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Friday’s NBA Playoff Match Ups

 (Cavs @ Pistons Game 3, Magic @ Sixers Game 3, Blazers @ Rockets Game 3)

Things are starting to heat up as we get to the third games in the first round of the playoffs. There are few match ups with sweep potential and others looking like they might go the full seven games, but for the most part we have already seen some classic performances only a few games into the postseason this time around!

Cleveland Cavaliers @ Detroit Pistons Game 3

This series still comes down to one thing and one thing only, the Pistons just cannot stop LeBron James. No matter who they throw at him or what kind of defense they play to contain him, King James has just been unstoppable in this series. 

The Cavs had a little scare in the fourth quarter of game two as the Cleveland reserves let their 20+ point lead slip away, but once the Cavs starters got back on the floor the Pistons were naturally put back in their place and now are down by two games as they try and even up the series with two games of their own back in Detroit. 

Honestly, this series was over the second they tipped off in Cleveland in game one. The Cavs are so superior to the Pistons now that it is almost embarrassing to the Detroit vets who were able to take the Cavs the distance only a couple of seasons ago. The Pistons are just a shell of their former self.  

Detroit will probably play better at home, but not well enough even to steal one game from LeBron James and company. I fully expect the Cavs to sweep the over the hill Pistons.

Portland Trailblazers @ Houston Rockets Game 3

This series gets more and more interesting as it goes on. The Rockets and Yao Ming completely took the Blazers by surprise in game one as they dominated Brandon Roy’s squad in Portland beating them convincingly by 27 points which not many teams have been able to do. 

Game two was a different story though as Roy put the team on his back and scored a playoff career high of 42 points. LaMarcus Aldridge also had a memorable game scoring 27 points and ripping down 12 rebounds.  

The margin of victory for the Blazers wasn’t all that impressive though as they beat Houston by only 4 points 107-103.  

It will be interesting to see how well the Blazers play in Houston in game three. If they struggled to defend their home floor where they are as good as anyone I see trouble on the horizon for the Blazers playing on the Rockets home floor. I picked the Blazers to win this series, but after the first two games I am not convinced that they can. Expect Houston to go up 2-1 with a win in game three.

Orlando Magic @ Philadelphia 76ers Game 3

Everyone knew it was coming, even the Philadelphia 76ers. Not saying that the Sixers winning game one was a fluke, but the Orlando Magic were just too good this season not make this a series.  

The Magic took game two, but not by the convincing margin they had hoped only beating the Sixers by nine points. Dwight Howard struggled a bit in this game especially on the offensive end of the floor with only 11 points, but the Magic’s supporting cast picked up the slack with five other players scoring in double figures. 

It looks like the Sixers will be a challenge for the Dwight Howard’s Magic after all. I am not saying they will pull off the upset, but this series could go the distance. I expect the Magic to win game three, but not by much.

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