Catching Up with the Western Conference

Yes, it's been a few days since I talked about the NBA playoffs, but let's just catch up with the Western Conference since the first round is basically over.

Los Angeles Lakers vs. Utah Jazz

Did we expect anything different? We knew that Kobe wasn't going to allow the Lakers to play around for too long. They are at home now and they should be watching the Nuggets play and they should be getting worried. The Lakers still haven't shown me their want to play defense. That may hurt them in the future. My take on the series was 4-1 Lakers, and it ended 4-1.

Denver Nuggets vs. New Orleans Hornets

I don't know how you lose a game by 58 when you have a chance to get back in your series and you are playing at home. I think the Hornets just quit. They lost all of their mojo in a year. Last nights game sealed. They at least made it a game but Melo finally gets to the 2nd round of the playoffs. My take on the series was 4-2 Nuggets, but it ended 4-1.

San Antonio Spurs vs. Dallas Mavericks

The Spurs are just old. I don't think that this is the end of an era, but the Spurs have to retool, somehow. Duncan needs a young beast in the paint like he was to David Robinson and some help on the wing (which I thought Udoka would be able to provide, but he hasn't done that yet). We'll see if Pop can do something to spruce up this team. Dallas was the better team in this series and they showed it. This is the scary team that may cause Denver some problems. My take on the series was 4-2 Mavericks, but it ended 4-1.

Portland Trailblazers vs. Houston Rockets

This is the most exciting series in the West. The Blazers are showing their youthful side as they seem to play every other game. They haven't been able to consistently win the matchups that they should win (LaMarcus Aldridge, that means you against Scola), but they are only down 3-2 and they get a chance to go into Houston tonight to try and even the series. The Rockets are playing extremely well, without T-Mac. They are one game away from getting out of the 1st round of the playoffs. That would be a success but again another knock on T-Mac since they would have done it without him. Yao is showing that he is the most consistent big man in the league and possibly the best. I had the Blazers winning this series 4-3, so the Blazers have a lot of work to do.