This and That...
Come playoff time I think this year will boast the most exciting, competitive playoff games from both conferences since the early 90s. What happened to the Eastern Conference, anyway? In the 90s there were some great teams: the Bulls were solid throughout the 90s, even during Jordan's baseball hiatus. The Pacers were a tough team when Reggie Miller was at his peak in the late 90s. The Knicks were competitive when Ewing was in the top of his game, and even afterwards for several years, with Houston, Spree, Johnson, and other solid players. Even the Magic were a serious threat for those few years when they had Shaq on their roster. (Name a season where a team with Shaq on it wasn't a threat.)
But once Jordan left the East became rather barren, not winning an NBA championship - or even providing an interesting series - until Detroit's success last year. Last year saw the start of the resurgance of the Eastern Conference and this year that conference's growth continues. Of course having Shaq switch conferences helped contribute to this, but so did the emergence of James and Wade, the surprising play of the Baby Bulls, and Detroit's continued successful play.
And of course the West continues to dazzle. The Spurs continue their slow, steady, boring domination of the League, playing as strongly and consistently as they have since their championship in '99. The Suns and Sonics continue to rack up the Ws, as well. The rest of the West, though? Pretty mediocre this year. The Kings moved C-Webb to the 76ers, Houston continues to play like the ho-hum team they are, and will continue to be until Yao Ming becomes the player every one hyped him up to be. The Lakers, sans Shaq, are hovering in the 8 spot, but are in a slump and likely to be supplanted by the improving Nuggets.
What this all boils down to is that we're in store for some of the most exciting and entertaining ECSF, WCSF, ECF, WCF, and Finals series we've had in a looooooooooooooong time. My hope is that the Suns and Sonics will play one another in the WCF. Could there possibly be a more up-tempo series? Do you see any Suns/Spurs game's total points scored coming below 200? Didn't think so. (Of course, my official prediction is that the Spurs will be in the WCF and win it. They have the experience, grit, and coaching staff to get them to the Finals this year. After all, they would have made it last year had it not been for 0.4 seconds....) And in the East, how about Miami vs. Detroit? That would be another great series.
I predict Spurs vs. Pistons in the Finals, but I think we can all agree that a Heat vs. Suns/Sonics would be more exciting, and, hell, it might be more plausible if we had best of 3 series... but I can't see the Spurs or Pistons losing a best of 7, and it's hard to envision the Suns going too far, seeing as their success all season long has hinged on an aging, no-defense-playing Canadian. One minor injury during the offseason to Mr. Nash and the Suns have about as much a chance of making it to the Finals as do the Lakers.