Three NBA Elimination Games Tonight

With all three remaining first round series being possibly decided tonight, I figured I should weigh in on the match-ups and predict their outcomes. At the risk of looking really good or really bad, here goes nothing...
Let's start out east with the Milwaukee Bucks hosting the Atlanta Hawks. The Bucks take a 3-2 series lead back to the Bradley Center in an attempt to knock of the disappointing Hawks. The Bucks went on a late 14-0 fourth quarter run to take game 5 in Atlanta. This series, which I thought would be very boring to watch, has actually been fascinating. On one hand you have the improbable "Fear the Deer" gang from Milwaukee led by rookie phenom, Brandon Jennings. Jennings, never short of confidence, has been spectacular throughout and plays with the poise of a veteran. Speaking of veterans, Jerry Stackhouse and Kurt Thomas?! Add to the mix the gritty play of Carlos Delfino and Ersan Ilyasova as well as the secondary scoring of John Salmons and the Bucks have been more than formidable. That being said, I cannot see them eliminating the Hawks tonight. Call me stupid, but I struggle to get past the fact that Atlanta is the more talented team, the deeper team, the higher seeded team. I know Atlanta has a sub .500 regular season road record and has lost both games in Milwaukee this post-season, but I just do not see Joe Johnson and Al Horford, two All-stars, going down easily. I think they will bring it tonight and force a deciding game 7 back in the ATL.
Heading west and to game 6 in Oklahoma City for the game between the Thunder and defending NBA Champion, Los Angeles Lakers. Coming off his 13 point performance, Kobe Bryant stated it was one of his best games in the series. I fully agree with him. I actually would like to take it one step further and say it was his best. People talk about how Dwight Howard controls games with his defense and Kobe to me was no different in game 5. Kobe requesting to guard the speedy Russell Westbrook, who was absolutely annihilating Derek Fisher, was and is the turning point in the series. As Kobe focuses on his defending of Westbrook, which has disrupted the flow of the Oklahoma City offense, it has also allowed him to become more of a facilitator on offense and really get his bigs (Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum) more involved. Oklahoma City has no match for the height and skill of the LA front court. Game 5 was a blowout in LA and I see game 6 being a little closer due to it being played in Oklahoma, but I still see the Lakers ending it tonight because that is what champions do. The veteran Lakers need the rest and do not want to play another game. Kobe will make sure it happens.
The late game on tap for Friday will be in Salt Lake City, Utah where the Jazz try and close out the Denver Nuggets in six games. The Nuggets will be without starting center Nene', who is out with a knee injury. Towards the end of last game I could not help but notice how Chris Andersen and Kenyon Martin were also hobbling along. This is bad news for a Denver front court already struggling to cope with Carlos Boozer, Paul Millsap and the surprising Kyrylo Fesenko ("Fes" from here on out on this blog). Not to mention Deron Williams...I am in awe of Deron Williams. He is the best point guard in the NBA. He is the first person in NBA history to have five straight 25 point, 10 assist games. He is big, he is quick, he is one of the most entertaining players in the NBA. Anyways, this series ends tonight. It has to. The Denver players are bickering more than ever without George Karl there babysitting them. Utah has one of the biggest home court advantages in the NBA and you can be assured the place will be rocking on a Friday night elimination game. Jazz win by 15.