Wild, Wild, West

If we look at the standings in the Western Conference as of Sunday night, the match-ups that would take place in the playoffs in a little over two months would be unbelievable. The “Bestern” conference has been far and away better all season. As of this writing, the West boasts 10 teams with 28 or more wins, compared to just four in the East. As an NBA fan, it’s time to start getting excited about what could shape up to be an entertaining Western Conference playoffs come April. Let’s take a look at what we could be expecting.

Round 1 Matchups:

(1) Phoenix Suns v. (8) Golden State Warriors: Talk about firepower. This would be far and away one of the most entertaining and fast paced playoff series since the 1980’s. Think of the speed and the points that would be put up here. With the two highest scoring teams in the NBA under one roof for seven games, we could see 130-125 almost every game. We can only hope that it remains this way through April, and NBA fans around the country can rejoice. Because this is one pairing I would pay to watch.

(2) Dallas Mavericks v. (7) Denver Nuggets: Slightly slower pace than the series above, but a hell of a pair of teams nonetheless. Dirk, Melo, Camby, Howard, AI, Avery. How fun would this be? Dallas has slowed the pace considerably since the days of Don Nelson, but they can still run with the best. Denver loves to run and gun, and they are very good at it. Put me down as a fan of seeing this one as well.

(3) New Orleans Hornets v. (6) LA Lakers: When you have Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul on the floor at the same time in a seven-game series, good things can only come out of it. Both are MVP candidates right now, and both are leading their teams to heights that only seemed like a dream before the season started. The Hornets look to be slipping, but if they can hold on to this spot, this 3-6 match up would be amazing as well.

(4) Utah Jazz v. (5) San Antonio Spurs: Last, but certainly not least, would be a rematch of last seasons Western Conference Finals. Utah came out of nowhere last year to get as far as they did, but this year they will look for certain revenge against the Spurs team that went on to take the title. The Jazz are a fun, fast paced team led by Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer. The Spurs are the Spurs. Duncan, Ginobili and Parker. If they can stay healthy, this would be yet another great series to see come playoff time.


As you can see, the West would set itself up for one wild ride through the postseason. If you’re a fan, hold on.

This should be fun.

The Most Overrated NBA Teams

Every year, there are certain teams whose record looks better than they actually are. Teams that fall apart in the end after possibly a great season. Happens all the time. Here are my teams that I believe are playing better right now than their records show.

1. Denver Nuggets: The Nugs are filled with me first players, plus two superstars. They have a very good record right now (26-16), but have beaten up on the weaker opponents in their division going 4-0 against Minnesota and 1-0 against Seattle. Two shoot first superstars on the same team can be a tough match, but AI and Melo have done an admirable job of working together. However, I don't think they play enough defense to get deep into the playoffs and are a ticking timebomb. AI can snap at any moment and JR Smith is a budding headcase himself. Even Melo can get pissy from time to time. Love George Karl, but i just don't see the Nuggets getting far.

2. Boston Celtics: Here me out. 34-7 is an amazing record for 42 games into the season. From now on, teams all over will be gunning for them because they are the new force in the NBA. Every team will get up for this challenege because everyone wants to beat the so called best. Don't get me wrong, they are a great team, just not as amazing as the record indicated. They still have a young point guard and center and a shky bench as well. Brian Scalabrine should not even be in YMCA Rec leagues for christ sake. They can make a run at the title with this team, they are just overrated right now.

3. San Antonio Spurs: I might be crazy for saying this, but this year will be different. They are getting old, with their bench the equivalent of a bingo hall on a tuesday night. Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili have been beat up all year and now the West is as good as ever. I see an uphill battle for this team. They are overrated because everyone believes that they will show up huge and make another run. This year, I just do not see it. Too old.

4. Miami Heat: Yes they are overrated. I think they are far worse than their record indicated. Shaq is virtually washed up on this team (he may be better suited in another role somewhere else). D-Wade can't do it all himself. With Ricky Davis and wash ups like him, the Heat could actually be worse then their record says. This team is a one D-Wade injury away from never winning again. Pat Riley should quit like I know he wants to because this won't be getting any better. Do yourself a favor and hang it up Riles.

Conspiracy, anyone?

The starting five for the NBA All Star teams from each conference are now set. In the Western Conference, something strikes me as odd. Just two weeks prior, guard Tracy McGrady was holding on to a decent lead of around 80,000 votes over Denver's Allen Iverson, who was stuck in 3rd place. Fast forward to yesterday when the starters were announced on TNT before the Spurs/Heat game, and look who passed McGrady. Iverson jumped ahead of McGrady by more than 10,000 votes in just two weeks time. That's a 90,000 vote swing in under 14 days.

Sounds like something shady going on, no? What I believe happened, and don't yet call me a conspiracy theorist, is that the NBA did not want a starting spot wasted on a player who was not deserving. In the past few days, Tracy McGrady talked about sitting the ASG out if the rules would allow, because he realized others were having superior seasons. Now, granted, McGrady has been battling injuries, but is still a fan favorite. However, it is true that he should be left off the roster, and now, by this stroke of luck, we won't have to worry about it. Does anyone else believe that the NBA set this up? David Stern and the other suits at the top saw this as a possibly terrible scenario. How can the NBA leave off someone who is rightfully deserved of the roster spot when McGrady clearly is not? How can Carlos Boozer, Deron Williams, or Baron Davis sit home? And how would the public know what goes on behind closed doors anyway? Should we have a recount? I think Stern sat at his desk for about 4 days, clicking on Allen Iverson as many times as possible so that McGrady would be left off. Over 90,000 more voted in 14 days for AI than T-Mac.

For some reason, I just don't believe it.