"The Prospect Of Hanging Concentrates The Mind Wonderfully"

Samuel Johnson might have watched the first games of the NBA's first round of the playoffs before he said that, "The prospect of hanging concentrates the mind wonderfully."  Almost every favorite came out of those games thinking about how close they had come to giving up home court so easily while the favorites who were upset, Orlando, San Antonio and the Lakers faced Game Two with a sense of danger and foreboding as they contemplating going down two games and then going on the road.  All three seemed to be concentrating more wonderfully than they had in their losses.

• Although Chicago is up two games they know how little margin they had in their wins over the surprising Indiana Pacers (who had the worst record of any team in the playoffs).  MVP favorite Derrick Rose carried them through both but the Bulls will have a tougher time in Indianapolis for the next two games.
• Boston wore down the injury riddled Knicks who played without Chauncy Billups and Amare Stoudimire.  Still The Celtics can't be too pleased with their performance against the defensively impaired Knicks.  The next two games are in New York.  Stoudimire is listed as day to day and Billups, the key veteran on this team that is still adjusting to the changes it made to the roster during the regular season, is listed a questionable.  A loss at home to Boston Friday will leave New York on the verge of a summer vacation.
• Dallas may have won both games at home against the Blazers but they had to battle to win those. Portland is probably the toughest team to play on their homecourt and I'd expect this series to be even before it heads back to Dallas.
• The same story holds true for the Oklahoma City-Denver series.  Denver will be a lot tougher at home but in the end their lack of experience and the fact that they too are adjusting on the fly to major player changes will make it an uphill road for them to win the series.  The Thunder also have the luxury of two go-to guys who can  score down the stretch.  Denver really doesn't even have one of those.
• Miami looks like they are going to roll over the young Sixers after two wins at home.  Still Philadelphia will be home and although they don't match the talent level of the Heat they are a team and they have a great coach.  Like any team down two games, Game Three is a must win game for them.  
• Orlando seemed to be much more concentrated after their loss in the opening game of the series.  They never did break the game open but they controlled the pace and played from ahead all night.  This is going to be a long tough series.  Atlanta figures to play better at home and it would not be a huge upset if the Hawks win this series.
• San Antonio got Mano Ginobelli back for Game Two and he helped them avoid being down two games at home to the young Memphis Grizzlies.  Still, the Spurs can't be too comfortable after two tough, close games with the Griz, who hold their fate in their own hands as long as they can win at home.  Don't expect the Spurs to sweep through Memphis but all they need is a split and they'll probably get it.
• Finally, the Lakers, like the Spurs faced the potential of losing their first two games at home too but they resorted to their playoff formula of tough, rough defense, baskets here and there and a slow moving tense battle for every point.  It isn't pretty but the Lakers are best when they play that style.  When they makes shots too they become a great team but they don't seem to be doing much of that lately.  Like the other two favorites that lost Game One, they face the prospect of having to win on the road to win the series.  If the Hornets continue to battle like they have and Paul continues to play the way he has this could be a long tough series.  On the other hand, if the Lakers play up to their offensive potential, with their size and experience adavantage they should still prevail.

The Key moments in the Lakers win last night came in the early minutes of the third quarter.  The first half started with a strong Hornet run that gave them a 20-11 lead with three and a half minutes left in the first period.  That was the Hornets biggest lead.  Foul trouble caused by dealing with the Lakers constant efforts to pound the ball inside to their big men left the Hornets with no answers.  The period ended with a 23 all tie. In the second period the Lakers started to pull away behind the inside game of Andrew Bynum along with key baskets from Artest and Odom.  The Lakers led by six at the half but certainly were grumbling over the open three that Chris Paul hit at the buzzer over Kobe.  In about a minute the Lakers lost half of their 12 point lead to end the half up 47-41.

Then came the pivotal third quarter.  With nine minutes left the Lakers led 51-45.  For the next three minutes the two teams went up and back trading misses and turnovers until the Hornets broke through and scored but it was the Lakers who countered.  After Ariza brought the Hornets within three the Lakers the Lakers ran off nine straight points to open a 12 point lead.  Odom's two consecutive inside hoops ended the run.  The Lakers again let New Orleans get back outscoring them 7-2 over the last three minutes including another Paul three at the buzzer.  

Any chance the Hornets had to get back into the game ended after the Lakers behind Odom and Barnes extended their lead to 13, their biggest lead of the game.  New Orleans had one last chance at that moment when Barnes was called for a flagrant foul giving the Hornets two shots and the ball.  Instead of cutting four or five points off the Laker lead, they came away with nothing, missing both free throws and failing to make a field goal.  Although they got back within seven, that was as close as it was going to get.

Still, the Lakers can't be too pleased with their performance.  They did what they had to do but they did it without their two top scorers doing much.  Gasol played as poorly as he ever has as a Laker and Kobe settled for only 10 shots on the way to 11 points.  The game looked a lot like last years Game Seven in the Finals with Boston.  Low scoring, lousy offense and tough, rough defense.  The refs seemed more than willing to let the players play and the score reflected the defensive pace of the game.  The Lakers did a much better job with Paul and Jack (26 between them and Paul had eight of those on buzzer beaters and five made free throws on fouls at the end of the shot clock by Bryant.  That's 13 of his 20).  The Lakers also won the rebound and turnover battles, unlike in Game One.  Now it's on to New Orleans and time will tell if the Lakers can win back their home court advantage. Another loss in Hornetland will leave the Lakers with minds concentrated wonderfully again as they contemplate an early summer. Of course if the real Pau Gasol shows up and Kobe plays more like Kobe that might not be necessary and they can go back into their sublime state of being and not have to concentrate again until Round Two.

"Uneasy Lies the Head That Wears a Crown"

"Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown."  Although Shakespeare's words ring truer today for the reigning king of the NBA, the Lakers, it is also true for many of the what were thought to be true pretenders to the crown.  The top challenger in the West, San Antonio went down in Game One to Memphis while the other top seeded western contenders had their own struggles in their openers.  Things didn't go much better in the East where the team with the league's best record, Chicago trailed all game until a 16-1 spurt saved them at the end.  Miami's crowned heads struggled mightily with the lowly Sixers.  Orlando, a number four seed,went down to the Hawks and Boston looked its age struggling with the new look Knicks.  The only real lessons from the first games of the first round seemed to be that nothing is certain this year and that the battle for the crown looks more up for grabs than at any time in recent memory.  Another old adage about kings certainly applies here, "Trust no one."

Although Memphis' win over the West's best certainly ranked as the most shocking, the Lakers' loss to New Orleans is not far behind.  The up and down monarchs, who all season long proclaimed that they would show their royal metal when playoff time came, stumbled out of the gate, allowed the pretenders to control the game and left the court battered and bloodied by a team everyone felt had the least chance of challenging them.
The Hornets won three of the four quarters, kept L.A.'s big men quiet and held the defending champions in check all game long.  Before the game the Lakers talked about how glad they were to be through the exhausting and to them boring  regular season and proudly proclaimed that they were now ready to play their best, confident that the crown they own is secure and safe.  They are certainly not saying that today.

Experts predicted that the Hornets lack of size would be a major issue against the Lakers with their two seven footers Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol and their 6'10" forward Lamar Odom.  The experts were wrong.  The Hornets dominated the middle, forced the Lakers to shoot jump shots, made Kobe Bryant work for every point and controlled the pace of the game.  At the offensive end Chris Paul showed one of the Lakers' biggest weaknesses, their inabilty to handle quick guards.  Paul ended up with 33 points (11-18 shooting) and 14 assists.  His backup, Jarrett Jack added 15 points and five assists.  That means those two alone either scored or assisted on at least 86 of the Hornets 109 points (that assumes 2 points per assist which means it could actually be worse.  It doesn't inclue the extra point that comes on an assist on three pointers or passes that didn't get assists but led to free throws). That's 79% of the Hornets scoring.  Chris Paul had as many rebounds as Gasol and Odom combined (6 and 1 respectively).  Although the game looked close most of the way even that was misleading.  The Lakers couldn't make stops when they needed them.  They followed up their only strong quarter (the third), where they held New Orleans to 18 points with their worst defensive quarter in the fourth when they gave up 36 points.  The one thing that seemed to be keeping the Lakers in the game aside from Kobe's scoring and Ron Artest's strong performance was the Hornets penchant for missing free throws.  At one point they had made only seven of sixteen free throws (9:56 left in the fourth quarter) but they made 16 of their last 17 the rest of the way.  The missed Hornets free throws made the game seem closer and Artest's heave that went in at the end of the first half cut New Orleans 11 point lead back to eight.The Hornets, who along with the Lakers were among the leagues best at avoiding turnovers, had only three.  The Lakers had 13 which were turned into 17 points.  L.A. started the game by falling behind at 12-4 and then went on a nine point run to take a lead for a few minutes before falling behind for good. The closest the Lakers would get was to get within a point a few times, the last one at 75-74 with ten and a half minutes left in the fourth quarter.  They got back within three with six minutes left (90-87) but Kobe had a three pointer go in and then come out and that was that.

This was a game the Lakers expected to win on the inside but the Lakers didn't seem to make a real effort to find points there.  Gasol was only two for nine shooting, Odom made half of his six shots and Bynum had 13 points on seven shots.  That means the Laker big men had only 22 shots all game long.  Kobe alone had 26 (for 34 points) of which he made half.  Paul got his 33 points on only 18 shots.  The real difference maker on the inside was Hornet sub Aaron Gray who made all five of his shots in his twenty minute stint and finished with 12 points and a sprained left ankle.

Belinelli had a hot hand in the first half with ten points but then Artest started guarding him and he didn't score the rest of the way.  The Lakers need to find a better way to contain Chris Paul and Jarrett Jack and they need to run their offense more crisply while making a much more concerted effort to force the ball inside.  The Lakers played 82 games to earn the number two seed in the West and assure themselves home court against everyone in the West except San Antonio and then in their first outing in the playoffs, gave that home court advantage away.  L.A. may have Steve Blake back Wednesday from his bout with chicken pox) but it's going to take a lot more than that for them to get back in this series.  The Laker bench needs to play far better.  The only bench players to score for the Lakers were Odom (10) Shannon Brown (8) and D League call-up Trey Johnson who had three. The Hornets got 39 points off their bench.

The playoffs are all about adjustments and it will be interesting to see what changes the Lakers make.  One change they need to make is to stop switching big men onto Chris Paul after pick and rolls.  Time after time Gasol found himself outside chasing Paul and then allowing him to shoot open threes.  That will never work.  Another is that they need to force him to the baseline where he's not going to be able to be as effective although with a player as talented as Chris Paul, that is not going to be easy.  The Lakers will also have to move quicker to wall off the lane and try and limit Paul's penetration and that won't be easy either.  On the other end the Lakers need to remember they have a huge advantage inside from both a size and talent standpoint.  If Gray's ankle keeps him out Wednesday then Hornets will have an even bigger hole to fill.  Hornets' starting center Okafor fouled out and played only 21 minutes, scoring only four points.  The only other big man the Hornets have is former Laker D.J. Mbenga.

The Lakers will trust in their coach and their resilience to get them back in this series and a win Wednesday night is paramount.  That trust will be in question though as the Lakers try and adjust to dealing with the unease that comes when someone begins to threaten the head that wears the crown.

Quick Thoughts on a Sunday Morning

The first day of the NBA playoffs showed everyone why the playoffs are a new season.  Three of the four favored teams won but they all got a scare, especially the Bulls and the Heat.  Orlando got more than a scare.  They got beaten by a team that had beaten them three times (out of four) in the regular season.  Lessons learned from Saturday:

• No one is going to just rollover in the playoffs.  If you don't bring your A game you're going to be down a game (Lakers, are you listening?)
• The Bulls can't expect Rose to be half of their offense every night they play.  Expect the Pacers to try harder to get the ball out his hands in game 2.
• The 76'ers are a really well coached team.  Dough Collins is even a better coach than he was a color commentator.  He used to be my second favorite color commentator behind Hubie Brown.  Expect Philly to give Miami a tougher fight in this series than they are expecting and of course the Sixers have nothing to lose.
• The Magic are not going anywhere if they can't some production from someone other than Dwight Howard.  He had almost half their points.
• The Dallas game with Portland was a lot closer than it looked.  If the Mavs are going to get the Trailblazer roadblock out of the Lakers way in Round Two then they better find a better way to get key baskets than to rely on Jason Kidd's shooting.  He was hot last night but he's not nearly that good a shooter

Although I'm a true died in blue Dodger fan I was already expecting this to be a long season but I didn't think it would look so long so soon.  I mean, we're only two weeks into the season and Dodgers have a five game losing streak.  They can't a find a team that fields as badly as the Giants to play every night and they can't hit a lick.  Their pitching isn't so hot either.  On top of that depressing news comes word that Frank McCourt had to personally borrow $30 million from Fox so he could make the Dodger payroll for April.  Earlier the Dodgers had been set to borrow $200 million from Fox with future TV rights as collateral but the League stopped that transaction.  Since this loan is personal Bud Selig (baseball's commissioner) can't stop this one.  If I was a Dodger I'd cash those checks fast.  And if all that wasn't bad enough the image of Dodger Stadium and the Dodgers poor play has led to a drop in attendance of over 8,000 a game.  Long season?  It's already been a long two weeks.  Who thought that when people mentioned Dodger blue they would really be talking about the only group whose attendance is up at the ballpark, the LAPD.

Lakers-Hornets: In Depth

The Lakers are still pinching themselves after coming within less than five seconds of facing Portland in this first round series.  Kobe Bryant's game tying three pointer sent the Lakers into overtime and sent the Trailblazers packing for Dallas.

Series Overview:

The Lakers couldn't have gotten a better match up in the first round if they had tried. First off the Lakers are just too big for New Orleans.  Okafor has the size to disrupt the Lakers interior game but when he is guarding Gasol he will have to go away from the basket which will open the lane.  The Hornets also like to play at a slow pace which for many NBA teams is a problem but the Lakers are a team that also plays better when it slows the game down.  Both teams do not turn the ball over a lot and because they both use lots of time on offense their defensive numbers both look very good.  The reality though is the Lakers not only look very good on defense, they are very good.  The Hornets are also a good defensive team but not on a par with the Lakers.  They also lack the Lakers depth and experience.  Ron Artest is sort of wasted in this series because the Hornets don't really have one big time scorer.  Still if any Hornet other than Paul gets hot he'll find himself with Artest attached to him in short order.  The Lakers are better at every position except point guard, they're far taller, handle the ball as well, and when they get Blake back from chicken pox they are probably a better outside shooting team too.  Look for the Lakers to try and wall off the lane to keep Paul from penetrating, get out quick to Belinelli, and make a concerted effort to keep Landry off the glass.  If they can do that and run their offense smoothly then the Lakers are going to roll. The Hornets biggest hopes in this series are that the Lakers will revert to playing down to the level of their competition, that Bynum's knee limits his mobility or minutes or the Lakers continue to go into very long stretches when they just can't hit water from a boat (like the fourth quarter collapse against the Kings last Wednesday).  Aside from that or something totally unexpected I'd be surprised if the Hornets do much better than take this to five games.

The Lakers:

• Point Guard: Derek Fisher  (6.8 points 1.9 rebounds 2.7 assists) In some ways he is the heart and soul of the team.  Although Phil Jackson doesn't really like small guards he has certainly learned to like Fisher.  He gives them steady ball handling, hard nosed defense and an ability to score when they really need a score.  He's not a great outside shooter but he's great when it counts.  He's not really a quick guard but with his experience he still to gets places he really shouldn't be able to get to.  He has problems with quick guards (like Chris Paul) but the Lakers, when they want to, can be very good at shutting down that kind of penetration.  He is also one of the leagues best at drawing charges and other offensive fouls.  Like Artest and a number of other Lakers, he really grates on people over the course of a game and he backs down to no one.
• Shooting Guard: Kobe Bryant (25.3 points 5.1 rebounds 4.7 assists) First and foremost, he is a scorer.  He has the two key things every great scorer has to have (along with talent).  No conscience and no memory.  Scorers try to score whenever they see a shot they feel they have a better chance of making than they would by passing it up and staying with the play.  That means some really bad shots but great scorers find a way to make enough of those bad shots to make up for the lack of conscience about shot selection.   He has the ability to forget every miss instantly and completely.  The shot he made to save the game the other night followed a string of easy shots that he had missed and yet he fired that one without the weight of all the previous misses on his mind.  That's a trait all great scorers share.  This year he has managed to channel that scoring drive and be a much more complete player.  Still he has not been as consistently good as he was a few years ago.  He's become a much streakier shooter than he was and has more cold streaks than he used to but he still manages to put up the points.  He doesn't drive as much or as successfully to the hoop as he used to but he can when he wants to.  Many times though he seems to drive simply trying to draw fouls and refs are not buying that act anymore.  He does give the Lakers something the Hornets do not have, a go-to player down the stretch.  
• Small Forward: Pau Gasol (18.8 points 10.2 rebounds 3.3 assists) It's hard to refer to Pau as a small forward but because he has such a good inside 18 foot jump shot he plays at times like a small forward except that he can post up, shoot equally well with either hand near the basket, rebound and block shots.  Oh yeah. And he's seven feet tall.  When he is on the court with Bynum he becomes  a major match-up problem so he usually ends up being guarded by a power forward who can't match his quickness.
• Power Forward: Ron Artest (8.5 points 3.3 rebounds 2.1 assists) By size alone he's a small forward but the reality is that he plays like a power forward which makes him a great compliment to the size and quickness that both Gasol and Lamar Odom have.  He's a match up problem too because he's too strong and cagy for a small forward to handle inside.  Looking at his numbers doesn't really tell what he brings to the team.  He can make three pointers but isn't great at it and every point he scores for them is a bonus.  What Artest does better than anyone in the league is play shut down defense on the other team's big scorer.  He is also a great help defender and has a rare ability to create deflections on reach-ins without getting fouls.  He doesn't always make the right play or take the best shots but it's a small price to pay for what he gives on the defensive end where he leads the Lakers in steals.
• Center: Andrew Bynum (11.3 points 9.4 rebounds 1.4 assists 1.96 blocks) If he is healthy he makes the Lakers a really tough team to beat.  If he isn't the Lakers will be on vacation in early May.  By concentrating on rebounding and defending the basket he has become the Lakers' eraser, allowing defenders to risk penetration knowing Bynum can either block or intimidate the shooter.  It solidifies what was already a great defense.  Offensively he's still too slow in deciding whether to pass the ball back out of the post or make a move and in too many cases when he finally makes up his mind the opening is gone.  Still he has good footwork, he's only 23 and he's also a seven footer.
• Forward: Lamar Odom (14.4 points 8.7 rebounds 3 assists) The NBA's Sixth Man of the Year is a real asset to this team.  Not only is he a 6'10" power forward he is also in reality a point guard in a power forward's body.  He has that ability to take a defensive rebound and then lead the break and make the right play at the end.  He, like Fisher, is left handed but he's not nearly as good at going to his right as Fisher is.  Even though everyone in the league knows he wants to go left he still manages to find a way to get there.  He's not as good a finisher as he could be with his size and skills but he is still a real problem to handle around the hoop.  He also makes the Lakers a really long team when he's paired with Gasol and or Bynum.
• Guard: Shannon Brown (8.7 points 1.9 rebounds 1.2 assists) He's a scorer with no conscience either.  He's just not great at it and because of that he has a memory.  When he's hot he's hot and when he's not he's not.  He is an incredible leaper and a highlight reel in the open court.  He can be a great outside shooter but he's inconsistent and gets impatient when his shot isn't falling.  Of all the Lakers he is the only one who dribbles the ball far too much looking for a shot or a driving lane.  When he lets the game come to him he is a perfect off the bench backup for Kobe.  He tries to force things he misses and the Lakers bog down.
• Forward: Matt Barnes (6.7 points 4.3 rebounds 1.3 assists) He is a smaller Lamar Odom without the ball handling ability.  He is thin, long and a tenacious defender.  His knee is a concern and he has not been the outside shooter or slasher he was before he hurt his knee.  He still gives them a hard nosed aggressive attitude (that if Lamar Odom had he'd be a superstar).  He makes excellent cuts through the lane and is another player who grates on opponents over a game (or a series).
• Guard: Steve Blake (4 points 2 rebounds2.2 assists) The Lakers got him for his hustle, hard nosed play and his outside shooting but over the course of the season they've had to settle for two out of three.  He has not been the consistent shooter the Lakers thought they were getting.  He is a shooter with a conscience.  He passes up too many open looks but he also has a memory and becomes even more reluctant to shoot after he misses.  He works hard and can guard quicker guards fairly well and he's another player that players get tired of over the course of a game.
• Forward: Luke Walton (1.7 points 1.2 rebounds 1.1 assists)  He didn't play many minutes but the Lakers may need him to pick up his game if Barnes knee becomes a problem.  He's a great distributor and has a knack for finding open men.  He can be a good ourtside shooter but he doesn't show it very often.  He's always looking to pass before he looks to shoot.  He has problems handling qick forwards on the defensive end.
• The Rest of the Team: Theo Ratliff (Center), Joe Smith (Forward) Derrick Character (Forward) Devin Ebanks (Forward) Trey Johnson (Guard)  If these guys are in the game then one way or another it's a rout (either that or a lot of players fouled out.  

The Hornets:

• Point Guard: Chris Paul (15.9 points 4.1 rebounds 9.8 assists) If not the best point guard in the league then he is certainly one of them.  He is the kind of quick guard who could give the Lakers fits with his penetration.  He is good shooter who is always looking to pass and a real pest on the defensive end where he gets 2.35 steals a game.  He is by far their best player
• Shooting Guard: Marco Belinelli (10.5 points 1.9 rebounds 1.2 assists) outstanding outside shooter who can be trouble as a slasher in the lane. He shoots three pointers at a 42.4%.  He's not a good defender and the playoffs are always about defense. 
• Power Forward: Carl Landry (11.8 points 4.1 rebounds .6 assists) The trade that brought him to the Hornets saved their season.  He replaced their top scorer David West (and made up for some but not all of West's 18.9 points per game) when he went down with a torn ACL.  He's a tough inside player who seems to always play well against the Lakers.  He is a very good offensive rebounder and a steady mid range shooter.
• Small Forward: Trevor Ariza (11 points 5.4 rebounds 2.2 assists) The former Laker has struggled as a shooter this year but he can be a major three point shot threat when he's hot. He is an outstanding defensive player and excellent at stepping into passing lanes to make steals.  As a former Laker he is familiar with their triangle offense and his ability to read it could give the Lakers some trouble
• Center: Emeka Okafor (10.3 points 9.5 rebounds .6 assists 1.76 blocks) He only takes seven shots per game and is not a threat to force Laker defenders to follow him outside.  He is a solid defender and shot blocker which makes him the heart of the Hornets defense.  At 6'10" he gives up size to both Bynum and Gasol which negates much of defensive impact
• Point Guard: Jarrett Jack (8.5 points 1.9 rebounds 2.6 assists) Like Chris Paul is quick and a great penetrator and distributor.  He's not as good from distance or as creative as Chris Paul though (but then again, who is?)
• Center: Aaron Gray (3.1 points 4.2 rebounds .4 assists) he's their only other big man at seven feet but he doesn't have the quickness to keep up with any of the Laker big men
• Forward: Jason Smith (4.3 points 3.1 rebounds .5 assists) he started to get almost twenty minutes a game over the last five games but his stats speak for themselves
• The Rest of the Team: If you see any of them in it's either garbage time or an awful lot of Hornets fouled out

NBA Playoff Preview

Finally, after only 1,230 games the league said goodbye to its 14 biggest losers.  Now it's on to the real season, the playoffs.  Here's a quick look at the first round match-ups.  All of these predictions will probably change as the series get underway.  That's why the playoffs are so great.  Every game matters.  You play the same team night after night which means you become very familiar with what each team likes to do.  This is where great coaches show their ability to adapt to a series.  Although this season seemed to allow a lot more contact to players going to the basket, the playoffs will be even more physical.  There's a lot a stake for lot of very fast, very big very wealthy ball players.

• East #1 Chicago Bulls vs. #8 Indiana Pacers:  The Bulls finished with the best record in the NBA (62-20).  The Pacers finished 25 games behind them at 37-45.  This should be a breeze for Derrick Rose.  I'd imagine the Pacers will one at home but this series should be over quick.  The Bulls are too deep. Boozer, Deng and Noah anchor the top flight frontcourt while Brewer, Bogins and Korver share the backcourt with Rose. Gibson and Thomas give the Bulls depth.  The bulls rely on Rose for so much.  He leads them in points (25) and assists (7.7) so I would expect the Pacers to try and make him give up the ball and make the other Bulls become scorers and playmakers.  That should not be a problem against Indiana.  The Pacers (who lost the season series to the Chicago 3-1) don't have the size or talent to stay with Chicago.  They are a tough minded team with five players scoring in double figures but none of them (unless Ben Gordon gets hot) require double teaming.  They're not deep and don't play defense well either.  This series will be short and a confidence builder for the Bulls.
•  East #2 Miami Heat vs. #7 Philadelphia 76ers:  On paper this looks like another rout and may well become one.  Miami is led by its superstar lineup of Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosch and host of supporting characters.  There's lots of pressure on these guys though.  Everyone expects them to compete for the title and certainly to handle Philly.  Those three players score almost 71 points per game (nearly 70% of their offense).  Although they out rebound their opponents overall they give up more offensive rebounds than they get. The pressure is on them though.  The Sixers got off to an awful start under new coach Doug Collins but he has turned them into a solid team.  They have six guys who score between 10 and 15 points each but the reality is that have no one who is up the caliber of the top Heat players.  They don't rebound well but they are a good defensive team (better stats than Miami) Still they are a good team and it will be interesting to see if they jell as a team and put enough pressure on Miami to challenge.  I wouldn't expect that to happen but good teams sometimes give superstar laden teams who are looking ahead a run for their money.  Collins is a good enough coach to pull something like that off but realistically it seems unlikely. The Sixers lost all three of their games to the Heat in the regular season.
• #3 Boston Celtics vs. #6 New York Knicks:  This should be an entertaining series.  The old Celtics Big Three (Pierce, Allen and Garnett) plus Rajon Rondo should be more than enough for the ever changing Knicks. Boston swept the season series and figures to quell any dreams Spike Lee might have for a Knick title this year.  Still the Celtics are vulnerable.  They finished the year going 10-11 and look weak in the middle.  They are counting on getting Shaq O'Neal back at center but he's missed 45 games this season, made a try at coming back a week ago and lasted five minutes.  He gives them size but most of the time he'll be on the bench.  It won't matter.  Boston has way too much experience, defense and talent for the remade Knicks who are seriously defensively challenged. New York is like a pale imitation of the Miami except they only have two superstars (Anthony and Stoudemire) plus the aging but talented Chauncy Billups.  They also have a budding star in Landry Fields but that won't be near enough to get them by.  The Knicks win with their offense but they lose because of their defense (or lack of it).  They give up nearly 106 points per game.  They won't get them far against any playoff opponent much less one as talented as Boston.
• #4 Orland Magic vs. #5 Atlanta Hawks:  This is the most intriguing match up in the East but Orlando has a monster in the middle in Dwight Howard and Atlanta doesn't have anyone who can match up with him (but then again, who does?)    Good as Howard is on the boards and as a defender he becomes an offensive liability down the stretch because of his poor free throw shooting.  The Magic have lots of other shooters though (Richardson, Nelson and Turkoglu among others).  Atlanta, which seemed to be on the rise coming into this season, has been an inconsistent team all season.  They are led by two guys named Smith (Josh) and Johnson (Joe) but they have five guys scoring in double figures.  Although they give only 95.8 points per game they only score 95 themselves.  Even though they won the season series 3-1 they don't have home court in this series and they don't have the horses to handle the size and talent of Orlando.
• West #1 San Antonio Spurs vs. # Memphis Grizzlies: The Spurs were the runaway best team in the league almost all season but they stumbled down the stretch after Duncan sprained an ankle (he's back) and now they've lost Ginobili with a hyperextended right elbow. For most teams that would be a problem but this team is very deep.  The Lakers found out how deep the other night when they struggled to beat the Spurs second team.  Parker is the key to this team but it has so much depth that even losing him would not be something they couldn't overcome (at least in the first round).  Memphis split the season series with the Spurs so they may think they have hope but the reality is that they just don't have the talent or the depth to win this series.  They are tough, talented and young and in the playoffs two of those three are not bad.  Still their lack of experience will hurt but not as much as the difference in talent and experience between their starters and the Spurs.
• West #2 Los Angeles Lakers vs. #7 New Orleans Hornets:  Last year the Lakers lucked out in the first few playoff rounds by meeting teams they could handle and avoiding the ones that give them trouble.  This year's playoffs have started the same way with Lakers overtime win the last game of the season giving them a match-up against the depleted Hornets (missing David West) instead of the Trailblazers (who always give the Lakers fits.  The Lakers long, experienced and talented (assuming Bynum is close to healthy) and have a bench that can contribute (although many times it doesn't).  The starting line up is as good as any in the league and Odom off the bench would be starting for most other teams.  Memphis is a good defensive team (94 points per game) but not a great offensive one even with David West.  Chris Paul and Jarrett Jack are great point guards but the playoffs will won on the inside.  The Lakers have too much of everything to think that the Hornets can challenge them.  The Lakers won the season series 4-0.  
• West #3 Dallas Mavericks vs. #6 Portland Trailblazers:  Dallas started off looking like a great team but finished like only a good one.  Portland has gotten better as the season has gone on and they play great at home (luckily for Dallas they have the home court adavantage).  Dallas relies on Nowitzki and Terry for points  (and really misses Caron Butler).  They are led by an aging but great point guard in Jason Kidd. They've added some outside shooters to take some pressure off of Nowitzki but the the biggest difference for them is the addition of Tyson Chandler at center wher he anchors their defense.  Portland is tough team with six players scoring in double figures led by LaMarcus Aldridge, Wesley Matthews and Gerald Wallace.  On paper the Mavs look bigger and better but on the court they may end up just looking older. Dallas has been called out lately around the league as being soft.  This series could very well show how soft they are.
• #4 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. #5 Denver Nuggets:  This should be a fun series.  Denver was remade with the loss of Carmelo Anthony but coach George Karl has made this into a solid young team.  The problem is that Oklahoma City is already a solid young and somewhat more experienced team than the Nuggets.  Durant and Westbrook are the top scoring duo in the league and they have lots of help. Down the stretch the Thunder have two go to guys to win games for them.  The Nuggets don't have one.  But they do have a great coach and they play well together.  I don't think that will be enough but it will still be intriguing to watch.