Previewing the NBA's second-round playoff series in the East
Here's a glance at the next round of the NBA's Eastern Conference playoffs, along with Mike McGraw's predictions:
Eastern Conference second round
Cleveland (1) vs. Atlanta (4)
Game 1: 6 p.m. Monday (TNT)
Outlook: This is a rematch of last year's Eastern Conference finals. Cleveland swept that series, even though Atlanta won 60 games during the regular season and was the top seed in the East. So why should we think the Hawks will do better this time? They probably won't do much better, but Atlanta is a little healthier. The Hawks lost Kyle Korver early in last year's series when Cavs guard Matthew Dellavedova rolled into his ankle and Thabo Sefolosha, a potential LeBron James defender, was out with a broken leg. James averaged an amazing 30.3 points, 11 rebounds and 9.3 assists in the 2015 ECF. Cleveland went 3-0 against the Hawks in the regular season, with Kyrie Irving averaging 27.5 points and James 27.3 points. Atlanta might have an edge inside with Paul Millsap and Al Horford, but the Cavaliers also have a healthy Kevin Love, who missed most of last year's playoffs with a shoulder injury.
Prediction: Cavs in 5
Miami (3) vs. Toronto (2)
Game 1: 7 p.m. Tuesday (TNT)
Outlook: Miami made a nice recovery after losing top scorer Chris Bosh to a blood clot issue at the all-star break. Former Bulls forward Luol Deng was one of the main reasons the Heat got past Charlotte in the first round. Deng averaged 19.7 points, second on the team only to Dwyane Wade's 20.2 ppg. C Hassan Whiteside has been valuable, but picked up at least 5 fouls in three of the seven games against the Hornets. Toronto's seven-game victory over Indiana was a relief, since the Raptors hadn't won a playoff series since 2001 and lost in the first round the past two years as the higher seed. The stars didn't shine against the Pacers, though. During the first six games of the series, DeMar DeRozan shot 32 percent from the field, with Kyle Lowry at 31 percent. C Jonas Valanciunas was pretty good, averaging 14.2 points and 11.3 rebounds. Toronto won three of four games against Miami during the regular season and only one was close - a Raptors overtime win at home on Mar. 12.
Prediction: Heat in 6