[Akileese]

Celts fan. i root for the suns because theyre the most fun to watch. It's funny how Dirk is going to win the MVP, but Nash had by far his best overall season (intangibles included, remember how he carried a struggling team too early because Marion and Amare were pretty much clashing).

That being said, it's a deep west. The Suns will probably sweep the Lakers since Kobe is scoring 50 a night again (when he's actually dishing and making players better, they play better, but well, they're just not a very good team. I wonder how often Kobe kicks himself in the ass for running Shaq out of town?). Spurs will take care of the Nuggets, but it might be interesting since the Nuggets are the hottest team right now. Then again, that whole Joey Crawford thing probably lit a fire under the Spurs which makes them terrifying.

I'm not going to look too much into GS beating the Mavs, but a friend of mine who is a Dallas fan says I should because Nellie coaches the Warriors. Makes sense. Avery Johnson was his apprentice and that team hasn't changed much since he left. I guess I'll consider it, but until they split or go up 2-0, I won't consider them a threat. I like the Rockets out of the West honestly. The have a bonafied scorer and superstar in McGrady (it's funny as I still remember him being a benchwarmer in Toronto so it's kinda hard to imagine him being such a veteran at this stage) and with someone like Yao they have a chance. They also have Shane Battier who is a great glue guy (remember those solid Duke teams).

If I had to pick, with a gun to my head, I'd go with SA and Houston in the WCF and Detroit and Cleveland in the east. I fully expect Vince Carter to be found in a pool of his own blood outside the arena in Toronto and besides, he's Vince Carter. He's not a clutch player anyways. The East just isn't very interesting, probably because half the teams in the ECP have losing records. Oh well, parity at it's finest.

I'd say Detroit vs San Antonio or Detroit vs Phoenix. I don't see Dallas getting through three tough match ups, but I could see the Spurs doing it due to that team being tremendously battle tested.

edit: Just found out Bargnani is back for the Raptors. If by some god given ability he's fully healthy (if so it's the fastest appendectomy recovery of all time), they could make it to the eastern conference final.