Hey fucking basketball junkies and odds maniacs!

The NBA Playoffs are on again and the strongest 16 of the regular season have all earned their right to enter what is dubbed as the “real NBA season”. The rest of the teams who are not worthy to extend their season campaigns have already gone fishing. Last year’s playoffs was controversial. We all know that Stern made Dallas and San Antonio face off together by making Dallas as number 4 and San Antonio as number 1 even though Dallas was supposed to be number 2 and the two should be facing in the Western Conference Finals. We also saw last year how Kobe and the guys from Lakerland be big-time flukes by blowing a 3-1 series lead against Phoenix and losing it all out in seven games. The Clippers also had their share of playoff glory last year, also taking Phoenix to the distance only to lose in seven games. Out in the East, Detroit raced to a 64-18 record in the regular season only to lose to Miami in the East Finals. Now Ben Wallace really got pissed off and he’s now in Chicago. We also saw how Wade and his Heat conquer the Dallas Mavericks using the freethrow line. Yes, Wade pwned Dallas at the freethrow line with his power acting and wincing skills.

This year’s edition of the NBA playoffs features a lot of new and old storylines. The Lakers are again up against the Suns, they still have the same seeding, but the Suns have Amare Stoudemire back. Cleveland is again up against the Wizards. Dallas clinched the homecourt advantage for the whole of the Playoffs with a 67-15 record. Detroit has it at the top of the East again, but they have paced themselves for the Playoffs. The Clippers are out of Playoff contention. And so are the Pacers. But the biggest playoff storyline for this year is the entrance of the Golden State Warriors into the playoffs. After more than 10 years of disappointment, Don Nelson’s team is heading for the playoffs. The Magic are also headed for the Playoffs for the first time in 4 years. Houston is also back in the Playoffs. San Antonio’s getting another crack at the Playoffs and they have the chance to avenge their loss to Dallas if ever these two teams meet again in the Western Finals.

First round starts tomorrow morning. Here are my picks to win out the first round:

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

(1) Detroit vs. (8) Orlando Series forum thread
Storyline: The Pistons are at it again. After losing Ben Wallace, they acquired Nazr Mohammed from San Antonio and they also acqured Chris Webber whose contract was bought out by the Sixers. The Pistons have been in cruise control from the start of the season, but expect this team to be ready come playoff time. The team has a lot of battle-tested players, with many players from the 2004 championship team and some other players winning titles with other teams. Orlando, on the other hand, is being carried by the man-child, Dwight Howard. This is their first taste of the Playoffs since 2003 when Tracy McGrady was still with the team. The team features players like Darko Milicic, Hedo Turkoglu, Jameer Nelson, and Grant Hill. Expect the series to be defensive-oriented - just because the Pistons are there. Orlando’s not going to be outdone, but I think that the battle-tested Pistons are too much to handle for the relatively young Magic.
Prediction: Yeah Orlando is in contention and they can match up against the Pistons, but they sure can’t overpower the Pistons. Detroit in 5.

(2) Cleveland vs. (7) Washington Series forum thread
Storyline: The Cavs and the Wiz will go at it again. But there’s an added challenge for the Wizards. They will have to play through it without Gilbert Arenas, who is currently in the injury list of the Wiz. He is expected to play… not later than next season. Unless Eddie Jordan and his team find a way to fill the void that Arenas has left in the Wizards team, I expect this to be a walk in the park for the Cavaliers. The Cavs have had a great season. Lebron with another monster season, and his teammates picking up what’s left for them to do. I think this is Cleveland’s year to enter the East Finals (although I want the Raps to do it) if all things go well for them. The Wizards can’t win this series in every angle that I look at it. The Wizards will struggle big-time if they don’t step up their play.
Prediction: Easy money for Cleveland. Cavs in 5.

(3) Toronto vs. (6) New Jersey Series forum thread
Storyline: IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A PERSONAL SERIES, YOU GOT ONE. Toronto looks for vindication against their former star player who screwed them for the past years, and they will do everything to make VC15 pay for his misdoing to the team and fans of Toronto. Vince Carter is going up against his former team in this series. This is a dream come true for every Toronto or Vince Carter fan. Toronto has the chance to avenge Carter’s misdoing during his years with Toronto, tanking games, faking injuries, and not giving out his 100 percent and then asking for a way out of Toronto. Expect a lot of boos from the City of Toronto to be given out to Carter. Chris Bosh has vastly improved and he has helped carry this franchise back into the playoff map again, together with Andrea Bargnani and the rest of the Euroleague Raptors. The Raptor crowd will play a factor in hounding Carter and derailing the Nets’ gameplan. On the other hand, Carter and the Nets try to overcome the young and raw Raptors, whose last taste of playoff came when VC was still in Toronto. This series is one of the must-watch series of the playoffs. Who will prevail, Toronto’s brilliance or New Jersey’s experience?
Prediction: Toronto will be too much for the Nets. Bosh and Bargs will carry the Raps. Raptors in 5.

(4) Miami vs. (5) Chicago Series forum thread
Storyline: The Heat and the Bulls go at it for another time, but this time, Chicago holds the homecourt advantage. Wade is back but his shoulder is doubtful. The load that his shoulder can take is still undetermined. The Bulls have Ben Wallace. They are stronger this year. But the Heat are looking to repeat. The Bulls are looking for revenge after losing to the Heat last year in 6 games. This series will be interesting. Shaq’s gameface will also determine the outlook of this series. Questions surround this series. Will the Heat finally crumble and fold out of their championship defense? Or will Chicago choke again and lose out to Miami? Will Wade again star in a freethrow shooting game or will Hinrich and the rest of the Bulls step up?
Prediction: The Heat will not repeat. Bulls in 6.

WESTERN CONFERENCE:

(1) Dallas vs. (8) Golden State Series forum thread
Storyline: Coach Don Nelson and the Warriors have entered the playoffs for the first time in 10+ years. The last time that they reached the Playoffs, Don Nelson was still in charge. This team wasn’t even on the lookout for playoff contenders at the middle of the season. It’s amazing how they stepped up their play to reach this feat. Now, they again have gained a spot in the Playoffs. They go up against a Dallas Mavericks team with one mission in mind: Get back to the NBA Finals and finish it with the championship. We all remember that they tightened up in the latter part of the championship and they blew a 2-0 series lead to lose 2-4 to the Heat in the Finals. Dirk and company have been aching to return to this stage and they will do everything within boundaries to win the championship. Coach Don Nelson faces the old team that he coached before yielding the team to his former assistant, Avery Johnson. This will be a case of a teacher and pupil matchup with the outcome still undetermined. Erick Dampier will also go up against his former team and he will try to help beat the Golden State team which underwent years of playoff hunger before now. Key players for Dallas are the fab four of Nowitzki, Terry, Howard and Stackhouse and the trio of Davis, Jackson and Harrington are the main guys for the Warriors.
Prediction: The Warriors are playoff-hungry but the Dallas Mavericks are hungrier in a bigger sense. They are on a mission and the the Warriors, sad to say, will be their first prey. Dallas in 5.

(2) Phoenix vs. (7) Los Angeles Series forum thread
Storyline: No, we’re not talking about the Clippers. This is a rematch of last year’s playoffs. The teams have the same seeding position, but they have added different faces. The Suns have Amare Stoudemire playing now, and the Lakers have added Maurice Evans, who is a decent contributor off the bench. Last year, this series saw the Lakers play an inside game, tower over the smaller Phoenix Suns and grab a 3-1 series lead. But suddenly the Laker juggernaut turned off and they blew a 3-1 series lead. They eventually lost to Phoenix in Arizona. The Phoenix Suns went on to lose in the West Finals against Dallas. The Suns have been rolling this year. As for the Lakers, they went rolling in the earlier part of the season, until everything just crumbled. There was even a time when the Lakers were at .500 just before the end of the season. Kobe has to depend on his teammates to carry the scoring load but his teammates have to deliver. Kobe can’t score 80, jack up 60 shots and expect to win. The Suns will make Kobe jack up shots than give it to his teammates so his teammmates have to really deliver on a consistent basis in the series. On the other hand, the Suns need to run. For sure, the Lakers would make the games deliberate and slow. The Lakers will also try to make Nash a scorer rather than a distributor. The Lakers would love to get back at Phoenix, but Phoenix has all the weapons to help foil a possible Laker revenge.
Prediction: This series will be mentally and physically challenging for both teams. It will also be exhausting, but the team with more willpower will win. And I think the Suns have it although I am really praying hard to the basketball gods and God to let the Lakers win this series. Suns in 7.

(3) San Antonio vs. (6) Denver Series forum thread
Storyline: San Antonio’s boring pace and low-scoring games versus Denver’s fastbreaking pace and high-scoring mentality. Two contrasting styles meet in this series. The key for Denver is the balance of pushing every chance they have and playing the deliberate and halfcourt game that the Spurs love to play. They also have to make their shots because there will be few open looks against the Spurs. They have to take care of the ball because the Spurs can make them pay for mistakes. On the other hand, somebody has to defend Duncan. Yes, the world knows he’s a fucking boring bitch but he’s effective down low and on the perimeter. He’s also a monster of a defensive force for the Spurs. He’s boring but he does a lot of things for the Spurs. The Nuggets should also check the penetration of Parker and Ginobili and send some help side D. For the Spurs, they have to play their agonizing boring pace. They should stop Denver from running away with fastbreaks and the series as well. As I have said earlier, Parker and Ginobili penetrations are key for the Spurs to open up the outside or for drop passes to Duncan or the people inside.
Prediction: Spurs too much for the Nuggets to handle. Spurs in 6.

(4) Utah vs. (5) Houston Series forum thread
Storyline: T-Mac and Yao Ming are back in the Playoffs - again. After a year of disappearance last year, they put on a decent run this season and have added newer faces to their lineup like Bonzi Wells and Shane Battier. Utah is also back, after some years of disappointment and years of almosts. They have fought through injuries and played a great season to win 50 this year. Carlos Boozer has been relatively healthy all year long, and so is the case for Andrei Kirilenko. Houston has also kept their team relatively healthy and Yao and T-Mac have done much to help the Rockets reach the 50-win mark this season and a great year for the Rockets. T-Mac is looking for his first playoff series win. And so is Yao Ming and Shane Battier. Utah is looking to win its first playoff series in many years. These teams are hungry, and they are looking for a playoff series win. This series is going to be a very interesting one.
Prediction: The series will be hard-fought and hard-earned, but I think Houston will emerge as the winners because of T-Mac. He can do a lot for the Rockets. Houston in 7.

Let’s enjoy the 2007 Playoffs because this is where the real season begins!