2008 Wizards Cavs NBA Playoff Predictions

The Cleveland Cavaliers versus the Washington Wizards is expected to be the most hotly contested series in round one of the Eastern Conference Playoffs, just as one might expect from a 4 vs. 5 seed matchup. This is the third straight year that these two teams will meet in the first round. The Cavs have taken each of the two previous series, but will the Wizards be able to break through in 2008? Jimmy Boyd’s Wizards/Cavs round one NBA Playoff predictions provide his take.

The Arguments:

The Cavs may have defeated the Wizards in each of the past two postseasons, and they may have made it to the NBA Finals last season, but if you think they’re running away with this series, you’ve got another thing coming as it will be anything but a picnic for the Cavs.

Last season, the Wizards went into the playoffs without All-Star guards Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler. Expect both of these players to be very hungry after having to sit back and watch their teammates get swept by Cleveland last year. I expect this series to look much more like the one we saw in 2006. The Cavs took the series in six games, but three of those games were decided by one point and games 5 and 6 went into overtime. Also, Lebron won’t have Larry Hughes or Drew Gooden as his supporting cast this time around. They were traded in a deal for Ben Wallace to bring in a dominant defensive presence, but Big Ben has looked like anything but the player that used to rack up Defensive Player of the Year awards left and right. But the Cavs still do have one thing going for them that has treated them pretty well, and that’s Lebron James. Lebron carried the Cavs to the NBA Finals last season so we are all well aware of what he’s capable of. He has been brilliant all year long, joining an elite group of players as one of the few in history to average at least 30 points, 7 boards, and 7 assists.

One of the biggest things the Cavs have going for them is home court advantage. In the past two years, the Cavs have only lost one home game in their opening round matchups with the Wizards. History has also been fairly kind to the number four seeds. Over the past five seasons, only two number four seeds have gone down in the first round (Miami in 2007 and Chicago in 2005).
While the Wizards are talented, they won’t have an answer for Lebron defensively. Also, with Arenas and Butler missing a lot of action due to injury again this season, the Wizards have never completely jelled.

Prediction:

Cavs in 7

Make sure you check out all of Jimmy Boyd’s 2008 NBA playoff predictions to help you break down each and every series through the NBA Finals. And Sign up for one of our low-cost NBA picks packages for the most winners this postseason.

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