I'm late to the party too but
Cavs in 6
Celtics in 6
Bucks in 6
Wiz in 6
GS in 6
Utah in 7 (If Gobert is out for the series, I think the Clippers end up taking it.)
Houston in 6
SA in 4
Guess I'm predicting a semi competitive 1st round. GS could easily sweep but I think with a healthy Nurkic, Portland could win a few games if their 3 point shots are falling and GS's arent. Portland has some lights out shooters too. Without Nurkic, I don't think they stand a chance. They'd be relying on Leonard and Vonleh. Nurkic changes the team dynamic with his offensive rebounding, ability to find the open man on the perimeter, "accidental" offense and what he brings to the defensive end. Vonleh has been better lately, though. Guy is still only 21 years old.
Paul George has been beasting lately and has given James fits in the past. Cleveland also hasn't looked that great lately. Jimmy Butler has also been playing out of his mind and I think he'll win 2 games pretty much on his own. The Bucks length will be a nightmare for a lot of teams and I think they could possibly beat the Cavs next round. People already know I'm a Khris Middleton fanboy though. +/- is flawed, but he's almost always the Bucks player with the biggest +next to his name. They are going to be even more ridiculous next year if Jabari comes back fully healthy. He won't be back until around February so they'll be a lower seed than they should be next year as well. They lacked a 3rd option basically all year with Middleton missing half the year and Jabari missing the other. They are built to contend for awhile.
Wizards should win but the Hawks have been playing better of late and have returned to full health. I think Utah could easily go 4-0 if Gobert is healthy but I read his return for the series is in question. He's the cog that makes it work defensively. Westbrook is probably good for 2 wins but OKC won't have enough firepower to keep up with the Rockets and the difference in the series will be 3 point shooting. Maybe I'm being harsh on Memphis but after yesterdays game, I don't see that series lasting long. Blowouts usually have no indication on following games but it was an ugly performance.
