With the NBA regular season winding down and the playoffs just two weeks away, I wanted to take the time to talk about why this year’s playoffs could be one of the most exciting in recent memory.
Starting with the eastern conference, potentially every series could be face-offs between two teams that despise each other. Right now the top-seeded Chicago Bulls would be facing the New York Knicks, the team that ESPN writer Bill Simmons has called this years team that know one wants to face in the first round with the player that know one wants to face (Carmelo Anthony.)
With the way that these teams have played their recent games against each other you can expect this series to be full of hard aggressive play as well as trash talking and other theatrics.
Things get even more interesting if the Knicks can manage to move up to the seventh spot and get a matchup with the Miami Heat.
This series would revive one of the most heated rivalries in recent history as well as the chance to see Carmelo Anthony vs. LeBron in a playoff series, what NBA fan wouldn’t love to see that? The second round could feature a Bulls-Celtics matchup and everyone remembers how the last series between these teams played out last time they met in the playoffs. Seven overtime periods, all games except game seven decided by three points or less; it doesn’t get much better than that.
And to cap it off, there is the potential rematch between the Bulls and Heat in the Eastern Conference finals for the chance to go to the NBA finals. Can the Bulls with their improved roster get past the Heat this season or will LeBron get a chance to redeem himself from his dismal performance in last season finals — here’s hoping he doesn’t.
As much as the eastern conference is open this year, the west is truly wide open for anyone to take. Last year’s champions the Dallas Mavericks are currently sitting at the sixth spot in the west after making the mistake of not resigning Tyson Chandler and the failed Lamar Odom experiment, although to the Mavericks credit it wasn’t their fault, it doesn’t look like they will be able to repeat their performance from last year.
The Lakers are starting to play better lately with the addition of Ramon Sessions and the emergence of Andrew Bynum as one of top, if not the top, center in the league but if Kobe Bryant’s shin injury hampers him at all they won’t win the west.
Whatever the matchups this years NBA playoffs should be one of the most entertaining in a while for the sheer fact that it is so wide open and any team could win it. Whatever happens, I will be watching every minute of it — when I’m not studying for finals of course.
