Playoffs On The Wessiide!!

[Da Boss DJ Jo Corleone]

Yesterday we discussed the playoffs from the eastern side of things. Today we’re diving into the Wild, Wild, West, where no one is safe, well no one except the Lakers. Everyone else is fighting to be seeded 2-7 because whoever falls into that number 8 spot will have to face Los Angeles in the first round. That’s been every western conference team’s mission since mid way through the season when people noticed that the Lakers were so dominant, oh and let’s not forget they got Andrew Bynum back.

Right now, thanks in part to a loss last night to the Lakers, the Utah Jazz are holding on to the #8 spot in the west. Tuesday night was the last game of the regular season for the Jazz, and there were no signs of momentum for them as they head into the playoffs. The Jazz have gone 12-11 in the last month and a half, and 15-26 on the road for the season. Earlier in the season the Jazz were in the conversation to be one of the teams that had a chance against the Lakers, but recently they haven’t looked like the same team that challenged L.A. in last year’s playoff series.

The 7th spot isn’t but the Dallas Mavericks currently hold that slot pitting them against the #2 seeded Denver Nuggets, and you have to believe that the Pistons are slapping themselves right now. They traded Billups for Iverson and find themselves in 8th place in the east while the Nuggets are holding the #2 spot. The Mavericks haven’t quite been the same since trading Devin Harris for Jason Kidd, but in the last month and a half they have shown that they can still run with any team on any given night. The question is what about any team in a seven game series.

With Josh Howard just getting back and still not at 100 percent, plus the lack of defense played in Dallas it looks like another early exit for the Mavs. They still have a chance to move into the #6 slot being held by the New Orleans Hornets, but that’s only if Dallas can get a win over the #3 Houston Rockets, and if the Hornets lose to the San Antonio Spurs.

Houston and San Antonio are fighting for the division title right now so expect both teams to play hard because not only does the winner win the division, but they’ll also earn the #3 seed. That is, however if the young guns known as the Portland Trailblazers lose to the Nuggets. If Portland wins, that could catapult either Houston or the Spurs into the #2 position.

If the standings stay like they are right now we’ll get a pretty exciting series from the Trailblazers and the Spurs. One of the youngest teams in the NBA led by Brandon Roy, taking on one of the oldest teams; kind of like a passing of the torch game if Portland can win that series. A few major factors to remember in this matchup is that Manu Ginobli is out for the rest of the season, the Spurs are getting older, and Tim Duncan’s health is less than 100 percent right now. Portland absolutely has a chance to defeat the other team that was said to be a threat to the Lakers getting back to the finals.

The Spurs close out the season tonight against the Hornets whom they defeated in 7 games in the second round of last year’s playoff. The Hornets have a chance to lock down that 6th seed if they can beat the Spurs if not they could drop to #7 where the Rockets could be waiting. Going into the playoffs the Hornets look good but not great. If they want to have a chance at advancing in the playoffs they’ll need Tyson Chandler who’s missed 30 plus games this season. Plug Tyson in and the Hornets are good enough to possibly dethrone the Lakers, but without him they may not see the second round.

After tonight the playoff table will be set, and the regular season will be over. Make sure you visit me again right here as I break down the playoff matchups.