of those first two games. PG and Vogel won’t allow the Pacers to go down without a fight though, and will probably take the first game back in Indy but the Raptors will take control after a loss and finish off the series back home.

Josh: Raptors 4-3

There is no denying that Toronto has been on fire this season, but their postseason track record has been spotty at best. They avoided a post All-Star break meltdown this season, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they struggled in the first round. The Pacers will come out with energy, especially since this is PG-13’s first time in the playoffs since his injury. PG and the young front court will give Toronto a run for its money, but won’t have the clutch factor to close off the series.

Miami Heat (3) vs Charlotte Hornets (6)

Season Review

Heat: After narrowly missing the playoff cut last year, Pat Riley brought in a few more veteran players, such as Gerald Green and Amar’e Stoudemire, to jump back into contending mode with the return of Chris Bosh from his blood clot scare last season. Unfortunately, Bosh’s health problems struck again right around the All-Star break and he has been sidelined ever since. Thankfully for the Heat, Luol Deng stepped up and shouldered much of the offensive load in Bosh’s absence as well as Wade going in and out of the lineup at times. The Heat went and signed Joe Johnson after being bought out by the Nets, and it has proved to be a huge move. Since acquiring Johnson, the Heat have won 16 of their 24 games. However, the biggest difference makers for the team this season have been their bench mob (yeah that’s right) of The Block Mamba/Agent Block/whatever the hell he’s calling himself now, Justise Winslow, and Josh Richardson (affectionately named Rook 1 and Rook 2 respectively by their teammates). When those three are on the court together they are outscoring their opponents by 6.3 points per 100 possessions. While Winslow does not yet have a reliable jumper, he is already an elite wing defender and simply makes his team better when he’s on the court. Richardson is a good energy guy off the bench who can knock down threes, defends his ass off and throws down the occasional highlight reel dunk (if you can’t tell, I really like this kid). Finally, we come to the polarizing Whiteside. Much has been made of whether or not the Heat will give him the max this offseason and whether or not he’s worth it,but I’m here to tell you that it would be a mistake to let him walk. Whiteside is a valuable member of this team and is the kind of rim-protecting center that most teams in the league would kill for. Yes, he has a propensity for chasing blocks at times but that attitude has really served the Heat well. Their defense simply isn’t the same without him on the court. Whiteside leads his team in defensive win shares at 5, and also in defensive rating at 95. If Chris Bosh is healthy enough to comeback for the postseason… watch out Cleveland.

-Sakeef

Hornets: The Hornets’ season got off to a bad start before it even began as Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, arguably one of the top wing defenders in the league, tore his labrum in the preseason. Just when it seemed like MKG was back midway through the season, he tore his labrum again and was shelved for the remainder of the season. Many expected the Hornets to miss the playoffs yet again, especially after Big Al got hurt and subsequently suspended, but the Hornets rose in the Eastern Conference standings. Kemba Walker has elevated his play this season and is averaging above 20 PPG for the first time in his career. His shooting splits have increased dramatically from last season and he’s now shooting .429/.378/.848 compared to .385/.304/.827 last season. Kemba has also had a lot of help this season from from a couple of offseason additions in Nic Batum and Jeremy Lin and his ever-evolving hairstyles. Batum is having his best scoring season, averaging 15.2 PPG and has also added another playmaking presence to the team and is also dishing out 5.8 assists per game, a career high for him. Linsanity is long gone but, Lin seems to have found his role in the NBA as a 6th man and has become a solid closer in the 4th quarter. Another addition to the backcourt came at the trade deadline with the acquisition of Courtney Lee from the Grizzlies. Lee is a serviceable three point shooter and an active defender at his position. He’s shooting nearly 40% from three, albeit on only 2.8 attempts per game. For me, the most interesting thing about the Hornets is how much depth they have in the white big man category. They drafted Cody Zeller last year, they signed signed Spencer Hawes and Tyler Hansbrough this offseason, and then they declined four 1st round picks from the Celtics and passed on Justise Winslow to draft Frank the Tank. I think Kaminsky is gonna be really good player, but c’mon MJ, FOUR FIRST ROUND PICKS?? All of that aside, I’m just really excited to see Cardiac Kemba back on the big stage.

-Sakeef

Key Matchups

Whiteside vs Big Al

Whiteside is a tall, lanky interior presence that can block any shot imaginable and dunk like DeAndre. Big Al is a more compact, sneaky vet who can score in any way imaginable in the post. Jefferson won’t be able to keep up with Whiteside on the defensive end, and Whiteside may be tempted to bite on some of Al’s post moves and end up out of position. Expect most plays to be heavily influenced by both of these players when they’re on the floor.

Winslow vs Batum

Nic Batum is an important cog to what the Hornets do on offense so shutting him down will likely be a top priority for the Heat. Who’s better equipped than Justise Winslow to do that? It’s a lot to ask of a rookie in his first postseason appearance, but he’ll be tasked with stopping a creative player in Batum from facilitating the offense alongside Kemba.

Under the Radar Players to Watch

Sakeef: Josh Richardson

What is there not to like about this guy? He can knock down threes, play solid defense and throw down a ferocious dunk occasionally. It’s unclear whether or not his minutes will be reduced with the standard tightened rotations in the playoffs, but he’ll be instrumental in running the offense when Dragic and Wade are off the court. Along with Winslow, they’ll also create a lot of chaos on the defensive end and get some fast break buckets.

Farres: Marvin WIlliams

Williams has been crucial to what the Hornets have been doing this season. The Hornets became a 3 point shooting team, going from 26th in 3 pointers made last season to 4th this season, and it is a big reason why they’ve had success this year. He is shooting 40% from 3 and he is exactly the stretch 4 that they need.

Josh: Troy Daniels

He’s played sporadically this season, only participating in about half the Hornet’s games. When he does play, albeit in limited minutes, he shoots really well. If he took enough shots to qualify, he would lead the league in three-point percentage. If given minutes, he could be a spark plug off the bench and a joy to watch.

Predictions

Farres: Heat 4-2:

This could be a fun series, both teams have a weird mix of young and old players. Same record but completely different playing styles, the Hornets love to shoot 3s while the Heat barely shoot any. The Hornets will compete, and Kemba won’t let this team go down without a fight, but I think the Heat’s playoff experience from their veterans will be able to get them through.

Sakeef: Heat 4-2

The Heat’s veteran leadership and playoff experience really gives them a big advantage against the Hornets who really don’t have any experience in a playoff type atmosphere. Steve Clifford will have his team compete hard but in the end talent usually ends up being the trump card and the Heat are much more talented across the board.

Josh: Heat 4-3

I may be making a lot of 7-game series predictions, but this one is the biggest tossup of them all. I figured the Hornets would be good this season, but not this good, especially without MKG. I’m going to give the edge to the Heat, though, because I have more faith in the pairing of Wade, Johnson, and Whiteside than I do for Kemba, Batum, and Big Al. I see more consistency in the Miami vets and more of an impact coming from Whiteside than the old, injury prone Jefferson.

Atlanta Hawks (4) vs Boston Celtics (5)

Season Review

Hawks: On the heels of their unexpected wonder season, the Hawks lost their defensive anchor, Costco Jae Crowder (Demarre Carroll), and were expected to fall in the standings. They do have a worse record this year, but their defense has been even better than last year. They’re led by dark horse DPOY candidate Paul Millsap, who is top 5 in defensive win shares, defensive rating, and defensive plus/minus. Millsap has powered the Hawks to the second best defensive rating in the league. The Hawks were thiiiiiiiis close to blowing up their team at the deadline because the front office believed they might have reached their peak with this roster last season due to the regression of All-Stars, Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver. . But ultimately, the Hawks nothing notable at the deadline besides getting Kirk Hinrich and Kim Kardashian’s ex-husband With the departure of Carroll and the decline of Teague and Korver, the Hawks have been depending on Dennis Schroder, and Chance the Rapper, to pick up their slack. Schroder and Bazemore are putting up career highs across the board with their increased minutes. The Hawks are an experienced team still playing there beautiful spurs-esque basketball because of their head coach, Popovic prodigee, Mike Budenholdzer, but they aren’t contenders and will probably be out in a round or two.

-Sakeef

Celtics: Still in the midst of their “rebuild”, the Celtics continued their gradual improvement since trading away Pierce and Garnett, ending the season with just under 50 wins led by the little guy, Isaiah Thomas, who made his first all-star appearance this year. Thomas was thought to be at most a 6th man because of his size making him a “defensive liability” but Thomas has been the starter this season and the Celtics were 4th in defensive rating this season. Their defense has been great because of All-NBA defensive team candidates Avery Bradley, Bae Chowder, Marcus Smart, and new addition Amir Johnson. The Celtics offseason and trade deadline was all about trying to use our boat load of assets to trade for a superstar. Crowder addressed these rumors and said, “There’s a lot of talk about we need a superstar and stuff like that. But all five guys on the court are so locked in and so engaged that we’re one superstar,” and that’s exactly the attitude this Celtics team has had this season, they’ve used their depth as their biggest strength. Crowder and Bradley are having career years offensively while retaining their defensive intensity, The bigs Kelly Olynyk, Jared Sullinger, and Johnson are getting boards, spacing the floor and playing decent defense. 6th man of the year candidate, Evan “The Logo” Turner, has revived his NBA career, going from bust to solid role player. President Brad Stevens taking this ragtag team of role players this far shows exactly why he is regarded as one of the best coaches in the league right now.

-Farres

Key Matchups

Isaiah Thomas vs Jeff Teague

Some of IT’s most inefficient games have come against the Hawks, and a big reason for that is Jeff Teague. In their last game, Teague had a nice strip and finish in the closing minutes of the game to seal the deal, and that’s just one of the plays he’s made against Thomas. These two always seem to very chippy on the court with one another as well, which could lead to some heated interactions on the court.

Paul Millsap/Al Horford vs Celtics Front Court

Paul Millsap and Al Horford have absolutely destroyed the Celtics this season by taking advantage of their lack of size and strength. The Celtics don’t really have anyone who can stop these two from scoring. Their best options are probably Kelly Olynyk (seriously) and Jared Sullinger, although that doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. The rest of the Celtics big men have had trouble. Tyler Zeller forgot how to play basketball over the summer and Amir Johnson has lost a step. Future President-Elect Brad Stevens may consider going small and having Jae Crowder attempt to check Paul Millsap but that probably won’t have the desired effect.

Under the Radar Players to Watch

Sakeef: Marcus Smart

Smart has struggled mightily on the offensive end this season, causing many Celtics faithful to give up on his development (I still love you, Marcus). Fortunately, he has still been an absolute stud on defense and the C’s are really going to need his intensity this series when he matches up against the likes of Teague and Schroder. He and Bradley will also be tasked with chasing Kyle Korver off the three point line and around screens. Smart has a knack for making impact plays that really don’t show up in the box score that can really change the momentum of a game, if he knocks down a couple of threes in the process it’s just gravy.

Farres: Jared Sullinger

Sully might not be the most under the radar player in this series, but you also wouldn’t expect him to be one of the most important. The Hawks frontcourt can pass, shoot, and play great defense, but they do have a weakness, rebounds. The Hawks are 24th in rebounds this season. So if Sully can use that big butt of his and dominate the glass, hecould give the Celtics the slight edge they need to win this tight series.

Josh: Dennis Schroder

This may be an easy choice, but oh well. The Hawks backup point guard has played so well this season that some people were speculating Teague would get traded so that he could start. Although I’m not ready to call him better than Teague, the potential is definitely there. He always manages to make something happen when on the court, and doesn’t shy away from any matchup. The Hawks won’t be missing out on too much when Teague sits, especially if he starts playing like his pre-All-Star game self.

Predictions

Farres: Hawks 4-3

Funny, the two Celtics fans are picking the Hawks to win, but I am very undecided about this series. The Celtics have the advantage in the backcourt, having defenders who can neutralize Teague, Schroder, and Korver, while also having Isaiah Thomas who can get them buckets. However, the Hawks have a huge advantage in the front court. Millsap and Horford are their best players and will be too mobile and offensively skilled for the Celtics bigs to handle. So it came down to which team has the biggest respective advantage and it had to be the Hawks, but I’d love to be wrong.

Sakeef: Hawks 4-2

Both the Hawks and the Celtics play a similar style with crisp ball movement, solid team defense and are well coached but out of the three possible first round opponents the Celtics would have faced in the first round, the Hawks are by far the worst matchup. The Hawks already won the season series 3-1 and have really blown out the C’s both times they’ve played in Atlanta, which might prove to be a problem as the Hawks have home-court advantage. I can see the series starting off 2-2, but Atlanta running away with the last couple of games to finish it off.

Josh: Celtics 4-2

I may be doing the Hawks some disservice by not giving this series a 7th game, but I like what I’ve seen from the Celtics. They have a lot of momentum after making a 26 point comeback against the Heat in the last game of the season, and that figures to carry over to the postseason. This is a good time for a lot of the young guys to prove themselves, and they’ll take advantage of the opportunity. I just see the Celtics running the floor with the Hawks, causing their elite half-court defense to become irrelevant.