2013 Western Conference Playoff Preview

The definition of must-see TV is quite simple. The answer lies with the Western Conference first-round playoff series and all four have the makings of being great. From top to bottom there are intriguing match ups and, while there may two favorites, it does appear that this could be the Wild West with an upset thrown in at some point. Oklahoma City and San Antonio finished neck in neck in the regular season and the Denver Nuggets weren't far behind. History was made in LA, but it wasn't from the Lakers. The Clippers were the ones making all the positive headlines and secured the fourth seed, which means they have an extremely difficult match up with Memphis. As for the aforementioned Lakers, they are sitting in the seventh spot with out Kobe Bryant, but don't blow them off. Steve Nash, Dwight Howard and Metta World Peace still make a good squad. The young Warriors and Rockets teams are fresh to the playoff scene with these current rosters, but should give a good series. It's going to be a fun end to the season in the West so let's take a look at the first round.

1. Oklahoma City Thunder vs. 8. Houston Rockets
The intriguing story line in this series is the Thunder going up against their old mate James Harden. It's not likely that the Rockets win this series, but they may steal a game or two depending on how Harden plays. The Rockets have no trouble scoring the basketball (2nd in the league), but the problem lies with the defense. Houston allows a 102.5 points per game which is 28th in the league. That won't win them the series against two of the most dynamite scorers in the league in Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant and the league's third best offense. In three games this season Harden averaged 29 points against OKC, but the surrounding cast of Jeremy Lin, Chandler Parsons and Omer Asik must be a force all series long. If not, the Thunder will march right over Houston in dominating fashion. OKC lost in the Finals last year and it's well-recorded that teams must take their lumps before being crowned kings. The Thunder have been working towards that elusive title for a couple of years and this season looks like it might be the year. Prediction: Oklahoma City in 5

How They Stack Up
                  Points                          Rebounds                            Assists                              Points Allowed
OKC          105.7                              43.6                                   21.4                                      96.5
Houston      106.0                              43.4                                   23.2                                    102.5

2. San Antonio Spurs vs. 7. Los Angeles Lakers
Wouldn't it be exciting if Kobe was healthy?? Obviously it would be a totally different series and the Lakers would have a solid chance of advancing. They still have a shot, but it will be difficult without their heart and soul. Let us not forget though that Steve Nash is a two-time MVP, Dwight Howard carried a team to the Finals and a host of Lakers are champions. Still, this is the San Antonio Spurs we're talking about. Health is the key to both teams this series. Nash is expected to play in Game 1 and the Spurs expect to have everyone ready to go. If healthy there is no way a Gregg Popovich-led Spurs team loses in the first round. Tony Parker has had health concerns, but he will carry San Antonio. Tim Duncan will also be key as he will match up with Dwight Howard. If he gets Howard into foul trouble then LA has no chance. Dwight must be at his best for LA throughout the postseason as does Pau Gasol. No Kobe means it's everyone else's time to shine. Prediction: San Antonio in 6
 How They Stack Up
                  Points                          Rebounds                            Assists                              Points Allowed
San Antonio 103.0                              41.3                                 25.1                                      96.6
Los Angeles 102.2                              44.8                                 22.2                                    101.0

3. Denver Nuggets vs. 6. Golden State Warriors
Pay attention to this series because there are plenty of young stars that will be a joy to watch. The point guard match up of Ty Lawson and Steph Curry is the focal point of the series and the two have very contrasting styles of play. Lawson is a cat-quick floor general who can attack the rim at will while Curry is the premier deep threat in the NBA. Curry broke the record for three pointers made in a single season and he and the Warriors will be a tough game at home in Oracle Arena. The Nuggets will miss Danilo Gallinari due to injury, but Wilson Chandler is more than capable of taking on the extra burden. The inside game belongs to the Nuggets, but the backcourt match up is nearly even. This is a series that could go six or seven games, but at the end of the day the Nuggets are the better team. Prediction: Denver in 6
How They Stack Up
                  Points                          Rebounds                            Assists                              Points Allowed
Denver          106.1                            45.0                                   24.4                                    101.1
Golden State 101.2                            45.0                                   22.5                                    100.3

4. Los Angeles Clippers vs. 5. Memphis Grizzlies
The high-flying, exciting Lob City will have a difficult first round match up against the grind-it-out Grizzlies. It's two conflicting styles of play and a series that should be tightly contested. Chris Paul is no stranger to playoff basketball, but the Clippers are still somewhat strangers to the playoffs. Last season they were defeated in the first round, but this year could be a different story. LA has played well all season and knocked down milestone after milestone, but it's time to perform in the postseason too. Many left Memphis for dead when they traded Rudy Gay, but they have been just as good and the inside tandem of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph could give Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan fits. That's where this series will be won -- in the post. Mike Conley has a massive assignment on Paul, but the Griz rely on their inside game. If LA can keep that in check then they will win the series. Prediction: Los Angeles in 7
How They Stack Up
                  Points                          Rebounds                            Assists                              Points Allowed
Los Angeles 101.1                              41.6                                   23.9                                      94.6
Memphis        93.6                              42.7                                   20.9                                      89.3

Playoffs Still in Sight for Lakers

If the Los Angeles Lakers were to miss the playoffs this season it would go down as perhaps the biggest failure in recent sports history. Sitting at 15-20 and 11th place in the Western Conference, the Lakers have battled multiple coaching changes, injuries to their star big men and a media circus all year long and have become the top story on every sports network for all the wrong reasons. Relatively speaking, it's still quite early in the year, but LA must kick it in gear now or the offseason will begin early for the purple and gold.

Missing the playoffs in any year is viewed as a crime for the prestigious Lakers, but to miss the playoffs this year after acquiring Dwight Howard and Steve Nash to go along with Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Metta World Peace would be down right disastrous. As superpowers become a more common thing in American sports, America has changed the view on what is failure for a team loaded with superstars.

On a smaller scale, take the Miami Marlins for example. The franchise went through an entire rebirthing operation by building a new ballpark, changing their name and colors, hiring a new manager and signing some of the top talent available. Yet they turned in one of the worst seasons in the MLB and became a laughing stock by the third month of the season. On a larger scale, but in the same city, look at the Miami Heat. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh teamed up with the goal in mind to win multiple championships, but failed to win it all in their first year. They still won the Eastern Conference and still had a fantastic season, but they became an example of what will happen to teams that add multiple superstars and come up short of the ultimate prize. The Heat were blasted for an entire summer for not winning the Finals and considered a failure despite achieving enormous success.

Can you imagine what the media and fans will do to the Lakers if they don't even make the playoffs? LA trots out five all-stars in their starting lineup, but has looked so discombobulated on some nights that you wonder if there are any all-stars on the floor. However, if the Lakers are to make the postseason then they must focus on the future and change the things needed to win ball games.

That means getting everybody healthy first and foremost. LA has never had their full lineup in uniform and that's why they have struggled at times. At the point guard position Nash missed seven weeks with a leg injury and reliable backup Steve Blake has missed all but the first five games with an abdominal injury. Inside, Howard has never looked quite the same since his back surgery and now has a torn labrum that will sideline him. Gasol is out with a concussion and Jordan Hill has been day-to-day with a hip injury.

Those injuries are a recipe for disaster and it has been one in the city of angels. Getting healthy must be the key priority for the Lakers and once healthy they can focus on the X's and O's. It's silly to think that this is a team that can't win with Mike D'Antoni on the sidelines. While I believe it was down right dumb to not hire Phil Jackson, it's not as though D'Antoni can't win. With the talent on the roster, it shouldn't matter who is the coach. The guys on that team are good enough to win no matter who is coaching them.

While a 15-20 record is a terrible start for the Lakers, it definitely is fixable. They have never played with a full lineup and have gone through multiple coaching changes. If they can get everyone healthy and settle into D'Antoni's system then there will be playoff basketball for the Lakers. There's far too much talent on that roster for them to be sitting at home come playoff time. I would say it's time to panic, but not to the point where changes must be made.

Perhaps I'm stubborn, but I'm not counting the Lakers out of the playoffs nor will I count them out of another title run. I haven't mentioned it yet, but any team with Kobe Bryant on the roster is a team I will refuse to count out. 15-20 doesn't look threatening, but get this team healthy and the West may be the Lakers'.

Melo's New York State of Mind

The deal is done and the drama is over. After months of speculation and rumors, Carmelo Anthony has been traded from the Denver Nuggets to the New York Knicks. The trade, which also involved the Minnesota Timberwolves, was completed late Monday night and involved 12 players, draft picks and 3 million dollars in cash. New York is getting Melo, Chauncey Billups, Anthony Carter, Shelden Williams and Renaldo Balkman from Denver while the Nuggets are receiving Danilo Gallinari, Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler, Timofey Mozgov and draft picks from the Knicks. New York also sent Anthony Randolph and Eddy Curry to Minnesota for Corey Brewer. Anthony is a bona fide superstar in the NBA and Billups is a steady point guard who is a proven winner. The Knicks did sacrifice young talent but no one can deny that superstars win championships in the NBA and the Big Apple now has Melo and Amare Stoudamire in blue and orange.

Since the offseason, trade talks have swirled around Anthony and he made it no secret that New York was his preferred destination. He tried hard to end up in his chosen city without tarnishing his image like his buddy down in South Beach did and, for the most part, he was successful. Carmelo Anthony is back where he wants to be, the East Coast. Melo was the superstar in Denver and led them to the Western Conference Finals in 2009 but despite the success of the Nuggets, it was clear they were never going to win a championship. It became imminent that Anthony was on the way out, whether it was via trade or free agency, and now he will be playing in Madison Square Garden, the greatest arena in sports. The Knicks signed Amare Stoudamire in the offseason and he has lifted MSG's spirits, leading the team to a 28-26 record which is second in the Atlantic Division. Already much improved from last season and second in the league in scoring with 106.2 points per game, New York added Melo who averages 25.2 points. Stoudamire puts up 26.1 per game and the two average over 16 rebounds combined.

What will be interesting to see is how Anthony and Stoudamire mesh. Amare left Phoenix because he was tired of playing in Steve Nash's shadow and he wanted a team to call his own. He has been the star of New York City for the first half of the season and carried the Knicks so far but now Carmelo enters the picture. Can the two coexist and will Melo respect that this is Amare's team? I think they can do it and I believe they will produce. However, to say the Knicks are favorites to win the East is ludicrous. At best they will be the 5th seed behind Boston, Miami, Chicago and Orlando but they could make some noise in the postseason. It will be hard to win playoff games with little supporting cast. Landry Fields and Billups are reliable but after that there is little talent. Ronny Turiaf and Renaldo Balkman can defend and rebound but the scoring will be hard to come by off the bench. A few years from now the Knicks could be an Eastern Conference powerhouse but not this year.

I say they could be in a few years because they will be able to assemble a supporting cast and another summer of superstars in free agency will have gone by. Chris Paul has mentioned before that he would like to go to New York and team up with Anthony and Stoudamire and the idea of that should be scary to other teams in the East. Deron Williams and Dwight Howard are also approaching free agency so there are options out there. It is my assumption that Paul will end up in NYC to run the point for the Knickerbockers which would make Spike Lee and the Gang go nuts at MSG.

The Knicks have not been a good team since the new millenium hit and they haven't had a superstar since Patrick Ewing. Stoudamire has filled that role and now Anthony is with him. Ewing never could win the Big Apple a championship but it looks like these two should. This year expect nothing better than perhaps a first round win in the playoffs but in the years following, beware of the Knicks. Those are words we haven't heard in awhile. But then again, basketball is back in New York City.

Photo courtesy of ice-dotcom.com