Limited write-ups, yet thoroughly researched each 2015 Playoff team & matchup
2015 NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFFS
Sat Apr 18, 2015 | 9:35 PM, EDT | ESPN
Toyota Center | Houston, Texas
Game #1 | Round #1
7 DALLAS MAVERICKS (50-32)
2 HOUSTON ROCKETS (56-26)
Dallas Mavericks | Projected Starters | age
1 DAL 6-01 | 186 RONDO 29y
2 DAL 6-03 | 174 ELLIS 29y
3 DAL 6-09 | 199 PARSONS 26y Inj-Prob
4 DAL 7-00 | 237 NOWITZKI 36y
5 DAL 7-01 | 236 CHANDLER 32y
Dallas Mavericks | Key Contributors | age
1 DAL 6-00 | 175 Barea 30y
2 DAL 6-03 | 185 Harris 32y
3 DAL 6-09 | 215 Aminu 24y
4 DAL 6-10 | 245 Stoudemire 32y
5 DAL 6-11 | 240 Villanueva 30y
Houston Rockets | Projected Starters
1 HOU 6-02 | 176 TERRY 37y
2 HOU 6-05 | 220 HARDEN 25y
3 HOU 6-08 | 200 ARIZA 29y
4 HOU 6-09 | 252 JONES 23y
5 HOU 6-11 | 240 HOWARD 29y
Houston Rockets | Key Contributors
1 HOU 6-03 | 180 Prigioni 37y
2 HOU 6-08 | 225 Papanikolaou 24y
3 HOU 6-09 | 185 Brewer 29y
4 HOU 6-08 | 220 Dorsey 31y
5 HOU 6-09 | 225 Smith 29y
Houston Rockets | Key Players Out
1 HOU 6-01 | 180 Beverley 26y INJ-OFS
5 HOU 7-00 | 222 Motiejunas 24y Inj-OFS
Houston & their MVP-worthy bombastic James Harden reached #2 Seed w/some help
Their reward is a rested & ready Vet Dallas team
Despite all the commotion surrounding Dallas’ Monta Ellis late-season slump & supposed team dissention
The Mavs have quietly settled in & resigned themselves to the #7 spot several weeks ago
Dallas nearly caught Portland for higher seeding
Ellis broke out of his funk vs SAS w/a 38 Point masterpiece
Dallas closed the season healthy, and methodically won 4 of their final 5
Dallas heady guards, Rondo feeling much more comfortable in his role
w/o having to concern himself w/the chore of facing Houston’s Patrick Beverley (INJ)
James Harden was held in check quite well by Dallas’ smaller, quicker lineups
Harden averaged -3.3 PPG (24.4) and shot 44.2% vs Dallas in 2015
Houston’s injury issues extend past Beverley’s absence
Another concern for the Rockets is the loss of backup Post, 7-0 Motiejunas
Dallas’ adding Amare Stoudemire is an unheralded plus also
Dirk Nowitzki gets the rare late-career chance to play less mid-game minnutes
Hard to put much stock into Regular Season Series Trends
Yet Houston & Dallas played 4 Games; each game paced higher than the game before
As it stands, Houston finally has D-12 back in the lineup
Yet Howard hasn’t played quite as well as expected (Howard #10 PER among West 5’s)
In fact, Houston Frontcourt ranks #20 Efficiency in the NBA
Dallas matches up remarkably well vs Houston in the Frontcourt
Dallas’ bringing back 7-1 Tyson Chandler vs HOU Howard
May pay off big in THIS series more than any other
Looking for a Vet Dallas team that just has to like this matchup to cover & likely steal Game #1
1½ UNIT
DALLAS +5 (-105 | sportsbook.ag)
HOUSTON
½ UNIT
DALLAS +190 (sportbet)
HOUSTON
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2015 NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFFS
Sat Apr 18, 2015 | 12:35 PM, EDT | ESPN
Air Canada Centre | Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Round #1 | Game #1
5 WASHINGTON WIZARDS (46-36)
4 TORONTO RAPTORS (49-33)
Washington Wizards | Projected Starters | age
1 WAS 6-04 | 195 WALL 24y
2 WAS 6-05 | 207 BEAL 21y
3 WAS 6-07 | 235 PIERCE 37y
4 WAS 6-11 | 260 NENE 32y
5 WAS 6-11 | 240 GORTAT 31y
Washington Wizards | Key Contributors | age
1 WAS 6-03 | 190 Sessions 29y
2 WAS 6-07 | 205 Butler 35y
3 WAS 6-09 | 198 Porter 21y
4 WAS 6-09 | 235 Humphries 30y
5 WAS 6-10 | 230 Gooden 33y
Toronto Raptors | Projected Starters | age
1 TOR 6-00 | 175 LOWRY 29y
2 TOR 6-06 | 200 VASQUEZ 28y
3 TOR 6-07 | 220 DeROZAN 25y
4 TOR 6-09 | 210 A JOHNSON 27y
5 TOR 6-11 | 231 VALANCIUNAS 22y
Toronto Raptors | Key Contributors | age
1 TOR 6-02 | 175 Williams 28y
2 TOR 6-07 | 195 Ross 23y
3 TOR 6-09 | 235 Patterson 26y
4 TOR 6-09 | 250 Hansbrough 29y
5 TOR 6-06 | 240 Hayes 31y
Despite DeRozan’s stellar late season play,
This series & game looks like it comes down to matchups once again
Washington quietly hoped to stay lined w/Toronto
The Wiz bring have undervalued Defense (#10 in NBA)
vs Toronto team w/the WORST Defense among all Playoff Teams (#25)
Raps 3 Frontline starters are a remarkable 25 total years younger than Wiz’
TOR DeRozan 25y | WAS Pierce 37y (-12 years)
TOR Johnson 27y | WAS Nene 32y (-5 years)
TOR Valanciunas 22y | WAS Gortat 30y (-8 years)
WAS has weaker depth, also - yet better starters...MUCH better as a Unit than TOR
WAS #6 NBA Rated Starters | TOR #22 Rated Starters
These age & depth issues may drag on Washington late in this series
Shouldn’t play a factor in Game 1 of a new season
Moreover, Washington #6 rated NBA Backcourt (Wall/Beal | Sessions/Butler)
Are a difficult proposition for Toronto’s #12 rated NBA Backcourt (Lowry/Vazquez | Williams/Ross)
Liking this Veteran Washington team to break thru in Toronto & grab Game #1
1 UNIT
WASHINGTON +166 (sportbet)
TORONTO
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2015 NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFFS
Sat Apr 18, 2015 | 3:35 PM, EDT | ABC-TV
Oracle Arena | Oakland, California
Round #1 | Game #1
8 NEW ORLEANS PELICANS (45-37)
1 GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (67-15)
New Orleans Pelicans | Projected Starters | age
1 NOP 6-04 | 205 HOLIDAY 24y
2 NOP 6-04 | 215 GORDON 26y
3 NOP 6-06 | 221 EVANS 25y
4 NOP 6-10 | 220 DAVIS 21y
5 NOP 7-00 | 257 ASIK 28y
New Orleans Pelicans | Key Contributors | age
1 NOP 6-02 | 170 Cole 26y
2 NOP 6-06 | 226 Pondexter 26y
3 NOP 6-08 | 230 Cunningham 27y
4 NOP 6-10 | 242 Anderson 26y
5 NOP 7-00 | Ajinca 26y
Golden State Warriors | Projected Starters | age
1 GSW 6-03 | 185 CURRY 26y
2 GSW 6-07 | 206 THOMPSON 24y
3 GSW 6-08 | 210 BARNES 22y
4 GSW 6-07 | 230 GREEN 24y
5 GSW 7-00 | 245 BOGUT 30y
Golden State Warriors | Key Contributors | age
1 GSW 6-07 | 182 Livingston 29y
2 GSW 6-06 | 176 Barbosa 32y
3 GSW 6-06 | 207 Iguodala 31y
4 GSW 6-09 | 252 Lee 31y
5 GSW 6-10 | 245 Speights 27y
Plus 4 possessions is simply too much to lay here
NOP is a vastly improving team; albeit inexperienced
GSW is likely to be a little flat here, relieved they didn’t draw OKC & Westbrook
NOP is methodical & GSW is actually apt to allow Pelies to drag down pace
GSW in UNBEATEN when holding opponents under 100 Points
GSW is also sensational in the paint (#1 NBA Paint at +6.5)
How many actually realize that these Warriors finished w/the NBA #1 DEFENSE?
NOP might not be the best matchup for GSW
Honestly, The Pelicans Frontcourt (not just Davis but Asik) is #9 Rated Frontcourt in the NBA
How youthful is NOP?
OLDEST PLAYER IN NOP FULL ROTATION is 28 (Omar Asik)
Still like New Orleans to keep this under 3 possessions
Game could go deep before Warriors shake Pels
1 UNIT
NEW ORLEANS +12½ (-112 | BetOnline)
GOLDEN STATE
All the best, guys