It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It's Playoff time! It's the time in which the 16 best teams in the NBA show what they're made of and try to win the Larry O'Brien trophy. The team that sheds the most blood,sweat and tears will come out as the best (kind of exaggerated, but gotta get people excited).

So before I start my thoughts on the 8 series how about a song? Microphone!

It's the most wonderful time of the year
With the all fans yelling
And everyone telling you "The Lakers win this year"
It's the most wonderful time of the year
It's the hap-happiest season of all
With those 7 game series and NBA sports show
When friends come to call
It's the hap- happiest season of all

Stop the insanity! The playoffs shouldn't be celebrated with parodies!

Now to the serious stuff.
Cleveland Cavaliers (1) vs Detroit Pistons (8)
If you would have told me last year that the Pistons would be the 8th seed coming into the playoffs this year, I would have thought that it was a joke. The Pistons have at least made the Eastern Conference Finals in the last seven years, but Lebron and company could end this. The Cavaliers have a better front court by far than the Pistons and a mix of young & veterans coming off the bench to give the team a boost (Gibson, Smith and Szczerbiak). The Pistons have a slight edge in the starting backcourt with Stuckey and Hamilton matching up with Mo Williams and Delonte West which could help them win one or two games max. Trading Billups for Iverson was the worst thing that the Pistons could have done.

Cavaliers Win in 6

Boston Celtics (2) vs Chicago Bulls (7)
The young guns vs the old guys is what the title of this sub-heading should really be. I think the Bulls have a better backcourt with Derrick Rose facing a very over rated Rajon Rondo who can't shoot the midrange jumper for his life. The Boston bench is also very thin and the Bulls have a slight edge with a Hinrich, Tom Thomas and Brad Miller bench compared to a House, Big Baby Davis and Moore bench. The one difference between these two teams are that Boston has two strong game changing while Chicago really has none. Paul Pierce with a little help of Ray Allen will walk away with the series. Without Garnett though there is no way that the Celtics retain their title though.

Boston Celtics in 7

Orlando Magic (3) vs Philadelphia 76ers (7)
I hate the Magic for what they did last year to the Raptors, but either way their an extremely good team. The Magic will dominate the front court with the brute force of Dwight Howard that Dalembert will have lots of trouble containing. The 76ers have an upper hand in the back court with Andre Miller being one of the most consistent point guards in the NBA. Both benches are quite weak having Williams as the 76ers biggest "X" factor and Orlando having the veteran Johnson. Van Gundy will just have the Magic playing a little zone with the worst three point shooting team in the NBA and it should be a quick and painless series. Orlando will reach the Conference finals this year. Book it.

Magic in 5

Atlanta Hawks (4) vs Miami Heat (5)
This is probably going to be the most interesting of the series which in my opinion will go down to the 7th game. Miami has bounced back from being the last team in the East thanks to none other than Dwayne Wade and his 30 points per night. I wouldn't want to be Joe Johnson at the moment that's for sure. Even though the Heat have a strong back court it's front court is nothing compared to the Hawks. Josh Smith and Al Horford will give Jermaine O'neal and Haslem a hard time. The thing about the Hawks is that their bench is not strong unlike the Heat who have Beasley and Moon for back up. I will follow this series closely to see how the former Raptors Moon and O'neal are doing.

Heat in 7

Los Angeles Lakers (1) vs Utah Jazz (8)
Kobe! Kobe! Kobe! Kobe! Do I really need to say more?
Lakers in 4

Denver Nuggets (2) vs New Orleans Hornets (7)
Another series that will not fail to entertain I can guarantee. With the leadership with Billups the Nuggets have gone from barely being and 8th placed team to 2nd in a tough Western conference; however, will this team be able to win in the playoffs? In this case the answer is no. The Hornets have one of the most versatile players in the NBA, Chris Paul, as their leader and even Billups can't match up to him. CP3 is arguably the best point guard in the league. The Nuggets front court being leaded by Carmelo Anthony is good but David West and Chandler will bring their A game.

Hornets in 7

San Antonio Spurs (3) vs Dallas Mavericks (6)
A Ginobi-less Spurs will try to defeat a very confident Dakkas team. Only a couple of months ago I would have told you that the Mavericks would be that unlucky team to get the 9th spot in the West, but now are sitting comfortably in the 6th spot. The Mavericks have an advantage in the front court with Dirk and Dampier, but The Red Rocket can matchup pretty well against Dampier with consistent jumper and Duncan has more winning experience than Dirk. In the bench category the Mavericks have Jason Terry coming in with 19 points per game, but Drew Gooden will also be an impact coming off the Spurs bench. The two areas in which the Spurs have the upper hand in are the backcourt. I'll take Tony Parker and Roger Mason instead of Jason Kidd and J.J Berea. The other area is the coaching having Popovich who just simply has been in the winning side and knows how to stay there.

Spurs in 6

Portland Trailblazer (4) vs Houston Rockets (5)
I like this young Portland team who gives 120% in every game and is just filled with tons of talent. In contrast the Rockets are sluggish team filled with veteran experience, but without the Mcgrady playoff curse to hold them back. Despite being curse-less the Rockets still have no depth in their bench with Von Wafer and Landry while the Blazers have the Spanish stud Rudy Fernandez and Outlaw coming off the bench giving a one-two punch.

Trailblazers in 6

Remember anything can happen in the playoffs.
Let the fun begin!