Let’s check out the predictions of some of the top NBA experts around for each round of the Western Conference playoffs. And for more experts predictions, this time in the Eastern Conference, click here.
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Expert Predictions for the 2016 NBA Eastern Conference Champion
CBS Sports
| Matchup | Ken Berger | Bill Reiter | Zach Harper | James Herbert | Matt Moore |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GS vs HOU | GS in 4 | GS in 4 | GS in 4 | GS in 4 | GS in 5 |
| SA vs MEM | SA in 4 | SA in 5 | SA in 4 | SA in 4 | SA in 4 |
| OKC vs DAL | OKC in 5 | OKC in 5 | OKC in 5 | OKC in 5 | OKC in 5 |
| LAC vs POR | LAC in 5 | LAC in 6 | LAC in 7 | LAC in 7 | POR in 7 |
| Conference Champion |
Golden State Warriors |
Golden State Warriors |
Golden State Warriors |
Golden State Warriors |
Golden State Warriors |
CBS Sports’ Eye on Basketball staff is very much in agreement as to how the Western Conference playoffs will go. All five experts predict the 1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7 and 3 vs. 6 series to go no longer than five games, with four of five predicting sweeps for the Warriors and Spurs.
The only series where one person stuck his neck out was with the Clippers vs. Blazers, where Matt Moore is going with Portland to pull off the upset in seven games. Damian Lillard and co. are currently +270 underdogs to pull off said upset.
Bleacher Report
| Round | Matchup | Prediction |
|---|---|---|
| First Round | Warriors vs. Rockets | Warriors in 4 |
| Spurs vs. Grizzlies | Spurs in 4 | |
| Thunder vs. Mavericks | Thunder in 4 | |
| Clippers vs. Blazers | Clippers in 6 | |
| Seminfinals | Warriors vs. Clippers | Warriors in 4 |
| Spurs vs. Thunder | Spurs in 5 | |
| Finals | Warriors vs. Spurs | Warriors in 6 |
Bleacher Report National NBA Featured Columnist Adam Fromal sees an even more boring first two playoff rounds in the West. Not only does he see three of the four first-round series to all finish in sweeps, he also sees both conference semifinals to end in relatively swift fashion.
All of that sets up the inevitable matchup between the Warriors and Spurs in the conference final. The Spurs are priced at +200 to win the West, but Fromal thinks the -220 favorite Warriors will prevail in six games.
Yahoo! Sports
First Round
| Matchup | Dan Devine | Kelly Dwyer | Eric Freeman | Ben Rohrbach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GS vs HOU | GS in 4 | GS in 5 | GS in 4 | GS in 4 |
| SA vs MEM | SA in 4 | SA in 5 | SA in 4 | SA in 4 |
| OKC vs DAL | OKC in 5 | OKC in 5 | OKC in 5 | OKC in 5 |
| LAC vs POR | LAC in 7 | LAC in 7 | LAC in 7 | LAC in 7 |
Talk about being on the same wavelength. All four writers on Yahoo’s Ball Don’t Lie blog went with the Thunder in 5 over Dallas and the Clippers in 7 over Portland. Meanwhile, only Kelly Dwyer had the compassion to predict a gentleman’s sweep for both the Warriors and Spurs.
Here’s hoping the Clippers and Blazers actually do go seven games, if only to give the first round of the West playoffs some semblance of excitement.
Conference Semifinals
| Matchup | Dan Devine | Kelly Dwyer | Eric Freeman | Ben Rohrbach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GS vs LAC | GS in 5 | GS in 6 | GS in 5 | GS in 5 |
| SA vs OKC | SA in 7 | SA in 6 | SA in 7 | SA in 6 |
After predicting both the Warriors and Spurs to breeze past their first-round assignments, the BDL experts do see the Clippers and Thunder giving the top-two seeds a much better fight. All four see the Spurs eventually pulling through, but were split in terms of the number of games it’ll take.
Conference Finals
| Matchup | Dan Devine | Kelly Dwyer | Eric Freeman | Ben Rohrbach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GS vs SA | GS in 5 | GS in 6 | GS in 6 | SA in 7 |
In the much-anticipated final between the Warriors and Spurs, Dwyer, Dan Devine and Eric Freeman all see Golden State needing at least six games to defend their conference title. But Ben Rohrbach decided to be the brave soul to take the Spurs to upset the reigning champs in seven games and return to the NBA Finals. San Antonio is priced at +200 to claim a sixth NBA title.
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