2010 NBA Playoffs Predictions: Conference Quarterfinals

April 17, 2010 - by Tom Federico

Culled from our 2010 NBA playoffs predictions data, here are the TeamRankings.com predictions for the first round of the playoffs.

(Note: Although two opening games have already finished, this analysis was run on our power ratings data as of before the start of the 2010 playoffs, so tonight’s first two game outcomes had no impact on them.)

With these projections, we are also unofficially inviting ourselves into Henry Abbott’s TrueHoop Stat Geek Smackdown 2010 competition over on ESPN.com. We’ll track our results and points using Henry’s same system and see how we compare.

Here goes:

– Cleveland/Chicago: Cleveland in 5
– LA Lakers/Oklahoma City: LA Lakers in 7
– Dallas/San Antonio: San Antonio in 6
– Orlando/Charlotte: Orlando in 5
– Atlanta/Milwaukee: Atlanta in 7 (barely…very close to Atlanta in 6)
– Phoenix/Portland: Phoenix in 7 (barely…very close to Phoenix in 6)
– Denver/Utah: Utah in 6
– Boston/Miami: Boston in 7

The biggest contrarian pick in there looks like Utah in 6.

Remember to keep tabs on how series win odds change after every completed game with our NBA Playoffs Current Series Win Odds.