With the 2012-13 NBA regular season over and the playoff standings set, it’s time to dissect the first-round matchups. From team vs. team to player vs. player to front-court vs. front-court, here are the top-five most interesting matchups for the first round of the NBA playoffs.
1. Carmelo Anthony vs. Kevin Garnett
As if there wasn’t enough animosity between New York and Boston already, earlier this season Garnett decided to step it up a notch by reportedly making some comments about the taste of Honey Nut Cheerios. Although that happened in January, this series will mark only the second time these two players have faced each other since the altercation due to Garnett missing two games to injury. And while no extra motivation should be needed in the playoffs, both players will be determined to get the better of each other and KG’s talking will be on overdrive. Cheerios Bowl 2013. Let’s get it.
2. Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Houston Rockets
James Harden makes his playoff debut with the Rockets against all of his buddies on the Thunder. In the three matchups these teams had during the regular season, the Thunder went 2-1, with the winning team in each game eclipsing 120 points. So we know this will be a high-scoring series with both Harden and Kevin Martin looking to make noise. Harden needs to show he can be the number one player on a winning team and Martin will want to prove he’s not a downgrade for the Thunder.
Another interesting factor to look out for is what Zach Lowe from Grantland tweeted Thursday morning. In the three regular season games between OKC and Houston, the Thunder were +1 in the 80 minutes Nick Collison was on the bench and +48 during the 64 minutes he was in the game. Now, the plus-minus stat is always at risk to be misleading, but splits this drastically different usually have merit. Collison is a bad matchup for the Rockets and if the Thunder want to close out this series earlier, they will play him often.
3. Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan vs. Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol
Arguably the two best frontcourts in the NBA matchup in this series and I think whichever team wins the post battle will advance to Round 2.
The Los Angeles Clippers won the season series over the Memphis Grizzlies, but two of their three wins came before the Grizzlies sent Rudy Gay to Toronto. Since that trade the Grizzlies have improved and played much more team-focused basketball with an emphasis on feeding the post. The Grizzlies have two Defensive Player of the Year candidates in Gasol and Tony Allen [he of incredible karaoke skills] and they’ll attempt to instill their brand of hard-nosed basketball on the high-flying Clippers. I think they’ll be able to do it because if the Grizzlies focus on working out of the post then they’ll limit long rebounds which lead to fast breaks and they’ll force the Clippers to play in the half-court. It should be an extremely aggressive and competitive series that I predict the Grizzlies will win.
4. Denver Nuggets vs. Golden State Warriors
Stephen Curry makes his playoff debut against the surging Nuggets in what will most likely be the hardest fought first-round series this postseason. They have similar styles, with both teams preferrin to play up-tempo and score in bunches, and neither team is afraid of contact on defense. They each have incredibly loud home court environments, with the Nuggets leading the league at 38-3 at home and the Warriors at a respectable 28-13.
I expect this series to go seven-games, with the Nuggets advancing to the second round. I predict at least one 40-point game from Curry – he seems to thrive in the spotlight, and no light is brighter than the postseason. Can the playoffs please start today? I’m ready.
5. Josh Smith vs. David West
The season series between the Indiana Pacers and Atlanta Hawks ended in a 2-2 tie, with the Pacers winning the last two games. The Pacers started off slow and currently seem like the superior team as the Hawks have slipped.
If Atlanta has any chance of pulling off the upset over the Pacers, then they will need inspired play from their disgruntled face of the franchise, Josh Smith. And his inspired play will need to come against David West, which is never an easy challenge. Smith will need to attack the post with his speed and not rely on his shaky jump shot that causes immediate sighs from Atlanta fans. If he can do that then I think he can get the better of West.
Another great matchup in this series is also in the frontcourt between Roy Hibbert and Al Horford. This series, like the Clippers-Grizzlies series that I’ll discuss later-on, will be determined by the frontcourt and I think whichever team wins down-low will win the series.
What first round matchups are you most looking forward to?
Follow Jon on Twitter at @jhartzell2.
Follow Dime on Twitter at @DimeMag.
Become a fan of Dime Magazine on Facebook HERE.
