And now for the main event. With all due respect to the Celts and Pistons, the Western Conference reigns supreme once again. This year more than ever as the conference brings the greatest octet of clubs ever to come out of a conference….NHL included in that.
When your bottom qualifier wins fifty games and features two perennial All-Stars in Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony, what need more be said??

The West is balanced as well, as seven games separate the top seeded Lakers and eighth seeded Nuggets. Even crazier is that only three games divide the top from sixth. Simply put, any of these first round matchups could easily be confused with a conference final(well, maybe not Denver/Lakers).

Eight clubs with star power. It will be well worth staying up into the wee hours for the six weeks that it takes to do the NBA first round. The matchups as follows…..

(1) Los Angeles Lakers (57-25) vs. (8) Denver Nuggets

What a difference a season can make! The Lakers 2006-07 season ended in disgrace as they were hammered in five by the Phoenix Suns in the first round. Kobe Bryant spent the offseason and some of the current season whining to be traded elsewhere as he questioned the club’s commitment to winning.

Kobe, meet Pau Gasol. The seven footer from Spain was hijacked out of Memphis near the trade deadline and his presence has revitalized the club as they surged down the stretch to eke out the top seed over New Orleans. The play of late has Laker fans thinking another title. However, in this stacked conference the reward will be a fifty win Denver Nuggets team that will put points on the board better than anyone in the playoff field. The weakness of course is the inability to stop anyone on D, so expect plenty of Kobe Bryant posters in the coming season with him dunking on someone in a Nuggets uni.

The 8 seed took out the 1 seed in the West last year. I could see it happening if Denver plays D.

The pick(They won’t):Lakers in 6

(2) New Orleans (56-26) vs. (7) Dallas (51-31)

Unlike many who escaped the horrific devastation of Katrina, the Hornets were able to return to their home in the Crescent City this past season. After two non playoff seasons in Oklahoma the Hornets return to the postseason with a vengeance led by an emerging megastar point guard in Chris Paul. Toss in fellow All Star David West, sharpshooter Peja Stojakovic and a maturing Tyson Chandler and its no wonder that the Hornets have returned to postseason play.

Their opponent is the Dallas Mavericks. A team that must still be stinging from last year’s embarrassing elimination at the hands of the Golden State Warriors(48-34 this year, best record to miss playoffs since 1972). Also the Mavs added Jason Kidd at the deadline, and his presence is going to be half of the series’ most interesting matchup as he goes mano y mano with Chris Paul. Vet vs. youngster. Master vs. student. Will be interesting and how well Kidd plays Paul could decide things in this series.

Dallas is ticked from last season, but unfortunately that may have been the best shot for this franchise as far as a title goes. Paul>Kidd. Dirk = postseason nonperformer. Over/under on Cuban v. refs - at least two outbursts, three if series goes the distance.

Pick:Hornets in 7

(3) Spurs (56-26) vs. (6) Suns (55-27)

Parker/Kidd, Stoudemire/Shaq/Duncan. Horry v. Nash part II??? Suns v. David Stern?? Possibly the best first round matchup in history. Certainly the memories of last year’s epic series are fresh in the mind of all who were on the court last season, and that only adds to the drama of two teams worthy of the Finals.

This will be a matchup of two teams hitting their stride at the proper time. The Suns struggled in the immediate aftermath of the O’Neal trade, but the Big Aristotle has found his niche and with that opened up space for Amare Stoudemire in the open floor. The club isn’t quite the run and gun outfit of seasons past but still an entertaining team to watch. They’ll face the defending NBA Champs(thank you David Stern) who hammered a solid Utah club in the season finale and brings back the nucleus of their team. You know the names….Duncan, Parker(Longoria??), Ginobli.

Quick note….Grant Hill’s still in the NBA? A nice sight to see him play a full season in Phoenix for the first time in many a year.

For Phoenix, the Shaq trade was made for this team, for Duncan, to have a bonafide down low presence that they haven’t had in season’s past. Sure it slows them down at times, and that’s sad when you wonder if a true up tempo style can win in the postseason. But Shaq could be a big difference maker in the series. The Suns probably would have eliminated the Spurs last season were it not for the “Cheap Shot” Bob Horry/ Steve Nash incident. And with him, they advance.

Pick:Suns in 5

(4) Utah (54-28) vs. (5) Houston (55-27)

Houston was a headline grabber this season as they went on a 22 game win streak to rise from eighth to first in the conference standings. This despite losing all-star Yao Ming to a season ending injury. Meanwhile away from the bright lights of the bigger markets and the major headlines the Utah Jazz put together a division championship winning team. They’ve kept the momentum going that started last season’s surprise postseason run to the conference finals, and with it added the NBA’s best home record (37-4).

Utah’s a solid group with Boozer and Williams becoming a poor man’s Stockton/Malone. And newcomer Ashton Kut…errr Kyle Korver has proven a welcome addition from the perimeter.

Houston has homecourt, and they’re going to have to use it to the fullest to get past Utah. But the Rockets peaked with the big win streak they had frankly, and they couldn’t beat this team with Yao in the lineup in last year’s first round. Oh fer too. Rockets.

Pick:Jazz in 5

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