By: Julio Olmo

The majority of the time after each NBA Conference Final series has ended, there is a clear favorite to win the NBA Title.

Because of the many storylines which will be presented by the media covering the Conference Finals, there is going to be an overage of information, but nine out of ten times how each team wins their Conference series will ultimately determine which team does win NBA title.

Toronto Raptors,

They caught all kinds of hell for firing head coach Dwayne Casey, parting ways DeMar DeRozan and for basically “renting” the services Kawhi Leonard for one year.

At this very moment you must admit that the Toronto Raptors front office is playing chess and the rest of the executives around the NBA are playing checkers.

Their trade for Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green for DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl and a protected 2019 first-round pick with the San Antonio Spurs has catapulted the Raptors to the top of the NBA’s food chain.

Milwaukee Bucks,

Led by the Great Freak, Giannis Antetokounmpo, the consensus around NBA circles was that the Bucks, even though had the league’s best record and their 60-22 record is the franchise’s best since their 1980-81 campaign…

That they were a year, maybe two away.

Apparently someone forgot to explain this to the Milwaukee Bucks because they went on to open cans of “whip ass” on the Detroit Pistons and the Boston Celtics.

Prediction,

Both Toronto and Milwaukee are playing with “house money” and I don’t have a dog in this fight, but Milwaukee’s path to the Eastern Conference Finals has been too easy.

Toronto wins this series.

 

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Portland Trailblazers,

CJ McCoullon, Damian Lillard and the rest of their teammates are on “redemption mode”.

The McCollum and Lillard duo has been years in the making.

   In the NBA playoffs, you do not need guys that run plays.

  What you need is playmakers.

Both Lillard and McCollum are outstanding “playmakers”.

 

Sacramento Warriors,

 

Everyone is always looking at the Warriors with a fine tooth comb…

“They win too much, their injuries, which players might file free agency, their age or whether it is a full moon tonight, blah-blah…”

In addition to being old school, I’m also old…so it is a very simple concept to me… Never doubt the heart of a champion.

They are the champions ’till another team beats them.

 

Prediction:

This is where rubber meets road and…

It is fixing to be a “changing of the guard” series.

Lillard, McCollum and company are primed to do what Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and the Chicago Bulls did to Isaiah Thomas and his Detroit Pistons in 1991.

Blazers win this series.

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