and then there were four (and a complete lottery)

Some thoughts on the conference finals:

New Orleans has nothing to really fret about. They made it a lot further than I expected, and they scared the crap out of the Spurs. Who saw that coming before the season? I thought they were only an off guard away, but the way Jannero Pargo played in these playoffs shocked everyone. Their crunch time line up is pretty close to owning.

I'd say the same thing about the Lakers, even though they won. I think they can beat the Spurs, but again, without Bynum, they're in trouble defensively. Then again, if the Spurs struggled with the Hornets, how will they handle the Lakers? This is tough to gauge.

Spurs in 6, but I don't have much faith in that.


The Cavs-Celtics series intrigued me on a couple levels. I remember thinking Ray Allen was stupid years ago for coming back to Seattle for lots of cash instead of going to Cleveland to form a tandem with LeBron. Now, I don't know. He's slowing down and he might be more of a problem soon. Not that Larry Hughes was a good choice, at all, but they might not want Allen now.... or maybe they would, because then Boston would never have made themselves into a contender. Weird how fate brought them back together.

Also, they almost had Delonte West kill them, which would have been painful.

I'm wondering now how Cleveland moves forward. The look they had at the end of the year was reminiscent of the Iverson 76ers: one guy scores 40, you hope other people chip in enough to get 90, and play good defense. That doesn't sound good when LeBron is constantly questioned about his future. But they also have enough expiring contracts next year to maybe make a move.

Also, if rumors are true about the Nuggets shopping Melo to the Nets, they have to act soon. LeBron going to the Nets is already played out, but if they could somehow get him and Melo on the same team.... well, that's not even fair, is it?

As for this series, it seems like Detroit is the easy pick, but never doubt how the good name teams get... ummm... certain advantages. Plus, I want to see Boston make it with the worst possible record, making them the reverse Patriots.

Celtics in 7, and I don't have much faith in this either.




In other news, the lottery was today. Actually just watched it. Conspiracists may or may not point to the Bulls and their not-that-bad record, or that the top two teams were in the East, but hey, at least the Knicks didn't move up. In the race of Michael Beasley vs. Derrick Rose for top pick, I think this means that Beasley is now the top choice, despite Rose being from Chicago. They'd have to move Kirk Hinrich to take Rose, and they still need someone inside who can actually score. If they make Beasley the new center of the offense, and now Loul Deng and Ben Gordon can be supporting players, doesn't that make them what they wanted to be? They could turn it around fast with a new coach and some moves (don't know if they can dump Larry Hughes, but Drew Gooden and Gordon can be had).

Miami will gladly take Rose. That's a nice backcourt to rebuild around. The Wolves will be okay with probably O.J. Mayo, the Grizzlies (eternally disappointed) will make do with Brook Lopez, and the Sonics, Knicks, and Clippers will fight over guards. Eric Gordon, Jarryd Bayless, and Russell Westbrook are all combo guards who haven't quite proven themselves at the point, but those teams all need it, especially the Knicks.

After that? I don't know yet. But the top seven are pretty important.