NBA Playoff Predictions

My buddy Kevin, one of several great Lakers fans I've met since moving out here (they get a bad rap as a group, but my experience has been that the true fans of the Lakers are just as good as those of the Celtics -- they just can't afford to go to games), issued me a challenge today: Predict the results of each playoff series, from the first round to the Finals, including the number of games each series will last. Here are his picks. He knows the West a lot better than I do, and in contrast to me, he's taking the chalk.

EAST

First Round
-#1 Cleveland over #8 Detroit (4-0) - It feels wrong to predict that the Pistons, who have made the Eastern Conference finals in each of the last six years, will be swept in the first round, but this is Detroit squad is a skeleton of recent vintages.
-#5 Miami over #4 Atlanta (4-2) - It takes a lot to beat Dwyane Wade in a playoff series. The Hawks have a lot of talent, but they also have a lot of issues: attitude, focus, defense.
-#2 Boston over #7 Chicago (4-1) - Boston comes out inspired to win without Garnett; Chicago's defensive shortcomings will be their undoing.
-#3 Orlando over #6 Philadelphia (4-3) - Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis are banged up; it's hard to trust jump-shooting teams in a seven-game series; and the Sixers have been here before.

Eastern Conference Semifinals
-#1 Cleveland over #5 Miami (4-1) - This could easily be a sweep, or it could go seven games if the league decides it wants two weeks of LeBron vs. Wade (just kidding). I'll split the difference and give the Heat one in Miami.
-#2 Boston over #3 Orlando (4-3) - Home court advantage makes the difference as the media and fans start to believe the Celtics can defend the title without KG...

Eastern Conference Finals
-#1 Cleveland over #2 Boston (4-1)...Uh, no.

WEST

First Round
-#1 Los Angeles over #8 Utah (4-1) - The Jazz are best where the Lakers are worst, but Deron Williams isn't enough to overcome LA's depth. Utah gets one at home, where they are very tough to beat.
-#5 Houston over #4 Portland (4-3) - Only because of the irony of the Rockets advancing without Tracy McGrady.
-#7 New Orleans over #2 Denver (4-2) - There's no way the Nuggets are the second-best team in the West.
-#6 Dallas over #3 San Antonio (4-3) - I'm really worried about picking the Spurs to lose at home in a Game 7, but Dallas is a sleeper and without Ginobili, aging San Antonio falls a little bit short.

Western Conference Semifinals
-#1 Los Angeles over #5 Houston (4-0) - Maybe I shouldn't have picked the Rockets over the Blazers after all.
-#7 New Orleans over #6 Dallas (4-2) - The postseason legend of Chris Paul, begun last season, picks up steam this year.

Western Conference Finals
-#1 Los Angeles over #7 New Orleans (4-1) - One, love, one on the way through the West should show just how good these Lakers are.

The NBA Finals
-#1b Los Angeles over #1a Cleveland (4-3) - A lot of people are treating this season as the coronation of King James, and winning a Game 7 in Cleveland, where the Cavs are 39-2 this year, is a big ask. But there's a certain order to the basketball universe, a cosmology that will be thrown out of balance if LeBron gets his first before Kobe gets his without Shaq.

(If you're not inclined to accept this metaphysical explanation, keep in mind that the only team to really beat the Cavs at home -- Philly did it in overtime on the last day of the season with James, Mo Williams, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas on the Cleveland bench -- was L.A.)