NBA 2nd Round Predictions

With Atlanta's vanquishing of the Heat the NBA moves on to the 2nd round or I suppose what should be considered the quarterfinals. 4 Series, 8 teams, up to 7 games spread out of the next 9 weeks or whatever it is. Anyway here's a few points I found interesting from the series

Cavs v. Hawks
For a second consecutive series the Hawks showed played with outstanding putridity. No different than last year's Boston 7 game series, the Hawks this year sometimes showed up, played D and therefore dominated the Miami Dwayne Wades. However for 3 games they simply decided not to try and therefore got blown out. Will Atlanta actually stay focused and play D every game? Magic Eight ball says unlikely. Keep an eye on Al Horford's gimpy ankle.
Cavs in 5

Celtics v. Magic
Fatigue and injuries are probably the theme of this series. The Magic are down Jameer Nelson and now Courtney Lee. Turkoglu isn't himself. On the other hand the Celtics are down to only 3 Big Men and all their stars averaged 40 minutes+ a game given the number of OTs. Fatigue has to be creeping into the aging stars. Can Allan and Pierce someone up the energy for another dramatic series? Magic Eight ball says....no

Orlando in 6

Nuggets v. Mavs
Both of those teams breezed into the second round. Whether this was because of inferior competition or the teams finally put it together remains to be seen. The key matchup in this series is Martin and Anderson's D on Dirk. Dirk needs to have a super human series for the Mavs to advance especially with Howard at less than 100%.

Nuggets in 6

Lakers v. Rockets
Oddly enough I think of all teams out West the Rockets matchup best with the predicted Western Conference Champs. Defense on big men isn't exactly the Lakers forte and the Rockets have multiple people they can throw at Kobe. My eyes are on Adelman v. Jackson as they rekindle their hate-hate relationship for Kings v. Lakers series gone by. I also wonder if the refs will make sure the Lakers win this series also.

Lakers in 6