NBA Playoff Predictions (Conference Finals)

East:
Heat vs. Pacers (4-1)

Last season, the Pacers proved to be the toughest challenge that Miami Heat faced in the playoffs. That is for good reason too, because of Indiana's physicality, and their advantage in the post (Roy Hibbert, David West) Miami has shown that they struggle against teams with big men. Indiana's rebounding proved vital in their series with the Knicks. However, the Heat are a smarter team that limits their missed shots because of their equalizer (LeBron James). Miami is a more efficient team than New York, which will make it harder for  the Pacers to grab as many boards. The Pacers have a very good perimeter defense with Paul George. However, Miami has the superiority in that department because of the lethal duo of LeBron and Dwyane Wade. Shane Battier is another crucial defender on the perimeter as well, which will cause triple teams and multiple rotations to frustrate Indiana. Miami has proven that they can make up for their weakness in the low post, by running fastbreak with their smallball style of play. The Heat's depth is another major threat, with the likes of Ray Allen, Mario Chalmers, Norris Cole, James Jones, Chris "Birdman" Anderson, and others. Therefore, LeBron's job has become much easier, because he has multiple weapons to kick out to when facing double teams. His ability to create his own shots will be the ultimate factor in this matchup.

West:
Spurs vs. Grizzlies (4-1)

San Antonio's fundamental style of play, and IQ will give them the major advantage over Memphis in this series. Their ability to create screens will give the Grizzlies matchup nightmares, because of their lethal weapon Tony Parker. Parker's IQ, and playmaking abilities have proven to be problematic for Mike Conley. Tim Duncan has proven to still be a serious threat defensively, which creates problems for Zach Randolph. When Randolph becomes a non-factor, that is when the Grizzlies suffer. Players such as Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green will be crucial in this series to round things out for the Spurs to neutralize Tony Allen. The Spurs depth will once again be the deciding X-factor in the postseason.