by Brandon Call
Daily Lobo
This year's NBA Playoffs could feature some amazing surprises and utter disappointments.
After the way the regular season went, they better.
First off, the Lakers' defense - wait, did I really just use Lakers and defense in the same sentence? - was terrible.
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You would think Phil Jackson, with his nine championship rings and Hall of Fame reputation, would put a better, more cohesive, harder-working defense on the floor. Jackson gets paid $10 million a year, and that's the best he can come up with? The Lakers are just plain lazy, and that's nothing Jackson can even attempt to repair this late in the season.
Superstar Kobe Bryant's 50 points paced the Lakers to a 109-98 victory over Seattle on Sunday to clinch a postseason berth. This leaves the less-celebrated Los Angeles team, the Clippers, and the Golden State Warriors to fight it out for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Talk about inconsistency, how about them Clippers? After coming from way behind to beat their Staples Center rivals Thursday, the Clippers' 105-100 loss to the
Sacramento Kings on Sunday all but takes them out of the race for the final spot in the West.
However, you have to give it up to point guard Jason Hart. The Clippers are 9-6 since Hart entered the mix, and his steady decision-making would benefit the Clips in the playoffs should they miraculously earn the No. 8 spot.
The Golden State Warriors, though, would be a better pick. The best matchup scenario would be Golden State playing the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks in the first round. The Warriors have beaten the Mavericks twice this year and five of the last six times they played. Golden State's head coach Don Nelson is also familiar with the Dallas lineup, coaching for the Mavericks from 1997-2005.
In addition, the Warriors probably have the best combination of scorers in the NBA. Golden State is led by Baron Davis, who averages 20.3 points per game, while five other players also average in double figures. They will make life difficult for the top seed in the
first round.
The surprise this year has been the Utah Jazz. Before the season started, who really thought they would be in the playoff hunt? With two All-Stars - Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur - and point guard Deron Williams leading the way, the Jazz won the Northwest Division, despite having one of the youngest teams in the league.
Under the leadership of Jerry Sloan, Utah was transformed from a .500 team to a major playoff contender. If Sloan doesn't win coach of the year, it will be an utter disappointment.
The Jazz are battling for position in the playoffs with the
Houston Rockets, but the Rockets have a better chance of making it to the second round, setting up a possible date with Dallas.
The Denver Nuggets have grossly underachieved this season, despite adding Allen Iverson to their lineup. After beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 122-107 on Monday, the Nuggets have a 30-28 record since acquiring Iverson and are stuck in the sixth spot in the Western Conference. That's not the result the team expected when it made the biggest trade of the season.
And then there are the front-runners - the Mavericks, the Phoenix Suns and the San Antonio Spurs. If one of the three doesn't win the championship, it'd be a shock. All year, the trio has dominated.
In the East - who honestly cares about the East? Everyone knows that the NBA champions will come from the West. In fact, just one NBA Championship team - the 2004 Detroit Pistons - has come from the East since Michael Jordan retired. Sorry, LeBron James fans, but this year will be the same.
My pick is Phoenix simply because of its proven success against the other top teams. The Suns are 2-2 against Dallas and 3-1 against San Antonio.
Plus, between Amare Stoudemire and Steve Nash, who is going to stop the Suns' offense?
All five starters average 15 points per game or more. In addition, the team leads the league in total points per game and field-goal percentage. What more could you
ask for?
So sit back, chill out and watch some pretty good basketball matchups. Well, in the Western Conference at least.
