Bring on the Jazz! Those Salt Pillars are goin' down! Lakers in 6. In the other semifinal, steely Spurs over stinging Hornets in 6. Western Conference Finals: Lakers-Spurs gunslingin' showdown at the OK Corral. Lakers in 6 or 7.

Meanwhile, in the East -- s'up with Boston? What part of put the effin' lowly Hawks away do they not understand? Pistons struggled, but overcame Sixers in 6. Cavs offed the Wizards in 6. Orlando, echoing their great center Dwight Howard, is lookin' like the true "Beast of the East."

Boston is resembling an almost worse case last-year's Dallas Mavericks with their best-record-in-the-league-struggling-with-#8-seed syndrome. What'd Atlanta win, 43% of their games? Ugly. That kinda record is why I used to think the playoffs went too deep in seeding -- that is, until this year's amazing Western conference horse race, with the top 6 teams separated by about 2 games, and the whole 8-pack by a mere 4 or 5.

Continue reading "ROCKIN' SECOND-ROUND (& ONWARD) PLAYOFF PREVIEW"

OK, Lakers, doin' good -- just don't spot the Spurs 20 pts. next outing, and you'll be fine. Those tough cowpokes may be old, but don't tempt fate with a 1st half rope-a-dope again.

Get yer young guns blazin' earlier, and take care of this classic Western Conference Finals business at the OK (as in Odom/Kobe, w/plenty of Pau power) Corral. This is the match-up I predicted, though New Orleans made it interesting.

Over in the East, I was wrong about Orlando, who looked stronger in the 1st round, but still right about Boston lookin' a bit vulnerable for all their exalted won-loss record. Goin' 7 with Atlanta still seems preposterous. Goin' 7 again with Cleveland a lot more understandable, since they are defending Eastern Conference champs. Now, the Pistons have finally knocked 'em off their invincible-at-home perch, so they'd better shake out of their can't-win-on-the-road play-off rut, if they expect to prevail over the Pistons.

Continue reading "SMOKIN' AT THE OK CORRAL"