Kyrie Irving and Gordon Howard help Terry Rozier up during RD one Game Three, 2019. Jeff Haynes, NBAE via Getty Images
April 22, 2019 — Now that we’ve seen what the East and West are up against, it’s time to recap and predict the round one winners:
WEST
LA Clippers vs Golden State 3-1: As a GSW fan I think we shoulda wrapped this series up in four, but the Warriors lost a 31 point lead in game 2 that I discussed in another post. Game five will take place in Oracle Tuesday night and I predict Warriors will win this series.
Blazers vs OKC 2-1: The two were neck and neck nearly the entire game, but in the end OKC was unable to keep up with Damian Lillard (24 points) and CJ McCollum (27 points) who just killed it in the third. I predict OKC is going down and the Blazers will win.
Rockets vs Jazz 3-0: Houston came back from behind late in the third and somehow won this one in the end. James Harden was 0-15 to start from the field, but once he had a dunk in the third it was difficult to keep him from getting hot. I predict Rockets are going to win – simply because it is hard for Harden to lose back to back games.
Spurs vs Nuggets 2-2: Nuggets were hungry in Game four, once they gained a lead early in the third it was hard for the Spurs to get ahead. Denver’s Jamal Murry (24 points) Nikola Jokic (29 points) kept the rhythm going for the team. This is a hard matchup, I feel these two will go to seven games and the Spurs are going to win this series, unfortunately.
EAST
Celtics vs Pacers 4-0: Celtics wrapped this series up in four games and are chillin’ until they play the Bucks in round two.
76ers vs Nets 3-1: 76ers have proven they are here to stay. Joel Embid is unstoppable, he scored 31 points and 16 rebounds after missing Game three due to knee soreness. Didn’t really matter then because Ben Simmons made up for his loss with his own 31 points Apr. 18, in Brooklyn. I think the Sixers are going to win this series, next game is at home and these two are on 🔥.
Bucks vs Pistons 4-0: This happened early on the East; Bucks were down early in the game but I didn’t doubt they would come back and sweep Detroit.
Raptors vs Magic 3-1: I feel like this matchup is similar to the Warriors vs Clippers, we know the Raptors are the dominate team but sometimes those slip up and make mistakes. Kawhi Leonard missed the playoffs last year because he was unhappy with the Spurs. Now happy and healthy, he scored 34 points in Game four and dominated the Magic defense. I believe the Raptors will this series.
The games are about to get real in the second round! Stars are showing out and the tensions are high to beat the Warriors. I’m not gonna lie, I am a nervous fan! Or am I?
thesportsnote 