The Playoff Picture...
When this season started, the Lakers played to people's expectations - no one expected them to dominate, but with Kobe getting his opportunity as the team captain, with the addition of skilled coach Rudy T, Lakers fans were expecting a low playoff seed with a likely early playoff exit, hopefully making it into the second round before getting bounced. The Lakers, through much of the first half of the season, played consistently well enough to hover around the 6 or 7 spot in the Western Conference rankings. But then things started coming apart. Can't say what exactly precipitated it all, but Rudy T left; Kobe was beset by some nagging injuries; the Lakers - never really playing like a team much at all this season, started playing even less like one; players showed signs of fatigues; those lucky bounces stopped.
This all sums up to a Lakers team that is now playing merely to not have the embarassment of having a worse record than the LA Clippers. (After last night's humiliating 102-82 loss to the Grizzlies - the team currently holding the West's 8th spot - the Lakers are currently a half game up over their chronoically mediocre neighbors.) So who will stink it up worse, the Lakers or Clippers? If we use history as a guide, we'd have to go with the consistently sucky Clippers, who do have a tough schedule remaining. However, the Lakers have an even tougher schedule, in my opinion. While the Clipps do face the Spurs twice, the Suns, and Houston, they also get to play the Bobcats and New Orleans twice. The Lakers, on the other hand, face Phoenix twice, Houston, Seattle, the Kings twice, the Mavs, the Warriors, and the Trailblazzers. Except for the final two meaningless games among the playoff absence, the other games are against tough teams still jockying for playoff position.
Hopefully the Lakers can improve in the offseason, but as I discussed in an earlier blog entry, I don't have much hope for the Lakers until Kobe leaves or matures, and neither of those are likely to happen anytime soon.
Moving to the Eastern Conference, if you were to have told a friend last year, “Man, I can't wait for the Bulls/Heat game,” he'd probably have you committed. But tomorrow night the Bulls and Heat, two of the top Eastern Conference teams, meet in Miami. The Bulls have won nine straight and are playing the best basketball since a number 23 suited up in red and black. Should be a great game. The rest of this regular season should be a good indication on how the Bulls will fare come playoff time - they have games against many of the teams they'll likely meet: Miami tomorrow, Orlando the day after, Detroit, Washington, and Orlando again, next week, and the recently surging Pacers to close off their season.
Of course, the regular season's performance can mean squat in the playoffs without a skilled coach. Who can forget Isaih Thomas's Pacers team that cruised through the playoffs like a bat out of hell only to stumble in the playoffs, playing well below their abilities. Hopefully, though, the Bulls make it to at least the second round, where they'll likely be bested by a superior Detroit or Miami team (depending on how the regular season shapes up).
In the playoffs I expect Miami, Detroit, the Spurs, and Phoenix to be the teams others fear to play. While Seattle had a hell of a bang to start the season, I think they've lost momentum. Couple that with their playoff inexperience and I think they'll exit sooner than most people may think. Should be a great postseason in both conferences!