2017 NBA Playoffs: Final Four Preview & Recap

———- Opening foreward originally published 5/18/17 in “Reid ‘Em & Weep (2.8)” ———-

2017 NBA Playoffs: Final Four

Now that the NBA Playoffs are REALLY starting (those first two rounds were boring and sad!), the “Dutch Lion” wants to make some more Predictions.

Eastern Conference Finals: #1 Boston vs #2 Cleveland

Believe it or not Ripley, I think Boston can hang with Cleveland. Will they win? I don’t know if the “Dutch Lion” will go that far but they will definitely challenge Cleveland more than the Cavaliers first two opponents (Indiana 4-0 sweep, Toronto 4-0 sweep). The Celtics have home court advantage, and that 5’9″ mighty mouse Isiah Thomas has moxie! Boston shall win 2, maybe 3, maybe even 4 games! If I had to bet on it with money involved, I’ll take Cleveland in 6 games but I hope my heart wins out over my brain.

• Heart: Boston Celtics 4 Cleveland Cavaliers 3
• Brain: Cleveland Cavaliers 4 Boston Celtics 2

Western Conference Finals: #1 Golden St. vs #2 San Antonio

Golden St. is on a mission. They are clearly the best team in the league. They have the best players and the most desire. They have the best system and the league’s top shooters. Can San Antonio hang with the Warriors?………No.

• Heart and Brain: Golden St. Warriors 4 San Antonio Spurs 1

2017 NBA Finals: Golden St. Warriors vs Cleveland Cavaliers

This is so NBA. Another year, another rematch. This time Golden St. gets revenge! The Warriors have been stewing since LeBron James made that amazing block in last year’s Game 7. Was that the greatest block ever or what? Tie game, less than two minutes left. Did you see the ground LeBron covered to catch Andre Igoudala? I mean really! Love him or hate him, LeBron is amazing. He’s simply one of the greatest players ever. When all is said and done, he’ll be known as one of the top 5 players ever. He might even go down as the 2nd greatest player ever. Think about that.

• Heart and Brain: Golden St. Warriors 4 Cleveland Cavaliers 2

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* Updated afterword by the author 6/27/17 *

In recapping these predictions, we find that the Dutch Lion was close to capturing the magic of prognosticating.

• In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Cavaliers indeed beat the Celtics. It took just 5 games instead of 6, 4-1 instead of the predicted 4-2. Of course, Isaiah Thomas was injured, severely hurting Boston’s chances. One game off……not bad Dutch!
• In the Western Conference Finals, the Lion predicted Warriors over Spurs in 5. Once again, the Lion was close. Just one game off as the Warriors swept San Antonio, with help from an injured Kawhi Leonard.
• In the NBA Finals, the Lion predicted the Warriors over Cavaliers 4-2. What happened? As you know, Golden St. won 4-1. The Lion was one game off, again! For a third consecutive series prediction the Lion was oh so close to achieving perfection. Not bad man, not bad. What a soothsayer!

———- Originally published in “Reid ‘Em & Weep (2.8)” ———-