NBA Title Chase begins

The 2018 NBA post season kicks off on Friday night (Saturday morning Aussie time) with a few questions to be answered by teams picked to be heavy favourites to start the year. Are the Warriors healthy enough to defend? Can the Rockets carry their regular season form through the playoffs? Are the Raptors for real or there by default? What about the Cavs? Will the Sixers surprise?

Answers will start to present themselves over the next week....for now....let's make a few predictions...

Eastern Conference

Toronto (1) vs Washington (8)

John Wall is back in Washington but expect the Raptors to maintain the consistency that carried them through the regular season. The Wizards will take at least two games though

Raptors 4-2

Boston (2) vs Milwaukee (7)

Both teams are banged up as the post season starts. The Celtics are just that bit deeper than the Bucks which should allow them to advance.

Celtics 4-2

Philadelphia () vs Miami (6)

The Joel Embiid injury could not have come at a worse time for the Sixers, the team should still have enough firepower to survive against Miami though. With that being said, look for it to go the distance.

Sixers 4-3

Cleveland (4) vs Indiana (5)

This one going anything over five games will not be beneficial for the Cavs as they try to finesse player health through the first and second round.

Cavs 4-1

Western Conference

Houston (1) vs Minnesota (8)

The Timberwolves will show flashes but will only take away playoff experience for their young stars.

Rockets 4-0

Golden State (2) vs San Antonio (7)

Wait...the winner of this one is not going on the the NBA Championship? While it is an expected meeting, meeting  at this juncture is the unexpected. Both have major health concerns for feature players but the Warriors have a few extra weapons.

Warriors 4-2

Portland (3) vs New Orleans (6)

The Pelicans have bounced back following the Cousins injury and are a team to be reckoned with. Anthony Davis will be the key and this will be an upset.

Pelicans 4-3

Oklahoma City (4) vs Utah (5)

After re-tooling, the Thunder is hoping to advance but are facing a Jazz squad on an upward swing. The Thunder presents problems with their perimeter defense and running game while the Jazz will depend on toughness on the inside. May be best first round series.

Jazz 4-3

After the first round

Realising my first round picks may not all come true....I'll step over to the hypotheticals now...so...in the East I have Toronto-Cleveland and  Boston-Philadelphia ... from those, I'm picking Toronto and Boston to advance with the Raptors finally cracking the code and going to the NBA Finals

In the West...I have Houston-Utah and Golden State-New Orleans and will go with Houston and Golden State for the conference final with Houston stopping the Warriors and going on to win the title over Toronto.