The Chicago Bulls made short work, although the games were far from easy against the pesky Pacers in the first round.  The Hawks took out the favored Orlando Magic in the first round of the playoffs.  The matchups are most closer in this series than most people think they are, so this is likely to be a very exciting series.  Here’s how I see the matchups in this series:

POINT GUARD:  Derrick Rose is the likely MVP of the NBA this year.  He was outstanding in the first two games against the Pacers but he had issues shooting the ball in the last three games.  Rose is only shooting 37.1% from the floor during the playoffs and he was 8 for 37 (21.6%) shooting from behind the three point line.  The Bulls would be better off if Rose didn’t try many 3-pointers in this series.  Rose has played in 5 games (all starts) in the playoffs so far this year and he is averaging 38.8 minutes, 27.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 2.6 steals and 1.2 blocked shots per game.

Kirk Hinrich started  his career with the Chicago Bulls, so he’ll likely want to stick it to them.  Hinrich has played in 6 games (all starts) in the playoffs so far for the Hawks and he is averaging 28.8 minutes, 10.2 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game.  He’s a little banged up as his ankle is giving him some issues.  The Hawks need Hinrich to have a good offensive series to make Derrick Rose have to play hard on defense.

EDGE:  HUGE FOR THE BULLS

SHOOTING GUARD:  Keith Bogans had one good game against the Pacers in the first round of the playoffs.  He played in 5 games (all starts) in the playoffs so far and he is averaging 19.4 minutes, 5.4 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.  Bogans just plays defense and gets out of the other players’ way on offense.  He will have to play solid D against Joe Johnson or the Hawks are going to have a huge edge here.

Joe Johnson runs a little hot and cold as he only shot 39.6% from the floor against the Magic.  He played in 6 games (all starts) against the Magic and he averaged 41.2 minutes, 18.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.  I have a feeling that Johnson is going to have a really solid series against the Bulls.

EDGE:  HUGE FOR HAWKS

SMALL FORWARD:  Luol Deng is one of the best kept secrets in the NBA.  He plays hard at both ends of the court as he’s one of the best all-around players the Bulls have.  He’s got a challenge on his hands because Josh Smith also plays hard on both ends of the court.  Deng played in 5 games (all starts) against the Pacers and he averaged 42.4 minutes, 18.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game. 

Josh Smith is one of the most underrated players in the NBA and he will have the big stage to show off his skills against the Bulls.  Smith played in 6 games (all starts) against the Magic and he averaged 34.3 minutes, 14.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game.  The Hawks need Smith to have a good series if they are going to pull an upset here and knock out the Bulls.

EDGE:  VERY SLIGHT FOR THE HAWKS

POWER FORWARD:  Carlos Boozer had a pretty disappointing series against the Pacers as he only shot 35.8% from the floor and he was in foul trouble a lot.  He’s going to have to pick up the pace in this series as Al Horford is going to be looking him right in the eyes quite a bit.  Boozer played in 5 games (all starts) against the Pacers in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 30.4  minutes, 10.0 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.

Al Horford is going to have his hands full inside against the Bulls.  But, he rose to the challenge against the Magic as he stood toe to toe with Dwight Howard a few times.  Horford played in 6 games (all starts) against the Magic in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 39.8 minutes, 12.0 points, 10.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game. 

EDGE:  EVEN

CENTER:  Joakim Noah is going to be big for the Bulls in this series as they need to control the boards and the paint to beat the Hawks.  Noah played in 5 games (all starts) for the Bulls against the Pacers in which he averaged 32.0 minutes, 12.0 points, 10.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.0 steal and 2.6 blocked shots per game.  Noah is going to give the Hawks fits at both ends of the court.

Jason Collins will be on the court for the Hawks to use his six fouls and little more as he doesn’t add much to the team.  Collins played in 6 games (all starts) against the Magic and he averaged 17.2 minutes, 1.3 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game.  Not much to see here.

EDGE:  GIGANTIC FOR THE BULLS

BENCH:  Kyle Korver is the main man off the bench for the Bulls.  He shot 10 of 17 (58.8%) from three-point range as he was an assassin off the bench for the Bulls against the Pacers.  Korver played in 5 games (0 starts) for the Bulls in the first round of playoffs and he averaged 21.4 minutes, 10.4 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.  Taj Gibson will likely be the top backup big for the Bulls in this series.  Gibson played in 5 games (0 starts) against the Pacers and he averaged 18.2 minutes, 4.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game.  Veteran center Kurt Thomas will give Joakim Noah a break whenever he needs one.  Thomas played in 4 games (0 starts) against the Pacers and he averaged 11.8 minutes, 3.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.  C.J. Watson will give Derrick Rose a breather when he needs one.  Watson has played in 5 games (0 starts) against the Pacers and he averaged 9.6 minutes, 3.4 points, 0.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.  SG Ronnie Brewer (2.4 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.0 assist) and rookie center Omer Asik (0.4 points and 1.6 rebounds) each played in all five games in the first round for the Bulls, but quite sparingly.

Jamal Crawford is likely going to see more P.T. than he did in the first round of the playoffs with Kirk Hinrich being a little gimpy.  Crawford is also an ex-Bull, so he’s going to be more motivated than usual.  Crawford played in 6 games (0 starts) against the Magic in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 29.8 minutes, 20.5 points, 1.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.  Crawford hit 17 of 37 (45.9%) shots from three-point range against the Magic.  Backup forward Marvin Williams could also see more P.T. than he got in the first round of the playoffs against the Magic.  Williams played in 6 games (0 starts) against the Magic and he averaged 18.0 minutes, 6.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game.  Williams shot 54.2% from the floor against the Magic.  Center Zaza Pachulia will likely get his fair share of P.T. to throw some muscle around in the paint against the Bulls.  He played in 5 games (0 starts) against the Magic and he averaged 19.6 minutes, 2.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.  With Kirk Hinrich a bit gimpy right now, the Hawks may take young guard Jeff Teague out of mothballs for this series.  Teague played in 2 games (0 starts) against the Magic in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 4.5 minutes, 2.5 points and 1.5 assists per game.  PF Josh Powell (1.2 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.2 assists) and C Hilton Armstrong (0.3 points and 0.8 rebounds) could also get some P.T. in this series.

EDGE:  SLIGHT FOR HAWKS

COACHING:  Tom Thibodeau is a defensive minded coach and he did pretty well in the Bulls’ first series as he led them to a 4-1 win.  It was Thibodeau’s first playoff series as a head coach and the Bulls looked solid.

Larry Drew led the Hawks to a nice upset over the Magic, as he proved himself in that series.  Like Thibodeau, this was Drew’s first playoff series as a head coach, so he’s 4-2.

EDGE:  EVEN

PREDICTION:  I think the Hawks are going to put up a good fight in this series, but I think they are going to fall a tad short.  I like the Bulls in six games.

The Hawks outrebounded the Magic 38-31 last night and it was a big reason that they took them out in this game.  Joe Johnson led the way for the Hawks last night with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists.  Jamal Crawford (19 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist and 2 steals) and Kirk Hinrich (11 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists and 3 steals) also pitched in for the Hawks in this game.  Josh Smith (10 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 blocked shot) and Marvin Williams (10 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist in 22 minutes) also pitched in for the Hawks last night.  The Hawks win this series 4-2 and they will move on to face the #1 seeded Chicago Bulls starting this Sunday in the Windy City.

The Hawks only shot 36.2% from the floor and they were behind 79-53 after the first three quarters before the Magic called off the dogs.  Josh Smith led the way for the Hawks last night with 22 points and 11 rebounds.  Marvin Williams had a solid game off the bench with 12 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot in 22 minutes on the floor.  Al Horford only shot 3 of 9 from the floor but he still finished up with 9 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 blocked shot.  The Hawks are still up 3-2 on the Magic but they better finish them off in Game #6 in Atlanta if they want to win this series.

The Hawks turned up the D again tonight as they held the Magic to 39.2% shooting from the floor.  Jamal Crawford led the way for the Hawks tonight with 25 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 blocked shot.  Joe Johnson (20 points, 9 rebounds and 1 assist) and Al Horford (14 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot) were also outstanding tonight for the Hawks.  Kirk Hinrich (14 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals) and Josh Smith (9 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocked shots) also pitched in for the Hawks.  The Hawks are now up 3-1 in this series against the Magic.

The Hawks played inspired basketball last night and it was the big reason for the outstanding home win.  Jamal Crawford led the way for the Hawks last night with 23 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot.  Joe Johnson (21 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists) and Josh Smith (15 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot) also had very nice games for the Hawks last night.  Al Horford pitched in with 13 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot.  The Hawks are now up 2-1 in this series on the Magic.

SG/PG Jamal Crawford is really giving the Hawks a jolt off the bench against the Magic in the first round of the playoffs so far.  Crawford has played in 2 games (0 starts) for the Hawks in this series and he is averaging 31.0 minutes, 24.0 points, 1.0 rebound and 3.5 assists per game.  He is also shooting the lights out from behind the three-point line as he is 7 for 12 from that range in this series.  With the defense tightening up in this series, it makes Crawford an even more pivotal figure in this series for the Hawks.

The Hawks only shot 39.5% from the floor and they were outrebounded 52-39 and it did them in last night.  Jamal Crawford led the way for the Hawks with 25 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists and 1 steal last night.  Josh Smith (17 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot) and Joe Johnson (14 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals) also pitched in with solid games for the Hawks last night.  Al Horford only shot 4 of 11 from the floor but he still finished up with 10 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocked shots.  The Hawks are now tied 1-1 with the Magic in this series as it shifts to Atlanta for the weekend.

The Hawks shot 51.4% from the floor but they were outrebounded 40-29, which didn’t matter in the end.  Joe Johnson (25 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal) and Jamal Crawford (23 points, 1 rebound, 5 assists and 1 blocked shot) led the way for the Hawks yesterday.  Al Horford (16 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal), Josh Smith (15 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals) and Kirk Hinrich (13 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal) also pitched in for the Hawks yesterday.  The Hawks allowed Dwight Howard & Jameer Nelson to combine for 73 points and 25 rebounds, but they shut the rest of the Magic down in a vice.  The Hawks are now up 1-0 in this series.

The matchups in this series actually look pretty close, but the Magic have home court advantage and they thrashed the Hawks in the playoffs last year.  It will be interesting to see if the Hawks step up or if the Magic kick their butts again.  It doesn’t help that the Hawks didn’t play like they cared too much this April.  Here is a look at the matchups in this series:

POINT GUARD:  Kirk Hinrich didn’t give the Hawks the bump that they were hoping for when they acquired him from the Wizards at the trade deadline.  Hinrich played in 24 games (22 starts) for the Hawks this year and he averaged 28.6 minutes, 8.6 points, 2.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.  He’s a much better player than he has shown so far with the Hawks, so maybe he will step up.

Jameer Nelson is a solid point guard.  He played in 76 games (all starts) for the Magic this year and he averaged 30.5 minutes, 13.1 points, 3.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game.  Nelson is a shoot first point guard and he makes teams pay for doubling Dwight Howard down low.

EDGE:  MAGIC

SHOOTING GUARD:  Joe Johnson held elbow issues earlier this year and he frankly pissed off the fans after he blasted them last year after the Magic kicked their butts.  Johnson played in 72 games (all starts) for the Hawks this year and he averaged 35.5 minutes, 18.2 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game.  He has the potential to carry the Hawks’ offense when he gets hot.

Jason Richardson came over to the Magic in a deal with the Suns earlier this year.  He played in 55 games (all starts) for the Magic this year and he averaged 34.9 minutes, 13.9 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.2 steals per game.  Richardson runs hot and cold, but he could have a good series against the Hawks.

EDGE:  SLIGHT FOR THE HAWKS

SMALL FORWARD:  Josh Smith is one of the best all-around small forwards in the NBA as he plays very hard at both ends of the court.  Smith played in 77 games (all starts) for the Hawks this year and he averaged 34.4 minutes, 16.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.6 blocked shots per game.  He is going to give Hedo Turkoglu fits as he’s going to be in his face most of this series.

Hedo Turkoglu has played solid basketball for the Magic since coming over in the big deal with the Suns.  Turkoglu played in 56 games (all starts) for the Magic this year and he averaged 34.1 minutes, 11.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game.  Turkoglu is likely going to need help on defense against Josh Smith.

EDGE:  HAWKS

POWER FORWARD:  Al Horford is going to need to have a big series if the Hawks are going to have any chance against the Magic.  Horford played in 77 games (all starts) for the Hawks this year and he averaged 35.1 minutes, 15.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game.  Horford should be able to handle Brandon Bass but he’ll also have to help out on D with Dwight Howard.

Brandon Bass played solid basketball for the Magic this year.  He played in 76 games (51 starts) for the Magic this year and he averaged 26.1 minutes, 5.6 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.  Bass will need to give Howard help on the boards because the Hawks have good rebounding forwards.

EDGE:  HAWKS

CENTER:  Veteran Jason Collins is going to start at center in this series.  Collins played in 49 games (28 starts) this year for the Hawks and he averaged 12.1 minutes, 2.0 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.  The Hawks are just hoping that Collins can play some D and get some rebounds.

Dwight Howard is set  to have a monster series for the Magic.  Howard played in 78 games (all starts) for the Magic this year and he averaged 37.6 minutes, 22.9 points, 14.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.4 steals and 2.4 blocked shots per game.  The only thing that can stop Howard from dominating this series is either foul trouble or if he gets hurt.

EDGE:  GIGANTIC FOR THE MAGIC

BENCH:  SG/PG Jamal Crawford is one of the best sixth men in the entire NBA as he comes off the bench shooting.  He played in 76 games (0 starts) for the Hawks this year and he averaged 30.2 minutes, 14.2 points, 1.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.  I look for him to have a good series.  Forward Marvin Williams will likely get a lot of P.T. in this series too.  He played in 65 games (52 starts) for the Hawks this year and he averaged 28.7 minutes, 10.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.  Center Zaza Pachulia will also get some P.T. in this series as the Hawks need him to throw his big body around.  Pachulia played in 79 games (7 starts) for the Hawks this year and he averaged 15.7 minutes, 4.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.  SG Damien Wilkins played in 52 games (0 starts) for the Hawks this year and he averaged 13.0 minutes, 3.5 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.  He won’t likely get much P.T. in this series as I think the Hawks are going to tighten up the rotation.  PG Jeff Teague also won’t get much run in this series.  Teague played in 70 games (7 starts) for the Hawks this year and he averaged 13.8 minutes, 5.2 points, 1.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.  PF/C Josh Powell could give the Hawks some minutes inside in this series.  He has played in 54 games (0 starts) for the Hawks this year and he averaged 12.1 minutes, 4.1 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. 

Forward Ryan Anderson is the best player the Magic have to offer off the bench in this series.  Anderson played in 64 games (14 starts) for the Magic this year and he averaged 22.3 minutes, 10.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.  He is likely to get a lot of P.T. in this series as he can really shoot from long range.  Guard J.J. Redick has missed a lot of time as of late but he could be ready to contribute in this series.  He played in 59 games (5 starts) for the Magic this year and he averaged 25.6 minutes, 10.1 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.  The X Factor for the Magic’s bench could very well be veteran guard Gilbert Arenas who has had some huge games in the playoffs.  He played in 49 games (2 starts) for the Magic this year and he averaged 21.8 minutes, 8.0 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.  SG/SF Quentin Richardson has been banished to the bench lately but he could help the Magic some in this series.  Q-Rich has played in 57 games (19 starts) for the Magic this year and he averaged 16.8 minutes, 4.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.  Young power forward Earl Clark could get in on the action if needed in this series.  Clark played in 33 games (0 starts) for the Magic this year and he averaged 11.9 minutes, 4.1 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game.  PG Chris Duhon has been buried on the bench for the Magic this year.  He played in 51 games (5 starts) for the Magic this year and he averaged 15.2 minutes, 2.5 points, 1.0 rebound and 2.3 assists per game.  PF Malik Allen could help out with some minutes off the bench in this series.  Allen played in 19 games (0 starts) for the Magic this year and he averaged 9.9 minutes, 1.3 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game.

EDGE:  EVEN

COACHING:  Well, we’ll see if Mike Woodson was the problem or not.  Larry Drew led the Hawks to a 44-38 (53.7%) record this year.  He will need to motivate his troops to overcome a Magic squad that buried them in the playoffs last year.

Stan Van Gundy has a 334-179 (65.1%) record during the regular season and he is 45-31 (59.2%) during the post-season.  He has been very successful when the games really count and I think he will have his team ready to rock starting on Saturday.

EDGE:  MAGIC

PREDICTION:  The Hawks have some advantages in this series but they will have to stay focused and motivated to have any chance of an upset.  I like the battle tested Orlando Magic to win this series in five games.

23-year old SG/SF Pape Sy just didn’t get much of a chance to prove himself in 2010-11 with the Hawks.  Sy played in 3 games (0 starts) for the Hawks this year and he averaged 7.0 minutes, 2.3 points, 1.0 rebound and 0.7 assists per game.  The Hawks are a very deep team with championship aspirations, so don’t look for Sy to get much P.T. in the near future.  I’m thinking that he will likely spend more time in the D-League than with the Hawks next season.