Either the Lakers or Spurs
 

will win the NBA Championship. They're the only teams taking the playoffs seriously, with the possible inclusion of the Hornets. The Celtics, Pistons, Jazz, Suns, Mavs and the rest are just pretenders.

The Celtics should be ashamed of themselves for losing two in a row to the Hawks.

To be honest the Sixers and Hawks were two "dangerous" teams to play. Neither one of them know they're not supposed to be competing with the Celtics and Pistons. They play care free.

But you're right, the Lakers or Spurs will win it I believe.

A month ago I was considering going to Wendover to put money on the Lakers winning it all. I would still wager on the Lakers, although the odds are probably not in my favor as much.

It's hard to bet against the Spurs, but Kobe is very hungry, he has Gasol semi-healthy to help him, I just don't see them losing.

The real NBA Championship will be the Western Conference Finals.

While Atlanta aren't world beaters, I watched that team the last two games and tried to figure out how they are 8 games under 0.500

Has Bibby made that much of a difference?

No. But Josh Smith has played unbelievable the last two games. He plays like that all year and they aren't an 8 seed, that is for sure.

Everyone on CB is slagging the Lakers sweep....maybe because it makes them feel better? The bottom line is that the Lakers are playing pretty well right now and I think have a nice chance against the Jazz next week (not making any promises on that one, though).

Personally, I have observed Kobe to be focused and has his teammates believing. You can see it in their faces. They loves passing as much as making a basket. They support each other.

I think many will recognize over the next few weeks.

That being said, I am still not ready to write off the Celtics. There is a big difference between being beatable and being beaten.

It's because they're secretly crapping their pants. The Lakers are a very tough matchup for the Jazz.

I actually think the Jazz or Lakers will win it all. I am not impressed in the least by the Spurs right now. They are soft this year and don't have the depth they need. The Jazz are a tough team to play in a 7 game series. They are physical and defensive-minded. And they rarely lose at home (the game against the Rockets notwithstanding). If you lose one on your home court, you have almost no chance of beating the Jazz.

Kobe is playing great right now. They would be very good with Bynum. As is, they are beatable, particularly since they are so beat up right now (though the extra day of rest will help them).

I am always amazed when I meet a Lakers fan. It's like meeting a devil-worshiper. I just can't conceive how anyone could root for that team.

I would put them in tiers:

Group 1:
Lakers, Spurs and Celtics (though I am at a loss for those two losses)

Group 2:
Jazz

Group 3
Hornets, Pistons, Cavs (simply because of Lebron)

Gropp 4
Everyone else

Nice to meet you. Some people call me Screwtape. Have you read my letters to Wormwood on the subject of Laker fandom? I have instructed Wormwood to continue to pretend to be a fan of the Lakers and to increase his obnoxiousness so as to drive away people from rooting for God's true team. Our plan seems to be working this time and our master is quite pleased that there is so much hatred for God's team even among God's chosen people in Utah.

For a short time, I was successful in driving fans away when I tempted Kobe Bryant with sins of the flesh. Yet fans returned. Similarly when I afflicted Magic with HIV I thought that the masses would be grossed out by the whole affair. I was wrong, only Karl Malone fell for this. Thus I have now moved on to the more subtle technique of turning people off to the Lakers by having Wormwood be an annoying fan. This is working better than my 2 previous attempts that were more direct.

The Lakers are tough. Denver certainly rolled over, but I think it was because they knew they couldn't beat LA, and that should be a credit to LA not a knock on them.

Houston has fought tooth and nail against Utah. It will be interesting to see how the Jazz handle a more 'open' series against the Lakers. But you are right. Kobe seems to be very focused right now and a Kobe focused is one of the top, if not the top, talent in the game.

I have said a bunch that I am not convinced the Lakers would even beat the Jazz.

And the Nuggets had plenty of layups against the Lakers. I think Williams would have a field day in a 7-game series.

Darren. Deron....whatever his name is.....

See what I mean? That makes perfect sense.

And I dare bet that you moonlight for the Dallas Cowboys.

Lucky for you the Nuggets did the Lakers two favors.

First, before the playoffs Carmello gave Deron a hard foul that has been a real pain in his ass since. I'd guess that he is more hurt than most let on, and I think as the playoffs roll on it'll only get worse.

Secondly, as you witnessed, they gave the Lakers a couple of extra days off in the playoffs by, as Carmello said, quitting.

Of course, a shot at KB24's pinky and the pendulum swings quickly back in Utah's favor.

The Lakers and Spurs are the 2 worst match ups for the Jazz. Lakers and Spurs take the Jazz in 6, maybe 5 games.

The Spurs have never seemed to be terribly impressive during their title runs, they just seem to get it done, and that is what makes them so dangerous.

Once Washington finishes off Cleveland, they'll roll to the NBA finals ;) Oh no...I'm starting to sound like one of their players.

I will be extraordinarily surprised if the Jazz 1) end up in the finals, 2) win the finals.

If they get to the finals, they will win the finals.

Do you realize that Houston sucks? That will be my first question.

That's a pretty meaningless conditional prediction. If I win the Powerball, then I will pay $10M to fly on a Russian spacecraft to go to the international space station.

You have obviously not watched the Spurs-Suns series very closely. The Spurs have been nothing short of phenomenal, except for game 4. Game 3 was the best I have ever seen a team play in a playoff game, ever. It will be the best you see any team play this whole post season. They beat the Suns last night with Ginobili going 2-11 and only scoring 8 points. When the big 3 are rolling they will are tough to beat.

Look at the matchups in round 2, Paul and Parker will neutralize each other, CHandler will do a good job on Duncan, but who guards Manu?

Western Conference Finals Parker will have his way with the interior defense of both the Lakers and the Jazz. The only difference being LA has Kobe who will be the best player on the floor.

Cj, I wouldn't count out the Hornets. Chandler, West, cp3....hard to stop.

I agree with you, I am just saying in terms of matchups, the Spurs matchup better with NO than they did with Phoenix. I really like the Hornets and they are young enough to not realize the magnitude of what they are doing. Also with Peja on the wing, the Spurs are going to have their hands full, especially without homecourt.

See, I forgout about Peja, that's how good the Hornets are.

Remember, Mavs werent' playing bad going into the playoffs.

Tony Parker is one of the most underrated players in the league. He's the best PG in the playoffs this year.

Now that the Rockets have their full non-Yao roster back, why can't they win another 22?

1. I think the Rockets are far better than they're being given credit for. I don't think they're in the same class as Utah, let alone the Spurs/Lakers.

2. The Jazz have the ability to play at any tempo, and play well.

3. The Lakers are bloody good.

4. A Lakers/Jazz series could be very interesting. I'm looking forward to that MUCH more than a potential Lakers/Houston series. Ugh.

Lakers/jazz will be a great second round matchup. I am excited for that one.

Now if the Jazz would do everyone the favor of finishing off the Rockets, we can get this series started on Sunday/Monday. If the jazz/rockets series goes 7 games, I have to wait another week to see the Lakers play. Zzzzzzz...

on the plus side, the more the Jazz play these close games, the more matchup problems get exposed.

While it is true that you cant learn much about the Lakers from their blowing out a lukewarm Nuggets team, nor can opposing teams scout out much weakness, either.

Round two matchup that most interests me, and that will define the series (I think): Boozer v Gasol.

Come on Junkie. The best any playoff team has played ever (that you have seen) was Game 3 of the Spurs-Suns series? Yes, the Spurs played well in that game. They didn't play particularly well in the others. In fact, they should have lost Game 1 (took some very lucky and uncharacteristic shots to get the win). Game 2 they were decent. Game 3 great, Game 4 AWFUL, Game 5 average. They only won Game 5 because the Suns turned into the worst shooting team in the NBA (and the defense was decent, but not stellar to force the Suns into an awful shooting night). Not that impressive overall.

The Jazz took 2 of 4 from the Spurs in the regular season (both at home). The Spurs barely won the first game in SA, and they blew the Jazz out in the last game (in SA) after the Jazz had clearly decided they weren't interested in competing since their playoff picture would be better with a loss. In the 3rd game, the Jazz held the Spurs to a franchise low total of 64 points.

I don't recall predicting that the Spurs wouldn't beat the Hornets. I think it will be competitive, but the Spurs likely get to the finals where they lose to the Jazz-Lakers winner (who then goes on to win the NBA title).

I am far more concerned about the Lakers than the Spurs. The Lakers look really good right now (far better than the Spurs and their greatest performance in NBA history in Game 3 ever). Kobe is looking fantastic.

The Rockets don't suck. Particularly when Alston is playing good (and he is playing great). McGrady is also starting to play better. This is the same team that won about 20 games in a row this year, even though they had Yao when they did it. They are a good team that had a bad late season run. They are trying to gel again, but it is too little too late.

McGrady is one of the most overrated players in the NBA. Look at his career FG and 3-pt %s and FT percentages. THey are low. And they are worse in the playoffs. And each year he is getting worse in terms of his skills.

Are you suggesting the odds of the Jazz making the finals approximate the odds of you winning the Powerball? Or is this another instance of you thinking a difference between two statistics is meaningless?

As awesome as he has been CP3 has been better. And lets not forget tha Mr. Two tie MVP was guarding him. He will get dominated in the next round.

Parker was the finals MVP last year, and Nash was not guarding him. Bell and Diaw were.

The Spurs performance in Game 3 was that good. Look at other factors besides final score, first of all the game was on the road, it was do or die for Phoenix (most teams play better in these situations) Tony Parker had 41 points 12 assists and 5 rebounds on 17-26 from the floor, Duncan had 23 and 10, Ginobili had 20 5 and 5. 84 points between the big 3, the lead wire to wire, they scored at will, shooting 56% from the floor as a team.

They held Steve Nash to 7 points on 3-8 shooting, they held the best FG% shooting team in the NBA on their home court below 50%. The Spurs were unstoppable in that game and played as well as any team I have ever seen.

Also if you dont think SAS is a different team come playoff time you dont watch much basketball. The final game of the year in San Antonio the Jazz came out trying to win that game, to say they didnt want homecourt is just stupid, the problem is they were slapped around in the opening minutes and quit.

I would put any amount of money you would like to bet that if San Antonio and Utah meet in the conference finals that the Spurs win the series.

That was last year, and it was an impressive achievement. But I don't think he has been better than Paul this year.

Junkie, I have a feeling that when the dust settles and you really consider all the hoops you have watched, Game 3 of Spurs Suns round 1 is NOT going to rank as the greatest you have ever seen a team play in the post-season.

Spurs would beat the Jazz, no question. We may all have the chance to see that matchup, actually.

Let me add that Paul had Kidd guarding him, you dont think he is a great defender do you?

Parker averaged 29.6 points and 7 assists against Phoenix. While Shooting 54% from the floor.

Paul had good numbers 24 points 12 assists against Dallas but he also shot less than 50% from the floor, and had a 4-18 night. Even in San Antonios blowout loss Parker was 7-17.