Editor’s Note: When big things happen in this world, Ed and Eric find it necessary to have a Meeting of the Minds. The NBA Playoffs start this weekend. This is a big thing. The following is the Meeting of their Minds.
Two installments: West and East. West goes first. East to follow.
(1) San Antonio vs (8) Utah
(2) Oklahoma City vs (7) Dallas
(3) LA Lakers vs (6) Denver
(4) Memphis vs (5) LA Clippers
Ed K: This is the first time AJ (After Jordan) that the Western Conference is arguably weaker than the East. That means a couple of things. One, Kobe Bryant is getting old. Two, it is wide open. Most people consider the Thunder the favorite but you could make an argument that everyone except Utah and Denver is a threat to come out of the conference, and even win it all.
Eric, here are a few questions we need to consider regarding the Western Conference. First, could defending champs Dallas give the Thundo a run for their money? The Thunder had a rough last month and it’s still unclear if the beard even knows where he is right now (credit: World Peace).
Can the Nuggets take out the Lakers? I know Kobe bitched out sat out the last game and conceded the scoring title to be fresh for this series. But Denver is young, has depth and my boys Ty Lawson and Kenneth Faried along with Furious George leading the way. Lakers are World Peaceless until game 7 (if necessary). Losing in the first round just seems like something Mike Brown would do. I’m not saying, I’m just saying.
Finally, if gambling were legal, would we have thought about putting money on the Grizzlies a month ago to win it all at 40-1 odds? (Wait, I think I know the answer to that one).
Eric W: So many questions. So little time. First I think we would be remiss if we didn’t take a moment to lament the fact that Steve Nash and his Suns did not sneak into the playoffs this year. Here’s hoping he doesn’t go to Miami. We love you Steve even if you can’t play defense.
We both know that Allas hasn’t been the same since Tyson Chandler left for New York. None D. Lamar Odom has been deactivated, or something to that effect that allows him not to play and also get paid. I need one of those deals. He has also done something I didn’t think was possible: he has made me legitimately interested in watching a Kardashian on my television. I wonder if his reality show with Khloe K has any revelations as to why Lamar has been so terrible this year. That’s really beside the point, but what I’m getting at is the Mavs are not the same team they were last year. Shawn Marion is infuriatingly decent and the JET still scores points. J. Kidd is older than my Dad, but he’s okay. But nothing about this team, other than Dirk, is great in my estimation. You know I don’t like to look things up, so this may be wrong, but I believe the Thundo took the Mavs to six games in last year’s match up. This year OKC is better and the Mavs are worse. You do the math. KD, Russy and The Beard (traumatic brain injury or not) will take care of points. Thabo, Serge and Perkins will take care of perimeter defense, protection at the rim and terrifyingly blank stare-downs, respectively. I think the Thunder are a more complete team right now than the Mavs.
Mike Brown would lose a first round playoff series. Unless he is getting swept in the 2007 Finals by the Spurs. I enjoy the Nuggets to an extent, but they lack what Bill Simmons would call the Alpha Dog. They don’t have a go-to scorer when they absolutely need buckets. The Nuggets are like a Real-World house cast. Together, they do mildly entertaining things and enjoy relative success, but apart they can only sustain their success by showing up at random bars/clubs and getting hammered drunk for nominal appearance fees. What I mean is that the Nuggets are a good team, without a great star, which is to be commended, but in no way defended in a seven game series against the Alpha Dog to end all Alpha Dogs (Kobe) bookended (sure, that’s a verb) by two legitimate seven-footers, even if one is Spanish. I wouldn’t be shocked if the Lakers find a way to mess this up, but when it comes down to Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol vs. JaVale McGee and Birdman, I’ll take the Lakers. My apologies to George.
If gambling were legal, you’re right, we would have definitely put a relatively miniscule amount of money on the Grizzlies to win the NBA Championship more than a month ago, because we love us some Grizzlies. More importantly, we love us some money. Apologies to KD and the rest of our Thundo. You will always be our favorite, unless we can win money.
EK: I’m with you on OKC - Dallas. I was just playing the pessimistic angle to see if you were worried at all. I think the series will be over in five. It’s possible OKC has three players better than anyone on Dallas (with sincere apologies to Dirk). Game. Set. Match.
Real quick shout out to the Spurs who are the quietest #1 seed in recent memory. Tony Parker has been a top-5 MVP candidate (I just said something nice about a Frenchman. I have lost all respect for myself) and you can’t say enough about Pop other than he’s the best coach in the league. End of story. They should move on easily to the second round where a potential Spurs - Grizz matchup is possible. I think the Grizz will be too much for LAC and engage in a seven game battle where depth, youth and Z-BO will knock out the Spurs. It’s also worth mentioning the Grizzlies give the Thunder all sorts of problems for whatever reason.
I’ll call it right now, the Lakers - Nuggets series is going seven games. I won’t take any cheap shots at Kobe (he takes enough shots of his own already), but I don’t think he has the ability to take over a series anymore. A game yes, but not a series. I think Denver will push them to the limit and we’ll see World Peace make his return in the deciding game. Drama.
Going back to the Thunder though, after round one I still think there is some cause for concern. Did they peak too early? Will Russ be too selfish? Is Beard okay? Can they conquer their Memphis demons? These are serious questions. I don’t have the answers.
I don’t have answers but I do have some predictions for the West:
Worst Coach - Vinny Del Negro, LAC (Honorable Mention: Mike Brown)
Man Time Award - Kenneth Faried, Denver
I Can’t Believe We Miss Barea Award - Dallas
First Round: OKC over Dallas in 5
LAL over Denver in 7
San Antonio over Utah in 5
Memphis over LAC in 6
Second Round: Memphis over San Antonio in 7
OKC over LAL in 6
Western Finals: OKC over Memphis in 7
EW: I see what you did there. Parentheticals are still cheap shots. Just because Kobe and I are on the outs after he refused to drop a crisp 53 on the Kings this past Thursday to win the scoring title doesn’t mean that you can slip in cheap shots and assume I’ll let them slip by. You are on notice. Don’t let it happen again.
I agree about Tony Parker, though. He may be the best point guard out West. Apologies to Chris Paul. And, no, I will not make apologies to Russell Westbrook, because he is not as good as Parker.
Predictions:
Most Free Throws Missed In A Game Of Consequence: Blake Griffin, Clippers.
Most Idiotic Pull Up 17-Footers in Traffic With League-Best Scorer/Teammate Open On The Wing: Russ Westbrook, Thunder.
Least Likely To Get Dunked On in First Round: Any San Antonio Spur, Spurs.
Most Likely To Catch A World Peace Elbow: Let’s be honest, no one is safe, Planet Earth.
First Round:
Spurs over Jazz in 4. The Jazz aren’t good.
Thunder over Mavericks in 5. I hate agreeing with you, but my above reasoning is sound.
Lakers over Nuggets in 6. Again, you have faith in Denver. I do not.
Memphis over Clippers in 5. Chris Paul, meet my friend, Tony Allen.
Second Round:
Memphis over Spurs in 7. Tony Parker, meet my friend, Tony Allen.
Thunder over Lakers in 5. Good luck guarding Russ Westbrook, Mike Brown.
Western Finals:
Memphis over Thunder in 7. Russell Westbrook, meet my friend, Tony Allen.
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