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After a wild first round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs, no one can be sure what to expect when the second round tops off on Monday night. One thing we can probably bet on, though, is some more intense playoff action.
The Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder get things started at home in round two, as they prepare to host the Washington Wizards and Los Angeles Clippers, respectively.
Let’s take a closer look at both game ones and see if we can’t come away with a winner in each:
Washington Wizards (5) @ Indiana Pacers (1) – 7:00 PM ET
Washington shocked everyone with a convincing 4-1 series win over the Chicago Bulls in round one, while the Pacers were equally surprising, needing seven games to rid of the pesky Atlanta Hawks.
The Wiz absolutely have the youth, athleticism and size to challenge the Pacers, but unlike their round matchup, Indiana actually should lineup well against the Wizards. After surviving a scare and coming together with two straight wins the Pacers are suddenly starting to look more like a number one overall seed. Look for them to get this series started off on the right foot with a win at home.
Pick: Pacers 106, Wizards 99
Los Angeles Clippers (3) @ Oklahoma City Thunder (2) – 9:30 PM ET
Both the Clippers and Thunder just escaped from tough first round series, as both entered game seven’s and survived. The Clippers exerted much more energy in their series finale, though, so it’s going to be hard for them to go on the road and get a win to kick this series off.
Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan absolutely have the size and athleticism to dominate the Thunder down low, but it’s going to take more than brute force to upend OKC at home. Chris Paul will have to step up his game to match the intensity, while also trying to slow down the electrifying Russell Westbrook. Oh, and then there’s that whole issue of guarding Kevin Durant.
L.A. might be able to make this a long series, but we’ll have to see them test the waters before we believe they’ll start stealing games in OKC. For now, the Thunder look to be the better team and they should lock down the 1-0 series lead with a win tonight.
Pick: Thunder 103, Clippers 101
