Disclaimer: I am posting this the day after the 1st second round game, New Orleans at Golden State, and about halfway into the 1st game of the Rockets/Jazz series. However, I will publish the picks as I had them before the games were played.
Western Conference
Houston (1) over Utah (5) in 6 games:
I think the Rockets are a far more talented team than the Jazz especially with Ricky Rubio's injury. The Rockets though, looked sluggish against the Timberwolves. I picked that series to be a sweep and it probably should of been had Houston played to its full potential. If the Rockets again play poorly expect the Jazz to win a couple of games, possibly 3 and 4 on their home court.
Warriors (2) defeat the Pelicans (6) in 7 games:
Anthony Davis played like the best player in the NBA in New Orleans' sweep of Portland. Jrue Holiday was also exceptional. Despite That I will not pick against the Warriors until I am proven wrong. They are simply too talented and too experienced in the playoffs for me to doubt them.
Eastern Conference
Raptors escape the Cavaliers in 7 games:
I honestly had no idea who to pick in this series, if I could have picked a draw I would have. Two weeks ago I predicted that these teams would meet in the conference semi-finals. If you had asked me then who I thought would win I would, without hesitation, have picked Cleveland. I've watched LeBron have so much success in the playoffs, often with subpar teammates, that it would have been impossible to pick against him. However, the Cavaliers looked awful against the Pacers and Toronto looked pretty good in their defeat of the Wizards. I think the Raptors have a good bench and a couple of players who can guard LeBron (OG Anunoby or Pascal Siakam). So based on how both teams have looked so far I am leaning towards the Toronto Raptors.
(p.s. If LeBron James and Tristan Thompson continue to play like they did in game 7 and/or if the Cavaliers show signs of a pulse on defense they may make this prediction look very silly.)
Philadelphia sweeps Boston:
The 76ers are the scariest team in the eastern conference. Their combination of size, shooting, and playmaking made their victory over a talented Miami team look easy. The Celtics though did not look great against Milwaukee's lame duck head coach. I expect Brad Stevens to throw some interesting wrinkles at the young 76ers but Brett Brown is a very good head coach in his own right and had no problems against the more experienced Erik Spolestra last round.