2010/11 NBA Playoffs: The Western Conference 2nd Round

The Power of Belief struck again as the Memphis Grizzlies, the 8th seed, knocked out the top seeded San Antonio Spurs in the first round.  Lurking in the second round as Grizzlies opponents is the Oklahoma City Thunder whom the Grizzlies defeated 3 times out of 4 games played in the regular season.  The Thunder defeated a Nuggets team that lacked the superstar "Anthony" needed to make a deep playoff run.  Both teams have a great defensive mindset and they both share young up and coming point guards in Mike Conley Jr. and Russell Westbrook.  The x-factor in the series will be Serge Ibaka; how well he plays defense on Zach Randolph "Z-Bo" will be key.  The Spurs couldn't handle the size of the Grizzlies front court but with the additions of Kendrick Perkins and Nazr Mohammed the Thunder should be able to contain the opposing bigs.  Tony Allen is a great defender for the Grizzlies but he will have a hard time guarding the taller and more elusive Kevin Durant.  In the playoffs teams need talent as talent trumps all, the Thunder have two of the most talented players in the league in Durant and Westbrook and those two will power the Thunder into the conference finals for the first time since their Sonics days in six games.

For the first time in their long careers, Kobe Bryant and Dirk Nowitzki will face each other in the playoffs.  I'll admit, I was wrong in my choice to pick the Blazers to move past Dallas but I'm not guilty of hating on the Mavs, the Cowboys yes, but not the Mavs.  What I am guilty of is not trusting the Mavs period.  They're like those numbers that you play every week in the lottery and despite a few teases here and there you never win the jackpot...ladies and gentlemen, your Dallas Mavericks!  For all of the talent and all of the regular season success year after year, the Mavs have not been able to win the NBA championship because year after year some team always find a way to punk them.  From the Heat to the Warriors, Hornets, and Spurs, it happens every year and this year will be the Lakers turn to punk the Mavs.  Lets get one thing very clear, there's no rivalry between the Lakers and Mavs as TV land will likely lead you to believe.  In order to create a rivalry you must have lengthy playoff battles, the franchise player moving from one team to another, and being in the same division helps.  Again there's no rivalry here, the Lakers have been relevant forever and the Mavs are an after thought outside of Dallas. Do you already know where I'm going with this?  The Lakers will win this series in six games and move on to face to team destined since last season's playoffs to face them, the Thunder in the western conference finals.  

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2010/11 NBA Playoffs: The Western Conference 1st Round

The wild wild west will be even more wild during this years playoffs.  Over the last ten season teams from the Western Conference have won 7 NBA titles, with only Detroit, Miami, and Boston winning titles for the East during that 10 year span.  The last three years the Western Conference Champion have been the LA Lakers and they've brought the title back to Los Angeles the last two seasons.  The biggest question of the year out west it:  Can the Lakers flip the switch and win a 3rd straight title?  No one will truly know until the end of June but it's all about the journey to the ring.  

Grizzlies vs Spurs
8-1

The Grizzlies were one of the hottest teams before the season ended and some say that they cooled off intentionally because they didn't want to move up in the standings and play the Lakers; instead they opted to play the Spurs whom they split the season series with 2-2 with the Grizzlies winning the last two meetings.  Should the Spurs feel disrespected by the Grizzlies?  Perhaps they should but they have a generations worth of playoff experience and the Grizzlies haven't been to the playoffs since 2006.  The Spurs, in the regular season depended on Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili more than they did Tim Duncan and they play a more up-tempo style of play than in years past.  Tim Duncan has been monitored all year and he should give the Spurs and boost in the playoffs but will he be able to contend with Zach Randolph?  How healthy is Manu?  Word is he may not play in game 1 which is a colossal loss to the Spurs but with the Grizzlies being without Rudy Gay the losses cancel each other out.  The Spurs will move on to the second round in six close hard games.

Nuggets vs Thunder
5-4

Nuggets you did it, you can exhale.  You guys came together and made the playoffs without Carmelo Anthony in the second half of the season.  Denver went on a roll post the Anthony trade and instead of falling out of the playoff race they made an incredible run and they did it by improving their defense.  Since the trade the Nuggets have allowed 10 less points per game to the opposing team...that's an astounding statistic.  Having said that the same thing that helped the Nuggets in the regular season will hurt them in the playoffs, superstars win in the playoffs when the game slows down and individuality is rewarded.  The Nuggets lack of star power will be their downfall when they face Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook of the Thunder.  This will be the most exciting series in the 1st round of the western conference and it will also be one of the quickest.  Westbrook will continue his maturation process and help Durant lead the Thunder into the second round in five games.

Hornets vs Lakers
7-2

No home court, no David West, no chance.  The Lakers are just too big for the Hornets to deal with and even with Bynum hurt, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom are enough to push the Hornets around and grab every rebound.  Outside of leaving his heart all on the court, there is nothing that Chris Paul can do to dethrone the 3 time defending Western Conference Champions.  For those wondering why I didn't mention Kobe, Kobe is Kobe, his game will speak for itself as the Lakers move on in four games.

Upset Special

Blazers vs Mavericks
6-3

There's a reason teams wanted to avoid the Blazers, they play with an intense passion that's hard to match and now the Mavericks are tasked with taming the Blazers...yeah the very soft Mavs.  Brandon Roy has been a shell of himself after having knee surgery but the addition of Gerald Wallace at the all star break added a new dimension to the already loaded Blazers.  Lamarcus Aldridge is the real deal and he will give Dirk fits on the defensive end.  Simple put, the Blazers are a terrible match up for the Mavericks and they will win this series in 6 games.  3 of the last 4 years the Mavericks have been eliminated out of the playoffs in the first round; why would it be different now?

Now the first round is set and as you can see the second rounds east and west will be very interesting.  Some fans will be excited to move on and others will be crushed.  The NBA will crown a real champion because barring injury the best teams always win during best of 7 series.  The two month odyssey begins today and we are all in for a long and exciting ride, especially if the playoffs are just as dramatic as the regular season was.

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