NBA Playoff Preview: Monday Night Basketball Free Picks

I finished last week’s NBA playoffs at 8-3 after I split Sunday’s playoff action. The Spurs got swept and while I ended up being wrong about that game, I couldn’t be happier about my failure. Steve Nash got his eye smashed shut and the guy still came out in the 4th and ran the Spurs’ show right out of their own gym. A couple real questionable plays late had the Spurs with a chance, but Steve shut them down at every turn. As for the Celtics, well, they did what I thought they’d do, and I was right about LeBron, he didn’t come out and blow up the spot like he did in Game 3. He can’t do that every game. Rajon Rondo was filthy for Boston, he dropped a triple double and was grabbing rebounds like he was Wilt Chamberlain. Crazy. Here’s my thoughts on Monday’s games…

Orlando Magic (-6) @ Atlanta Hawks (5-10: 8:00 PM ET – TNT): I could go into great detail about the infinite wall the Hawks are trying to climb. I could dig into the terrible match-up problems that the Magic give them. I could even talk about how Joe Johnson told Atlanta that he doesn’t care if the fans show up. But screw all that stuff. The Magic are just going to beat the pee out of Atlanta to finish up the series.

LA Lakers (+2.5) @ Utah Jazz (5-10: 10:30 PM ET – TNT): Utah had a win last time out, and it’s really amazing how the Lakers can just play well enough to win like they have been. But this is Game 4, and LA can close it out now and make sure they get as much time off as Phoenix. Utah is outmatched down low, and that, again, will be the difference in this one.