Now It Gets Fun

That's right folks, NBA playoffs are here....and they couldn't get here fast enough. It was getting touch and go there for a little bit, but it's time for that last push of "exciting" sports before we head into that summer purgatory known as baseball season.

I know this doesn't carry much weight with many of you, me being the die-hard Laker fan that I am, but if Bynum is healthy and plays like he has over the last 20 games, everyone else is playing for second. Sorry haters, but you know it's true.

Now that I've got that out of my system, let me take off my fan hat and put on my "sure I know what I'm talking about" hat....although it's a bit tight. We'll start out east....

Eastern Conference Preview:
Gee, you think the Miami honeymoon may be over? Name one talking head outside of South Beach who's picking the Heat....can't do it. Go look at the Heat's record against elite teams (hell, look at their record against teams with winning records) and you'll see that they really aren't all that scary. But let's take an honest look at this - who really expected that this juggernaut would come together in one season to dominate the league? Not saying it won't happen eventually, but there was never a point when I thought "oh crap, they're taking the title". Nor do I think many other felt that way.

I like Chicago, I really do and Derrick Rose will be a mainstay in the MVP hunt (there is no discussion whatsoever this year) for many years, but can this team with little playoff experience get through the Heat AND Boston? I think not. I will say, no one wants to play these guys, especially since they've got home court throughout, but I just don't see them getting through the east this year. Not with such little experience AND, like Miami, a team that is playing their first season together. If I'm ANY team from the west and I happen to find myself playing Chicago in the finals, I'm feeling pretty good - if only from an experience perspective.

Some more thoughts from the east...

• Is there a team harder to figure out than the Magic? I still scratch my head at the fact that they blew up that team this year and changed the complexion entirely, but we'll see, won't we. Dwight Howard is probably the second best player in the league and Jason Richardson is a flat-out scorer, but these guys live and die by the 3 (which is shocking considering they do in fact have Dwight Howard) and that's not a good thing in the playoffs....especially against teams that defend the 3 well.
  
• Oh, and guess who does? Their first-round opponent, Atlanta.
  
• The million dollar question - will Lebron be able to (read: disciplined enough) to find the open man...that question alone will determine just how far this Heat team can go. I still say Wade is hands down the best all around player on that team.
  
• Just how much does Boston have in the tank? If I'm picking right now, I'm still heavily leaning towards the Celtics taking the east, but we'll see how they hold up. And if nothing else Paul Pierce can get air-lifted out of the stadium on a helicopter, only to return 20 minutes later to score 18 in the fourth quarter (yeah, he's still a huge pussy).
  
• Thanks for playing Indiana - someone in the east had to get the 8 seed and so we congratulate you.
• I'd like to say New York can make some noise.....wait a minute, no I wouldn't. Look, New York vs Boston sounds real sexy on paper, but this shouldn't be close. Amare has never been a top-tier playoff player and neither has Carmelo; although I'd put more faith in Anthony than I would Stoudamire, I'm still not buying it. Give it a year or two and we'll see.
  
• Can Philly beat the Heat? Rrrrriiiiight.....

Western Conference Preview:
And yet again the real debate exists in the west. I mean, just look at the match ups and story lines here. Most notably, especially for this first round, is the Portland Trailblazers. Quick "laker fan" moment here: some of you may have read my freak-out post on facebook the other night as the Lakers, needing a win in Sacramento (yes, Sacramento), blew a 20-point lead in under 9 minutes in the fourth quarter to find themselves down by 3 with 5 seconds to play. Yadi, yadi, yadi, they won (Kobe with game-tying 3), BUT, the point is had they lost they would have drawn Portland in the first round which would have really worried me.

Which brings me to the next point - look out Mavs fans because this is going to be a tough match up. Mavs should win the series, but if there's an "upset alert" out west, it's this series. And let's be honest, it's not like Mavs fans are honestly saying, "oh man, we're taking the title this year, it's our year". Well, maybe a few are, but they're drunk right now if they are saying that. As I said, Mavs should win this, but not in less than 6 games. Aldridge is hands down the most improved player in the league (he should run away with this award, but don't sleep on Kevin Love either) and with Gerald Wallace playing at such a high level, they're a force to be reckoned with. Oh yea, and they still have Brandon Roy who may be the poster boy for "this guy was a perennial all star if not for his injuries".

Kendrick Perkins in the middle for Oklahoma City should vastly improve their chances to make some noise - size and attitude in the paint has been a gaping hole in Okie City of late and this could be a big missing piece.

Some more thoughts from the west...

• Raise your hand if you're not at all surprised about the Nuggets' surge POST Carmelo/Chauncy trade? You're either lying or just raising your hand because you don't know sh*t about the NBA. This is a dangerous team - even with this band of gypsies they are throwing out there each night. Kudos to George Karl who continues to prove why he's such a great coach.
  
• New Orleans shouldn't win a game in their opening round with LA. Loss of David West is simply too much for a thin team like that.
• As much as rag on the Mavs (rightfully so mind you), Dirk has become a much tougher player - or at least he's played one on regular season TV. His game within 5-7 feet has improved immensely which is critical when your best player is seven-feet tall.
• Mavs should get by Portland, albeit in difficult fashion, but they simply aren't as good as LA and will not put up much of a fight in round 2. Yet again, Cuban's bunch comes up way short.
  

So how will they end up...
I could bore you with a round by round match up.....so I will.

Bring out the brooms:
Lakers sweep Hornets
Bulls sweep Pacers

Oh crap:
Mavs over Blazers in 6
Thunder over Nuggets in 6
Magic over Hawks in 6

Round 2 - Lot of 6s and 7s:
Bulls over Magic in 7
Celtics over Heat in 6
Thunder over Spurs in 7

And then there were four:
Celtics over Bulls in 6
Lakers over Thunder in 6

Title time:
Lakers over Celtics in 5

Phil Jackson can ride off into the sunset (finally...and again) and the NBA can ease into their lockout. Here's why NBA fans should worry - the teams are not making money so a lockout would greatly limit their losses. It's tough to hold the cards in that negotiations if you're a player union rep.

That's what I got gang - enjoy the weekend.