Michael and Matthew made their picks for the first round over at PtR. (I’ve hyperlined the picks that align with those of Steve Kerr, in case anyone is interested how we compare to an “expert.”) There is one thing that all of us non-experts agree on: SA over DEN in 5.

Michael picks:
DAL over GS in 6
PHX over LAL in 6
SA over DEN in 5
HOU over UTA in 7

DET over ORL in 5
CLE over WAS in 4
TOR over NJ in 7
CHI over MIA in 7

Matthew picks:
DAL over GS in 5
PHX over LAL in 5
SA over DEN in 5
HOU over UTA in 7

DET over ORL in 4
CLE over WAS in 5
NJ over TOR in 6
CHI over MIA in 5

I’ll take my picks a step further, for what it’s worth. (And in the interest of disclosure, the Nets just went up 1-0 on the Raptors, so I know a bit more than Michael and Matthew did last night.)

Dingo picks:
WESTERN CONFERENCE
DAL over GS in 6
PHX over LAL in 6
SA over DEN in 5
HOU over UTA in 5

DAL over HOU in 7
SA over PHX in 5

SA over DAL in 6

EASTERN CONFERENCE
DET over ORL in 5
CLE over WAS in 6
NJ over TOR in 6
CHI over MIA in 6

DET over CHI in 6
NJ over CLE in 6

DET over NJ in 7

SA over DET in 6

But there is really only one series that matters, and that’s the Western Conference final. As Adrian Wojnarowski wrote on Thursday:

The NBA champion comes out of the Western Conference this season, and the road goes through the heart of Texas – Dallas and San Antonio.