NBA playoff predictions: Warriors will win it all

Nearly six months and 1,230 games after what turned out to be a memorable 2014-15 NBA season tipped off, 16 teams are left standing in the quest for the Larry O'Brien trophy.

There are probably eight teams who enter the spring tournament with legitimate championship aspirations, a rare feat of parity for the Association, and a few more looking to make their mark and get over a postseason hump.

With that, here are some predictions for the NBA playoffs.

Western Conference

1 Golden State Warriors vs. 8 New Orleans Pelicans

Anthony Davis is due for at least one big night and the Pelicans have the type of heat-check scoring talent in Tyreke Evans and Eric Gordon (and Ryan Anderson) capable of improbably stealing a game.

Having said that, the Warriors are the vastly superior team top to bottom, Steve Kerr coaching against Monty Williams is a mismatch of epic proportions, and Golden State won the first three games of the season series by a combined 49 points.

The Dubs should not be tested until at least Round 2.

Pick: Warriors in 5

4 Portland Trail Blazers vs. 5 Memphis Grizzlies

The Blazers lost their last four regular-season games and 11 of their final 18. The Grizzlies finished the season a pedestrian 14-13 over their final 27. Wesley Matthews and Arron Afflalo are out for Portland, while Mike Conley and Tony Allen join Nicolas Batum, Chris Kaman and C.J. McCollum as questionables heading into the series.

This is a series between two slumping contenders who limped to the finish line, and it may simply come down to survival of the fittest.

Memphis's four-game season series sweep (by an average of over eight points per game), the combination of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, and home-court advantage should have fans leaning towards the Music City.

Pick: Grizzlies in 6

2 Houston Rockets vs. 7 Dallas Mavericks

In a Texas-sized rivalry that has seen Dwight Howard choose Houston over Dallas, the Mavericks steal Chandler Parsons away from the Rockets and Mark Cuban and Daryl Morey exchange barbs over the last two years, the drama on the court over the next two weeks should be just as entertaining.

Many see this as a battle between the Mavs' No. 5 offense and the Rockets' No. 6 defense, but it may simply come down to whether or not Houston's 3-point shot is falling. The Rockets led the league with 32.7 3-point attempts per game - over five more than the next most three-happy team - while the Mavs allowed more 3-point attempts against (24.8) than any other West playoff team.

Rick Carlisle and Dallas's firepower ensures a competitive series, but the Rockets appear to have enough to win just their second series in the last 18 years.

Pick: Rockets in 7

3 Los Angeles Clippers vs. 6 San Antonio Spurs

This series is the definitive evidence of how unforgiving the West truly is. Two 55-plus-win teams meeting in the first round, with the defending champion Spurs opening on the road.

The Clippers' atrocious second unit won't be as much of a factor with teams relying more heavily on stars and starters in the postseason, Chris Paul is playing as well as ever and Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan give L.A. one of the league's better big threes.

But the Spurs' boast one of the few starting lineups that outperforms even the Clips'. Their depth advantage is profound, their defensive ability is overwhelming, especially given Kawhi Leonard's current level of play, and Gregg Popovich could limit Jordan's playing time and effectiveness by hacking him.

Pick: Spurs in 6

Western Conference champion: Warriors

Eastern Conference

1 Atlanta Hawks vs. 8 Brooklyn Nets

Sure, the Hawks finished the season 7-8 and the Nets do have the type of veteran talent that can get hot for a couple of weeks to make things interesting, but Atlanta has an advantage at virtually every position and facet of the game, is deeper and possesses home-court advantage, while Brooklyn is bringing a Lionel Hollins to a Mike Budenholzer fight.

This series should not be competitive.

Pick: Hawks in 5

4 Toronto Raptors vs. 5 Washington Wizards

You'll be hard-pressed to find a more evenly matched first-round series.

In a different time, the Raptors and Wizards combining for 95 wins would feel like a Hallmark season, and yet after hot starts for both, each team failing to crack 50 wins and settling into the 4-5 matchup feels like a disappointment.

The Raps swept the three-game season series and have won six of seven in the matchup, but the last two came down to overtime and the final possession, respectively, and John Wall taking advantage of a poor perimeter defense gives Washington more than just a puncher's chance, particularly if their reserves can hold the fort for a solid starting five.

In a series expected to be tightly contested, however, Toronto's previous success in the matchup, their depth advantage, not having Randy Wittman, and their home-court advantage in one of the league's rowdiest environments should give them a slight edge.

Pick: Raptors in 7

2 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. 7 Boston Celtics

Brad Stevens did a masterful job turning a cast of misfits into a 40-win playoff team and his wizardry alone makes a Celtics victory or two seem plausible.

Still, the Cavs have lost only nine times in their last 43 games, with two of those losses coming in late season meetings with the Celtics that saw Cleveland rest its stars. Boston's turnaround was a nice regular-season story, but they don't have nearly the talent required to keep up with a LeBron-led juggernaut.

Pick: Cavs in 5

3 Chicago Bulls vs. 6 Milwaukee Bucks

Get ready for a low-scoring, drag-it-out, defensive series in this old-school Central Division battle.

The Bulls slid to 11th (101.5 points allowed per 100 possessions) in defensive efficiency this season, but if Taj Gibson can get healthy and the team can utilize rest days to keep Jimmy Butler and Joakim Noah fresh, their defensive potential remains as stingy as anyone's.

The Bucks, meanwhile, built the league's second-ranked D thanks to freakish length and an aggressive scheme designed by defensive coordinator Sean Sweeney. Chicago is too talented and the Bucks too green for Milwaukee to pull the upset, but that frustrating defense could make this more of a series than most expect.

Pick: Bulls in 6

Eastern Conference champion: Cavaliers

The 60-win Hawks are a legit title contender, no matter what aura Paul Pierce believes is missing, and the Bulls remain capable of winning the East at full health and full throttle, but the Cavs have won at a 65-win pace and defended at a top-12 level since getting LeBron James some rest and making a couple of season-changing moves in January.

I'll take a LeBron-led team featuring two other stars and a suddenly capable defense in the East any day.

NBA champions: Warriors

It may still seem strange to envision the much maligned franchise crowned champions or the slight of frame Stephen Curry taking home MVP and Finals MVP honors in the same season, but despite your preseason predictions, the 2014-15 Warriors deserve the benefit of the doubt.

They became the 10th team in history to win at least 67 games, the eighth team to post a double-digit point differential, the first Western Conference team ever to win 39 home games and they came within 0.1 points per 100 possessions on offense of becoming the first team since the 72-win Bulls to finish No. 1 on both sides of the ball.

The Warriors are clearly the best team in basketball and by avoiding a potential Spurs or Clippers matchup until the West Final, they may have gotten the break they needed to emerge from the Western Conference bloodbath.