Thursday, April 17, 2008

The End Has Come

Wednesday April 16th marked the end of one of the most memorable NBA regular season's in the leagues history. No, not because both the Lakers and Celtics finished atop their divisions as stated in the previous post, it was the race out West that was so intriguing.

As the season wound down, 9 teams were competing for 8 playoff spots. The 8 teams have now been decided, and all 8 have at least 50 wins. Compare that with the east and you see what a feat this really is. Only the top 3 teams in the NBA's Eastern Conference won more than 50 games this season. Obviously, you may want to tune into the playoffs this year if you havent over the past few years.

As I predicted, the Lakers finished with the top seed in the West and ended the season on a tear. There are only 2 teams in that conference that can de-rail L.A's run to the Finals this year; San Antonio or Utah. No, the later mentioned was not a mistype. San Antonio, the No. 3 seed, is always a challenge. Defending their title from last season, the spurs have experience and know-how. For them, it doesnt matter what seed they finish with in the regular season, their level of play intensifies each year in the middle of April.

As for Utah, look at the rest of the teams in the playoff picture out west and pick another team better, more well equipped to make a run at the championship than them? I dare you. The hornets? Ha! Although the No. 2 seed, the Hornets lack experience and mental toughness. I expect them to be eliminated by the second round, if not the first. The Rockets? Sure they had a mid-season 22 game win streak, but without Yao, all they have is Mcgrady. And we all know what Mcgrady does in the post-season. The Suns? Okay, I might give you this one......okay maybe not. Even when Nash was winning MVP's the couldnt escape the second round. Nash is getting older everyday, oh, and so is Shaq. Disrupting the Suns chemisry mid-season with the addition of Shaq may have been a good story and exciting to think about, but sorry Pheonix, wave good-bye in the first round to the Spurs. Oh yeah, and the Mavs and Nuggets are in this thing too, does anybody care?

Lakers and Celtics in the finals come June. Sorry to ruin the anticipation, but it's the conspiracy and there is nothing you or I can do about it. So just sit back, relax, and watch the beauty of it all unfold to you.

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