Playoff Time

With the Los Angeles Lakers victory over the New Orleans Hornets last night, the race for the no. 1 seed in the Western Conference will go down to the last game. Regardless, it is going to be a fantastic race to the NBA Finals. The Western Conference playoff winner will have run a gauntlet that is incredible. Hats off to that team in advance.

The one possible shame is that the Golden State Warriors appear to be out of the mix. Point blank, the Warriors are missing the interior defensive presence to overcome the other outstanding all-around teams that are present in the Western Conference such as the Lakers, Hornets, and even the Houston Rockets with old man Mutumbo manning the middle. But boy oh boy are the Warriors fun to watch.

And how about the Boston Celtics? Many critics, including myself, thought that the Celtics' easy path, as compared to the eventual Western Conference Champion, would cause them to flame out. But, the opposite may just take place. The Celtics possess home court advantage throughout the playoffs. That will be a factor for the NBA Finals, assuming the Celtics are no upset before reaching the NBA Finals.

The dark horse of the playoffs? Do not forget about the Rockets. A team does not win over 20 games in a row enjoys the necessary talent to go deep into the playoffs. And now, a few predictions:

Eastern Conference…short and sweet, it will be the Washington Wizards matching up with the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Celtics win and will play the Lakers after the Lakers defeat the Hornets. And the champions? LA, baby. The Lakers are playing well without center Andrew Bynum. He'll be back fairly soon. The Lakers ability to have a true low post center will be the difference against the Celtics.