With the first round of the playoffs slowly crawling towards the end, and so much excitement developing around the league, I want to take some time out side of the Blazer Box and take a quick look at the two conferences and what they have brought us this playoff season.
We’ll start with the West…
Los Angeles Lakers versus Utah Jazz: It was no question as to which of these two teams would be moving on in the first round, but building up to their season finale match up, a lot of people wondered: “Is L.A. going to give their final home game of the season away to Utah for a chance to play Dallas in the first round?” Most of us expected as much to happen, but there was obviously something the Lakers knew that we didn’t. We saw it once Dallas destroyed San Antonio in the same fashion that Los Angeles destroyed Utah. Not much excitement out of this series.
Denver Nuggets versus New Orleans Hornets: After watching Monday’s Game 4 in New Orleans, would you believe me if I told these two teams split the season 2-2? The Nuggets bullied the Hornets around like a Varsity team beats up on a Junior Varsity team, or the Freshman team for that matter! There is no excuse for losing a game by 58 points. Chauncey Billups now has one more thing to add to his already extensive resume. New Orleans is probably in the worst situation of the teams left in the playoffs. They have won 1 game by 2 points while they have lost the other 3 by double digits each time. Where do you start when trying to adjust for game 5? How about turnovers? Chris Paul and his Hornets committed 27, which lead to 41 Denver points. Shame on you New Orleans.
San Antonio Spurs versus Dallas Mavericks: A match up that was actually semi-intriguing, until Tuesday. It’s obvious that The Spurs missed Manu Ginobli in this series. In their final playoff game this series Tim Duncan and Tony Parker combined for 56 points. It was not enough as not a single other player on the San Antonio team could manage to score in double digits. A lot of people didn’t know what to expect of this Dallas team, but it’s clear as to what they came to do. They came to win. Look out Denver.
Portland Trail Blazers versus Houston Rockets: This young Blazer team pushed hard at the end of the regular season to win home court advantage in the first round, only to lose it in Game 1. Since then it’s been an all out brawl. Portland managed to keep the fans happy by winning Game 2 at home, but then lost Games 3 and 4 by a total of 4 points. They pulled off their second consecutive home win on Tuesday and their fate now lies in Houston on Thursday. A lot of Blazer fans have been sitting around waiting for Greg Oden to turn it on in this season. Don’t let this blind you from the fact that Rudy Fernandez has unleashed a fire within him on the defensive end that we’ve yet to see…
For the first time in a long while, The East has been more exciting to watch than the West. Check back in tomorrow night for a glimpse at the Eastern Conference and what excitement it’s already offered us this Post Season.
Keywords: Portland Trail Blazers Los Angeles Utah Jazz Houston Rockets San Antonio Dallas Mavericks Denver Nuggets New Orleans Hornets Wes
