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2008
NBA Playoff Predictions
2008 San Antonio Spurs v. New Orleans Hornets Playoff Predictions
Both the San Antonio Spurs
and the New Orleans Hornets made easy work of
their first round opponents, much easier work
than any expert could have expected. The Spurs
beat a loaded Suns team, which had owned them in
the regular season, in five games, and a young
Hornets squad played well beyond its years in
beating the Mavs in 5 games to prompt the firing
of Avery Johnson. Now, the two top teams in the
NBA Southwest division will face off for a
chance to play in the Western Conference Finals
– a familiar place for the Spurs and very new
territory for the Hornets.
Jimmy Boyd gives
you his two cents worth on the series in his
Spurs/Hornets round two NBA playoff predictions.
Boyd's Argument:
The Hornets will once again be faced with a
veteran team, but this veteran squad has not
only been there and done that; it has been there
and done that multiple times. But like in round
one, the Hornets will have home court advantage
on their side, something I will argue is a must
if you want a chance to beat the Spurs. What we
saw in round one was Chris Paul prove that he
was worth every bit of the hype, single handedly
dismantling the Dallas defense. Jason Kidd was
brought into Dallas to win the point guard
battle every night, but Chris Paul made him look
like a has-been. But the question, now, is if
Paul can be as effective against the speedy Tony
Parker and a top-notch San Antonio Spurs defense
fresh off a series in which it was a thorn in
the side of All-Star guard Steve Nash. Nash had
only three assists in the game 5 elimination
game and had three costly fouth quarter
turnovers. There aren't many defenses which can
do that to Nash, but the Spurs are certainly one
of them. But I'll make the argument that Chris
Paul is playing better basketball than Steve
Nash right now, and he is a much more effective
defensive player than Nash so he will be a
bigger handful for the Spurs.
These teams spilt their four regular season
matchups, each winning one at home and one on
the road, but the Spurs have proved to us time
and time again that it does not do any good to
look at the regular season as they are a rare
team which can turn up the heat when called to
do so. One major disadvantage the Hornets will
have is its depth. It's lack of depth was
supposed to have been a problem in round one
against Dallas, but I think it really will be
against the Spurs which wears teams down with
their suffocating defense worse than anyone in
the league.
Prediction:
Spurs in 6
The Hornets have home court, but I like the
Spurs in six games. They are very focused right
now and they just handled a deeper, more
talented Suns team in five games. The Hornets
are confident, but it won't take long for the
Spurs to rip that from them. Paul will not be
nearly as effective against the best team
defense in basketball and against the quickest
player in the NBA, Tony Parker.
Other Round 2 Series Predictions:
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