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NBA Western Conference Preview By Bryan Montgomery The conference to watch this year in the NBA regular season was without a doubt the Western Conference. Drama was the name of the game, and a few huge trades in the midseason only made the chase more interesting. With that said, it should have been known that the conference would go to the last day, and to get the definite matchups for this year’s NBA Playoffs, the Western Conference fought until the last day. Here is a look at all of the first-round series for this year. (1) Los Angeles Lakers (55-27) vs. (8) Denver Nuggets (50-32) The Nuggets were able to crawl their way into the playoffs, holding off the Golden State Warriors to take the final seed in the playoffs. On the other hand, there was no doubt that the Los Angeles Lakers were going to the playoffs, as Kobe Bryant led his team through thick and thin, through an injury to Andrew Bynum to the addition of Pau Gasol. Denver, on the other hand, is going through a rough time at the moment, as the team is tired, and star Carmello Anthony is fresh off of a DUI arrest. In this series, look for Los Angeles to take it to Denver like they always do, quickly and unrelentingly. Player to Watch for Los Angeles: Kobe Bryant. He is just an interesting player to watch, and he is easily the key to the series for Los Angeles. But no need to fear, Lakers fans, we’re talking about a player who has won 3 titles in a row, and has been to the playoffs nearly every year he has been playing for Los Angeles. The only question is how many points he is going to put up. Player to Watch for Denver: Carmello Anthony. Allen Iverson has been deep in the playoffs, Carmello hasn’t. Anthony has yet to cement himself as a solid postseason player, and his team will depend on his ability to perform or not perform. Prediction: Los Angeles is too good. Lakers in Four (2) New Orleans Hornets (56-26) vs. (7) Dallas Mavericks (51-31) In this matchup you have a surprise team against a team that was supposed to be fantastic, but faltered down the stretch. Many did not think that the Hornets would be that good this year, but that quickly changed as by the all-star break the Hornets were with the Western Conference elite. Dallas, on the other hand, became the victim of, what at the time seemed like a smart trade, trading for Jason Kidd out of New Jersey. The trade didn’t exactly save the Mavericks’ season, and a late season injury to Dirk Nowitzki put the Mavericks in even more trouble. For a while, the Mavs were in danger of falling out of the playoff race all together, but were able to pull themselves into the post-season. Player to Watch for New Orleans: Chris Paul. The MVP candidate needs to be huge for his team, because in many ways, he is his team. Fellow All-Star David West can do some solid work inside, but if Chris Paul doesn’t assert himself on the 3 point shot, the music will die early in New Orleans Player to Watch for Dallas: Jason Kidd. Kidd is the player with the most experience, both in the NBA in general and in the playoffs. If Kidd can deliver on what Dallas has expected out of him, then, combined with Nowitzki, the Mavericks will be hard to beat. Prediction: With the capable star power waiting on Dallas, this would be a much harder choice if there weren’t too many question marks on the potency of the Dallas Offense. New Orleans in Six (3) San Antonio Spurs (56-26) vs. (6) Phoenix Suns (55-27) The defending champion Spurs will face off against one of the favorites to win the West in the Phoenix Suns, a rivalry which is quickly changing into the faceoff of the sport. Phoenix made literally a big move in trading for Shaquille O’ Neal, a trade that was looked on by many as a bad idea, as there were many questions regarding Shaq’s ability to keep up with Phoenix’s fast break offense. The entrance to the Western Conference for Shaq left much to be desired, as with him the Suns stumbled into the final run of the season. The Spurs played consistently the way that they did last year, just staying out of the main picture of the Conference, and securing the home court advantage by defeating Utah in the last day of the season. Moving past injuries, San Antonio is all healthy and ready to make another run at the title. Player to watch for San Antonio: Manu Ginobli. Manu is easily the cornerstone for this offense. Without him, the outside game efficiently disappears, and the team is in serious trouble; Tim Duncan and Tony Parker can only do so much. Player to watch for Phoenix: Shaquille O’ Neal. Shaq has to be able to keep up with Phoenix, the only way to penetrate the stout San Antonio defense is to move quickly and start the offense before the Spurs are able to set up their defense. Prediction: This is the postseason matchup that I’m waiting for, but I’ve got to give the edge to the defending champs. San Antonio in Seven (4) Utah Jazz (57-25) vs. (5) Houston Rockets (55-27) Utah was the little engine that could during the season, and they came through the season seemingly unnoticed, the dark horse in the conference. Houston, on the other hand, was in major trouble near the all-star break, then cranked off 22 straight wins to put themselves into the number one seed into the conference, led by Tracy McGrady. Houston lost Yao Ming for the season after a stressed ankle forced the Center out, but the Rockets were still able to go to the postseason. Player to watch for Utah: Carlos Boozer. Boozer is the best player on the Jazz, and whether or not he can stay out of foul trouble inside when Houston pushes will define the series. Kirelinko is a good inside presence, but Boozer is straight up scary. Player to watch for Houston: Tracy McGrady. This is as simple as it gets, if McGrady scores more than 25 points, the Rockets will have a good chance to win, anything less, just put the loss on the series. Prediction: The loss of Yao Ming will doom the Rockets, despite a great season, Utah is just too powerful inside and Houston has nothing solid to combat that. Utah in Five For the remainder of the playoffs, the second round, if my predictions prove to be true, will see Los Angeles vs. Utah, and San Antonio vs. New Orleans. Look for a Los Angeles vs. San Antonio Western Conference Final, and in an Epic Seven game series, Los Angeles will go on to play Boston, my Eastern Conference Pick, in a very entertaining and exciting NBA Final. |
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