NBA Playoff Matchups in the East
Cleveland has secured the top spot in the East for quite some time. As for the rest, here they are.
The matchups in the East for the 2010 NBA playoffs are finally… um… finalized and while the Cleveland Cavaliers have secured the top playoff spot in the conference a few weeks ago, the remaining few seeds were not determined until the final few days of the season.
As it turned out, the no.1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers will be taking on the no.8 seed Chicago Bulls, who secured the last playoff spot in the East after beating the playoff-pound Charlotte Bobcats, hence denying the Toronto Raptors of postseason play for the second straight year.
Kudos to coach Vinny Del Negro and the rest of the Chicago Bulls for overcoming a late-season injury to Joakim Noah and the publicized rift between coach Del Negro and team manager John Paxson. Congratulations guys, you’re in the playoffs.
Your reward? LeBron James. (I don’t know if the Bulls would still be happy about that in a few days…)
The Orlando Magic will be this year’s no.2 seed as they look to make a return to the NBA Finals when they take on no.7 seed, Charlotte Bobcats. Thanks to some key additions to the Magic roster, more specifically the addition of Vince Carter, the Magic have become an even bigger threat in the East.
And since the Magic will have the Charlotte Bobcats, a team that will be making their very first appearance in the playoffs, there should be no problem for Orlando to get past the first round. Who do the Bobcats have to guard Dwight Howard anyway?
Probably the most surprising team in the East this season is the Atlanta Hawks, who have secured the no.3 seed in the East this season. Yup, those high-flying Hawks are now one of the East’s three kings, supplanting the Celtics in the food chain to join the Cavs and the Magic.
They have the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round, a team who’ll come into the postseason probably without star center Andrew Bogut. Sure, the Bucks had one helluva’ season, thanks primarily to the arrival of rookie Brandon Jennings who have singlehandedly brought the Bucks back on the map, but I don’t think they have what it takes to beat the Hawks in a best of seven series. Not yet anyway.
Finally, we have the no.4 Boston Celtics taking on the no.5 Miami Heat. This will be the first time that the Celtics and the Heat will be matched up together in the playoffs. This series could go either way and could prove to be one of the more interesting match-ups we have in the first round.
This time though, Kevin Garnett will be available for the Boston Celtics but will that be enough to beat D-Wade and the surging Miami Heat? Father time is catching up to Boston’s big three and come playoff time, we’ll find out how much do these guys have left in the tank when they take on Miami’s young guns.
As NBA teams get ready to assemble their playoff battle formations, speculation across the country is reaching an all-time high with regards to which team will take home championship hardware. This being the case, BetUS.com has posted odds on all things about the NBA championship.
Which team will win the 2010 NBA Finals? BetUS.com has the odds.
Orlando Magic 13/2
Cleveland Cavaliers 19/10
Phoenix Suns 35/1
Want more odds? Visit BetUS.com for more basketball betting odds. Want to watch the NBA live? Get NBA tickets online now.
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