NBA Playoffs Weekend Predictions & Schedule: Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers Go For 3-0 Series Lead Over Houston Rockets, Atlanta Hawks
The NBA playoffs have just four teams remaining.
It's been a wild ride with game-winning shots, injuries and overtime periods. The only four teams remaining are the Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets and Atlanta Hawks. The winners of these series will advance to the 2015 NBA Finals.
Let's breakdown this weekend and predict the winners.
Rockets vs. Warriors
The Warriors lead this series 2-0 after back to back home wins. Although the Warriors are up in the series 2-0, the first two games were decided by a combined five points. Game 2 was decided in the final seconds when James Harden had the ball stolen with his team down by just one point. Dwight Howard has the ball before that, but his limited offensive skills forced him to pass the ball to a double teamed Harden
The Warriors are 6-0 overall against the Rockets this season.
This is Steve Kerr's first year as a head coach in the NBA, and he's doing a great job. Of course it doesn't hurt having Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson on your roster, but he's making the correct coaching decisions. Curry is also approaching Reggie Milers' 3-point record for most perimeter shots in a single postseason. Miller made 58 three point shots in the 2000 postseason for the Indiana Pacers. Curry currently has 57 made threes. Yeah, pretty safe to say Miller's record is going down.
If the Warriors can advance past the Rockets, it would be their first finals appearance since 1975, when they swept the Washington Bullets.
Schedule, Where to Watch
The Rockets and Warriors will play each other on Saturday, May 23, at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The game will be shown on ESPN at 9 p.m. EST.
Prediction
These Warriors have certainly come out to play, but the Rockets have to win this game. Harden still believes he is the league MVP, but being 0-6 against Curry just isn't going to cut it. Jason Terry has to hit big 3-point shots, and I have a feeling Argentinian point guard Pablo Prigioni is going to play good. Harden's free throw shooting will make the difference.
Rockets win 110-102
Cavaliers vs. Hawks
The Hawks may be the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, but they sure aren't playing like it. Despite having home-court advantage, the Cavaliers won each of the first two games in Atlanta to take a 2-0 series lead.
It looks like LeBron James is about to make his fifth consecutive NBA Finals appearance.
Kevin Love may be out with a shoulder injury, but others are stepping up, especially J.R. Smith. The former New York Knick shooting guard has been shooting lights out this postseason. Iman Shumpert, another ex-Knick, has been playing great defense as well.
The two biggest issues for the Hawks have been lack of a superstar and Kyle Korver. Korver is one of the best three point shooters in the league, but he has been struggling to find his stroke this postseason. The Hawks also don't have a superstar type of player to get the ball to when they need a score.
Schedule, Where to Watch
The Cavaliers and Hawks will play each other on Sunday, May 24 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The game will be shown on TNT at 8:30 p.m. EST.
Prediction
Let's not kid ourselves, this series is over. DeMarre Carroll is hurt, James is just too good, and now the series is going back to Cleveland. The Cavaliers have a great opportunity here to sweep the Hawks and get a lot of rest before the NBA Finals.
Cavaliers win 98-82
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