What to Watch The Throne

"What to Watch The Throne" is the Monday/Tuesday segment by CB40 that outlines what teams and players to watch in the coming week.

Hit the jump to see what to watch this week, and what happened last week.

Last week I told you to watch to Clippers, Celtics, Pacers, Thunder, Danny Granger, Russell Westbrook, and Chris Paul. The Clippers got rolled by the Spurs in a sweep, the Celtics took care of Philly in Game 3, lost Game 4 and won Game 5, the Thunder continued to outpace the Lakers en route to a five game victory. Danny Granger scored 11 and 17 in the Pacers' Game 2 and 3, while Russell Westbrook averaged over 25/5/5 throughout the series and was arguably the best player in the series, and Chris Paul averaged only 12 points and 9 assists per game by getting swept by the Spurs. But this week you should watch...

Wednesday March 23rd:

5:00 PST: Boston @ Philadelphia: Will Boston close out the series in Philly, or will the Sixers force a game 7 in this unpredictable series. Will Boston's reserves push them to the Eastern Conference Finals, a la Brandon Bass in Game 5, or will Philly's balanced attack give them another unexpected victory?

Thursday March 24th:

5:00 PST: Miami @ Indiana: Will Miami move to the Eastern Conference Finals, or will Indy push the Heat to a deciding Game 7 in Miami? Will LBJ and D-Wade dominate again, or will Indy's bigs continue to punish the Heat in the paint?

Sunday March 27th:

5:30 PST: OKC @ San Antonio: In what promises to be a hell of a series, will the Spurs outscore the high-octane Thunder, or will the Thunder's athleticism and defence hurt the Spurs? Will Tony Parker and Manu be able to penetrate into the paint, as that penetration is what leads to the Spurs' strengths of ball-movement and knocking down perimeter shots?

Players:

LeBron James: Will LeBron continue to put up crazy statlines like he did in Games 4 & 5, and carry the Heat to another series victory? LeBron has to play well if the Heat want to beat the well-rounded Pacers. 

Russell Westbrook: Westbrook was the most consistent player in the Thunder's series against the Lakers, lighting it up with his explosive drives, and pull-up jumpers. Westbrook will challenge the Spurs' capable defenders off the dribble, and will need to counter Tony Parker's scoring for the Thunder to steal a game vs. the red-hot Spurs.

Rajon Rondo: The key to the Celtics offence, Rondo will have to have a near-triple double game for the Celts to steal a game in Philly, where the eighth-seeded Sixers have played well.