(1) Indiana Pacers vs. (5) Washington Wizards
Before the 2014 NBA Season began, many were predicting the Indiana Pacers to win it all; given their core starting 5 and the return of Danny Granger to provide even more offensive scoring. In the last few months, we’ve seen a team with the favorite to win it all completely lose almost all confidence moving towards the playoffs.
Their mindstate heading into the year was to obtain home-court advantage after a disappointing game 7 loss on the road last year for the finals. The previous year however, Miami won on their home floor edging them 4 games to 2 for LeBron’s first ring. They now continue their path to the NBA Finals, but have hit a road block with the surging Washington Wizards. Led by the back-court of the future in John Wall and Bradley Beal, the Wizards made some noise in the first round, with their impressive 4-1 series victory over the Chicago Bulls. We expected the Bulls to put up a better right, but the lack of offense led to their exposure.
After enduring a few seasons, the former #1 pick John Wall is positioning himself to become a household name via potential playoff shocker against the loaded Indiana Pacers. Andre Miller has been a gem in the post-season providing huge bench relief to the starting 5.
Evan Turner was brought in to replace the aging and summer free agent Danny Granger, but has performed underwhelming throughout the season. Roy Hibbert has virtually been a shell of himself after only averaging 5 points a game and low rebounding against the Atlanta Hawks, who were without their best player in Al Harford. Judging from the last series for both teams and Washington winning all 3 games in Chicago, we could be seeing some fresh blood in the conference finals this year. On paper, we would pick the Indiana Pacers to win, but judging by the current play and momentum heading into game 1, we’re going with the upset for the Washington Wizards to advance to the conference finals.
Game 1: WAS at IND | Mon., May 5, 7:00 PM ET | TNT
Game 2: WAS at IND | Wed., May 7, 7:00 PM ET | TNT
Game 3: IND at WAS | Fri., May 9, 8:00 PM ET | ESPN
Game 4: IND at WAS | Sun., May 11, 8:00 PM ET | TNT
Game 5: WAS at IND | Tue., May 13 | TNT | If Needed
Game 6: IND at WAS | Thu., May 15 | ESPN | If Needed
Game 7: WAS at IND | Sun., May 18 | If Needed