One step closer

The first round was a tune up for most teams, as no series went past six games. Things will get a little tougher for the eight remaining teams over the next week or two. In a couple weeks, there will only be four remaining teams. I am making some predictions again, they are below. For the record, I was 5 for 8 overall in the first round. The Hawks, Grizzlies, and Mavericks were all teams that went on when I thought they wouldn't. In retrospect, two of the three weren't all that surprising, only the Spurs have me still a bit shocked. I was expecting them to fall to the Thunder in five games.

The Grizzlies will now have that honor, as the Thunder will be too deep and tough for them in this series. I don't think the Thunder will run over all the Grizzlies, but I also don't expect this series to go the full seven games. Zach Randolph has been doing his thing, but this is Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook's time to shine. The Thunder win this series in six games.
Sorry to Mark Cuban and any Mavericks fans, but I still don't give them the credit that they feel is owed to them. This is even coming off the Hornets almost shocking the Lakers out of the playoffs. I don't expect the Mavs to compete much with these Lakers as the Lakers will win this series in five games.

The Hawks played well against the Magic and gave their city a lot to look forward to in years to come. They are one player away from going on a deep playoff run. Unfortunately, the loss of Kirk Hinrich makes them two players away from that run. This loss will make it easy for Derrick Rose to exploit their defense as needed and the Bulls will win this series in five games.
The Heat and Celtics is one of the matchups a lot of us were looking forward to when the playoffs became set in stone. A lot of this will depend on health and how everyone plays towards the end of games, but I think the Heat will win this series in seven games. That would make for potentially the first full series thus far.
Right now, I am leaning towards the Bulls, Thunder, and Heat as teams playing like potential champions right now. The Lakers will be in that category soon too. Youth has been one of the biggest trends thus far, as the older Spurs bowed out to the younger Grizzlies and The Lakers looked destined to do the same with the Hornets for a couple games. The Thunder will likely showcase their youth against the Grizzlies, en route to another potential showdown with the Lakers. Oklahoma is ready to redeem themselves from last year. I know I am not alone in praying for a Thunder/Heat Finals at this point. I've seen enough "traditional team" finals the last few years.