NBA Saturday: Free Basketball Playoff Predictions

Well, I got my first loss of the week last night when the Cleveland Cavaliers, I mean, the Flying LeBron’s absolutely pistol whipped the Celtics in Boston. LeBron James went for 38 while it didn’t matter who was guarding him. Some of the analysts have been saying that Boston just didn’t come to play – but I think that’s a challenging load of BS – Boston was there to play, right in LeBron’s face, but when that guy is hitting jumpers he’s impossible to guard. Last night, impossible. But the Suns followed Goran Dragic‘s 4th quarter heroics to a victory over the over-matched Spurs, so I walked away from Friday Night with a win and a loss to go with my previously undefeated week. Here’s what I think about Saturday’s games.

Orlando Magic (-2.5) @ Atlanta Hawks (5-8: 5:00 PM ET – ESPN): The Magic are just too much for the Hawks. I may be walking into a buzz-saw here, taking Orlando on the road against a Hawks team that HAS to play better than they’ve been over the first two games – but I don’t see Atlanta doing anything that would disrupt Orlando – and if the Magic can do what they want, they can beat anyone in the league.

LA Lakers (+4.5) @ Utah Jazz (5-8: 8:00 PM ET – ABC): This is another one that may not be too smart. I’ve heard just about everyone say they expect the Jazz to win their first one at home, and understandably so, they’ve been outplayed big time in the first two games, but both have been very close despite that. Why wouldn’t they turn those close games into a win at home? Well, because the Lakers are better than the Jazz, and after coming out and getting slapped around by Oklahoma on the road, they won’t need another wake up call. They are just too big for Utah, and that has been evident throughout the series, and that will continue to be a big problem for the Jazz.