NBA Playoffs Thoughts

Like most basketball fans, I assumed a Cavaliers-Lakers matchup in June was inevitable. After watching the playoffs over the last two weeks, I think we were all wrong. The Cavaliers will win the Eastern Conference and they will do so in decisive fashion. LeBron James is just that good and the rest of his team is perfectly tailored to his talents. Imagine that twenty years after he stiffed the Clippers for Italy, Cavs G.M. Danny Ferry will have played an integral role in making LeBron a champion and probably keeping professional basketball alive in Cleveland. It's the Lakers that are destined to destroy the dream showdown of LeBron and Kobe. The Lakers are going to be involved in a battle just to defeat the Rockets and advance to the Western Finals. The Lakers have no one to stop Yao inside now that the big guy has decided to stick his 7-5 frame on the low block and dominate with a variety of jump hooks, face-up jumpers, and dunks. On top of that, they can't stop Aaron Brooks or Kyle Lowry either, allowing the Rockets point guards to get in the lane almost at will. The Rockets also have three very good forwards in Ron Artest, Shane Battier, and Luis Scola who score, defend, and rebound. Most importantly, at age 30, Kobe is finally starting to slow down. He has played over 1,000 career games and the miles are starting to wear down his legs. He just isn't capable of carrying the Lakers by himself and because they lack any consistent outside shooting to open up driving lanes, Kobe is forced to try and beat his opponents with jump shots. Kobe is a good shooter but his game is getting to the hoop for easy baskets and drawing fouls. With either Battier or Artest on him and with Yao and Scola waiting for him inside, Kobe is not going to get those looks in this series. If the Lakers do survive their series with the Rockets, the Nuggets will most likely be their opponent in the Western Finals. I was so wrong about the Nuggets. I didn't think Carmelo Anthony had it in him to win in the playoffs but I not only misjudged him, I also underestimated the influence of Chauncey Billups. The pairing of Billups and Anthony gives the Nuggets two stars and they have a nice inside presence with Nene and Chris Anderson as well as scoring off of the bench from J.R. Smith. The Nuggets actually pose more problems for the Lakers than the Rockets. I do not see the Lakers surviving the West and returning to the NBA Finals. LeBron will have to beat either the Rockets or Nuggets to win his first NBA championship. I don't think he will complain as much as the millions who wanted a LeBron-Kobe matchup this June.