NBA Playoff Picks

Here is the other part of my NBA preview--more than a month into the season.

I am going to predict the playoffs based on the matchups I predicted from the start of the season. That means Chicago will be in as the #1 seed in the East (I feel stupid), the Magic will be 7th and the Heat will be the top team in its division (I wish I could have those picks back!). In other words, the Bulls will be pitted against the No. 8 team in the East, and I will try to make my predictions as close as possible to what they would have been in the preseason, but of course I will let myself be biased by hindsight.

I have no idea what all that means.

First Round
East
(1) Chicago defeats (8) Toronto, 4-2
(5) Cleveland over (4) Miami, 4-3
(2) Detroit defeats (7) Orlando, 4-2
(3) Boston beats (6) New Jersey, 4-2

West
(1) Phoenix over (8) Golden State, 4-2
(4) Utah beats (5) Houston, 4-3
(2) Dallas defeats (7) New Orleans, 4-2
(3) San Antonio beats (6) Denver, 4-1

Conference Semifinals (2nd Round)
East
(1) Chicago over (5) Cleveland, 4-3
(2) Detroit defeats (3) Boston, 4-3

West
(1) Phoenix beats (4) Utah, 4-3
(3) San Antonio beats (2) Dallas, 4-3

Conference Finals
East
(2) Detroit defeats (1) Chicago, 4-2

West
(3) San Antonio over (1) Phoenix, 4-2

NBA Finals
San Antonio defeats Detroit, 4-3

So when it comes down to it, it's a repeat of the 2005 Finals. Confetti rains in the Alamo City once again. I actually wanted to see which other teams had real championship hopes-mainly to not be a homer-but I couldn't see anyone beating the Spurs in a seven-game series. I thought Dallas might match up best with them, though.
Caveats: At this point, I feel confident that some of these predictions will absolutely be wrong. For example, don't expect Chicago to be in the conference finals. Now, I would pick Boston to go against Detroit, with Orlando as the most likely party crasher. Besides that, it's a pretty safe bet that not every 2nd-round series will go the full seven games. And, the homer that I am, I almost took the Spurs in 5 over the Suns.