2004 NBA Playoff Predictions

Anything can happen between now and the end of the season but as of the time of publication (April 6) these are the teams that were likely to land in the NBA Playoffs from the East and for which we will draw our 2004 NBA Playoff predictions from:

Indiana
New Jersey
Detroit
Milwaukee
Miami
New Orleans
New York
Boston

The top three teams listed will be in that order. Everything beyond this is anybody's ball game so to speak, though it probably won't matter much.

An easy 2004 NBA Playoff prediction we will make is that Indiana, New Jersey and Detroit all beat their respective opponents handily.

Miami was finishing off strong at press time, looking like a top dog in this race with an 8-2 record in their last 10 games. Milwaukee performed just average at best and we predict Miami will knock off Milwaukee in the first round.

Indiana
New Jersey
Detroit
Miami

Indiana should beat Miami easily but I feel the Heat may give the Pacers a run for their money here, so keep this in mind.

New Jersey has the maturity, experience and wherewithal to beat Detroit, however, they probably will not. They simply lack all the necessary weapons this season.

We are then left with Indiana and Detroit. Considering Indiana has the best record in the league (not just the East), they move on to the Finals.

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Our 2004 NBA Playoff Predictions for the West are based on the following likely seedings:

Minnesota
Los Angeles (Lakers)
San Antonio
Sacramento
Memphis
Dallas
Houston
Utah

Denver and Utah continue to duke it out for that eighth seed as of press time and Portland still had a shot.

None of that matters though. Either of the teams holding the top three spots will wallop their opponent. Memphis, which could still fall into the sixth seed, will pose a threat to whomever they come up against, but ultimately lack of post season experience will be that team's downfall. What an outstanding job Hubie and his boys have done to turn this franchise around! By the way, Sports911.com did say prior to the start of this season that Memphis was a force to be reckoned with. We also gave Utah the thumb's up when everyone else had them at the bottom of the barrel.

One thing we know for certain (well, almost for certain), the Timberwolves make it past the first round for the first time in God only knows how many years.

With Sacramento's downward spiral finishing off the regular season, it looks as if Minnesota will meet the Kings. There just isn't enough fire power to overcome a surging Timberwolves team led by an invigorated superman named Kevin Garnett, who this go around has a supporting cast to help him into the playoffs.