Allen picks Cavs to lift the NBA trophy for a first time

The 2014-2015 NBA season begins on Tuesday night, following one of the most exciting off seasons in league history. San Antonio, Cleveland, Oklahoma City, Los Angeles(Clippers), and Chicago are all hoping that this is their year. Will there be a surprise this year? Allen throws in his two cents on how the NBA playoffs will unfold this season.

Eastern Conference Quarterfinals

1. Cleveland over 8. Detroit in 4: I’m intrigued by both frontcourts matching up against each other. This could be the series that puts Andre Drummond on a greater pedestal. He’s got tremendous potential, but still needs to evolve more offensively. Still there is a huge gap in the backcourt and bench. Detroit will have their moments, but they don’t have the firepower to compete with Cleveland.

5. Washington over 4. Toronto in 6: Toronto doesn’t have anyone that can take over a game on a consistent basis. As good as Demar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry are, they tend to fade when they got off to poor starts. John Wall could shoot poorly, yet will still affect the game through his passing and defense. That’s one of the main reasons why people rate Wall so highly over a player like Lowry. As long as Nene remains healthy, I can’t see them falling apart. They have far more scoring options than Toronto.

3. Miami over 6. Charlotte in 7: This will be a much different matchup than their first round matchup from last year. Besides LeBron James not being around, Miami will have to deal with Dwayne Wade being harassed by Lance Stephenson. He has notoriously gotten the better of Wade on numerous occasions. You include Miami not addressing their rebounding issues and Charlotte will push them to the limit. Unfortunately a lack of depth, along with the inconsistent play from Stephenson and Kemba Walker will cost them.

2. Chicago over 7. Atlanta in 4: This is a horrible matchup for Atlanta, as they’ll be dreading the fact that they can’t play an undersized Miami squad. Instead they play the best front court in the league. That takes any advantage away from their top two options in Al Horford and Paul Millsap. It won’t be another roller coaster surprise seven-game series this time around for Atlanta. They don’t have enough scoring options to get a win over the stingiest defense in the league.

Eastern Conference Semifinals

1. Cleveland over 5. Washington in 6: Paul Pierce is one of the few small forwards that can frustrate LeBron James. Even as he’s gotten older, he forces James to take difficult shots on numerous occasions. He has also proven that he can get in James’ head through his actions. Washington matches up quite well with their outstanding backcourt duo of Wall and Bradley Beal. Cleveland simply has too much talent and depth to fall apart here. Kevin Love will be the star of this series by his ability to stretch the floor. Nene and Marcin Gortat are very slow, when it comes to defending on the perimeter. Love is an efficient shooter from the outside and will make them pay on numerous occasions.

2. Chicago over 3. Miami in 5: Unlike their past battles in 2011 and 2012, this won’t be much of a series. The addition of Paul Gasol will be essential in this matchup. His versatility will give Miami’s frontcourt nightmares. I’m expecting Derrick Rose to remain healthy (still risky) and be his explosive self. He’ll give Miami’s array of point guards fits with his ability to penetrate at will. This will be a crippling end to a strange Miami season.

Eastern Conference Finals

1.Cleveland over 2. Chicago in 7: The most common, yet anticipated series will come to fruition. Will Kevin Love be able to defend the likes of Gasol and Taj Gibson? Can Kyrie Irving reach the elite level that Rose has been playing on? The video game dream team is going to be pushed to the limit. They’ll have to work for every basket in an intense series. Chicago doesn’t have an answer for James though. Jimmy Butler is a decent defender, but he’s not physically big enough to limit James. Chicago is an outstanding defensive team, but that comes from their frontcourt and backcourt. Similar to the Clippers and their issues in guarding Kevin Durant, Chicago doesn’t have an answer at small forward to attempt to contain James. He’s a much better perimeter shooter now than he was back in his battles against Chicago in 2011-2012.

Western Conference Quarterfinals

1. San Antonio over 8. Memphis: In the past, Memphis has given San Antonio significant problems. They have the size and outside shooting to cause them problems. Also they play a similar half court style, where they’ll gladly play at a grinding pace. This will always be a tough series for San Antonio against a disciplined team like Memphis. Their depth and ball movement will propel them to the next round. It’ll be a battle, but San Antonio simply has a much more talented rotation of players. Memphis doesn’t have enough offensively outside of Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph, and Mike Conley. You need more consistent offensive threats to beat the champions.

4. Oklahoma City over 5. Portland in 5: We won’t see the LaMarcus Aldridge show in the first round like we saw last year. He goes from being defended by the overmatched Terrence Jones to now perennial all-NBA first defensive team member Serge Ibaka. Aldridge will have his struggles, along with Damian Lillard. Oklahoma City’s bench will also make a big difference against a fatigued Portland team. They’ve failed to address their lack of depth, besides sign injury prone center Chris Kaman.

3. Golden State over 6. Houston in 7: This is a tricky matchup if Andrew Bogut is injured. He’s one of the best defensive centers in the league, when 100 percent healthy. They need his presence to contain Dwight Howard to an extent. Golden State has enough depth to get past Houston, especially from their backcourt. It’s no secret that James Harden is arguably the worst defender guard in the league. I’ll take Golden State in a shoot out over almost any team, especially by a team who is soft defensively. This is still a tricky matchup, due to Bogut being unreliable.

2. Los Angeles over 7. Dallas In 5: Dallas has the ability to shoot lights out that could cause Los Angeles some problems. We saw that occur last year, where Dallas’ shooting caused San Antonio’s defense fits. The big mismatch has to be Chris Paul against either Raymond Felton or Jameer Nelson. Two of the most out of shape point guards in the league against the best point guard should be entertaining. Chandler Parsons will have a few big games, but Dallas is too flawed to hang with Los Angeles’ fast pace offense. They also have the size to get Dallas lone enforcer Tyson Chandler in foul trouble on a consistent basis.

Western Conference Semifinals

4. Oklahoma City over 1. San Antonio in 7: A big upset will occur, as Oklahoma City earns their revenge in an instant classic. Age will eventually catch up to San Antonio, while Steven Adams and Reggie Jackson become consistent contributors. Both players have flashed potential, but haven’t put it all together yet. Adams is a crafty center, while Jackson is one of the most explosive guards in the league. Serge Ibaka will give Tim Duncan nightmares on the defensive end as well. It’s hard to write off San Antonio this quickly, but I don’t believe their depth is as strong as it was last year.

2. Los Angeles over 3. Golden State in 7: Another long series between both teams. They are so evenly matched that it will once again come down to who plays better defense and gets more production from their bench. The addition of Spencer Hawes will come in handy to force Bogut to run out to the perimeter. When Hawes is on the bench, DeAndre Jordan will continue to be an enforcer. The dynamic duo of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson will have their moments, but eventually outside shooting teams fade away. That’ll be the case here again.

Western Conference Finals

2. Los Angeles over 4. Oklahoma City in 7: After underachieving in the past few years, the Clippers will finally get over the hump. Blake Griffin will finish his completion of being the best power forward in the league. Chris Paul won’t make mistakes in crunch time like he did last year against them. Oklahoma City won’t be able to handle the pick-and-roll combination, along with the fast paced play of Los Angeles. Despite their issues at small forward, Kevin Durant won’t annihilate them on a nightly basis. Once again, Russell Westbrook will be questioned by his shot selection and overall ability to make players around him better. The play of both point guards will heavily influence this series.

NBA Finals

1.Cleveland over 2. Los Angeles in 5: If any team can outscore and outpace Los Angeles, it will be Cleveland. The new trio is simply too talented to fail this year. Kevin Love will accept his role of being more of an outside shooter that will make teams pay in trying to contain LeBron James. Kyrie Irving will learn to play better defense in keeping pace with Chris Paul. I’m still concerned by the Clippers lack of a lockdown defender on the perimeter. Matt Barnes doesn’t cut it, when it comes to containing the best player in the world. Unlike Oklahoma City, Cleveland has a dynamic trio rather than duo. James will make defense more of an objective to improve on, while I don’t see Los Angeles ever making that much of an improvement in playing stout defense. America’s worst nightmare is here again.

MVP: Chris Paul- With Cleveland having two studs entering their prime how is LeBron James the most valuable player? Instead, I’ll go with someone who makes one of the most dynamic offenses operate. Without Paul, Los Angeles is left with Jordan Farmar running the point. The best point guard in the NBA deserves his due, as he’ll be averaging a double double by the end of the season.

Defensive player of the year: Serge Ibaka- After three years of being on the all-NBA defensive first team, Ibaka finally raises his game to being the best defender. In a conference featuring Griffin, Aldridge, Duncan, Davis, Randolph and Nowitzki at power forward on a weekly basis. Ibaka will limit all of them in proving his resume as the biggest enforcer in the NBA today. He’ll contribute in a major way to keep a beaten up Thunder team in the playoff picture, while Kevin Durant is out. His blocks are always impressive, but his persistence in forcing his opponents to take contested shots on difficult angles is impressive.

Coach of the year: Steve Clifford- Despite me only predicting Charlotte to end up as the sixth seed, Clifford will get his due. Charlotte will win close to 50 games and become a team that can beat anyone on any given night. He’ll get the best out of Lance Stephenson and continue to influence Kemba Walker into becoming one of the premier point guards in the league.

Rookie of the year: Jabari Parker- With not much competition out there, he’ll put together the most impressive stat sheet. Parker is such a dynamic player, who has freakish athletic ability and is essentially becoming a sharp shooter for his size. He’ll be a juggernaut to stop for most defenses. His game reminds me of a more refined version of what Michael Beasley was. Unlike Beasley, he uses his size to his benefit more and it’ll help him grow into a star player.

Sixth man of the year: Isaiah Thomas- He’ll be playing over 30 minutes a night given his ability. I’m not sure how Phoenix is going to fit him in, but he’s too talented to leave on the bench. His ability to drive to the lane and being a consistent shooter from the outside are important assets to have. He’ll face stiff competition from Jamal Crawford though. Stats will prevail for him in his favor.

Most improved player of the year: Andre Drummond- While he’s practically a star already, I’m expecting him to rise to the premier center category. There were times last year that he became an afterthought in that offense. Stan Van Gundy won’t allow that to happen. Eventually, they’ll find a trade partner to get rid of Josh Smith in order to benefit Drummond’s development. We’ll see drastic improvements in his post game and him being more assertive offensively.