NBA Playoff Observations

First, I will give a few reasons why you should watch the NBA. They are the only league that does their playoff structure correctly. The team in a series with the best record gets home court advantage, no matter what seed they are. The best non-division winner also gets its seed awarded based on record.

In the 2008 NFL playoffs, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finished worse than the team they hosted, the New York Giants. In the NHL this season, Washington has a worse record than the team they are playing but gets home ice, a reward for winning the worst division in any sport since the 2006 National League West (worse if you take out the effect of overtime losses counting as ties to standings).

The Western Conference should also be exciting, with seven games separating the top and bottom seeds. Now if they can just figure out how to change the balance of the league. The Golden State Warriors, who with 48 wins have to be the best team ever to not make the playoffs, have to watch the Atlanta Hawks (37-45) play on.

But there are many reasons not to watch. For one, the officiating and discipline is inconsistent at best, and a downright travesty at worst. Last year, the Spurs mugged the Suns all series long and nothing was done.

After Robert Horry hip-checked Steve Nash (who at least, as a Canadian, probably took a lot of those in pickup hockey games), the Suns contemplated taking the matter into their own hands. Amare Stoudemire crossed a few inches over a tiny line, and David Stern suspended him for game six.

He was by far the best player suspended, and it altered the balance of the series. Had Stern done something about the previous transgressions, Horry would not have thought he could get away with that kind of behaviour.

Moreover, Tim Duncan had crossed over the same tiny line earlier in the game in similar excitement over a hard foul on his teammate, so had he been suspended balance would have been maintained. I have not watched more than a few minutes of an NBA game since.

So long as they do not interfere with Sharks' games, I will watch the Suns this year to see if they can get the championship they earned last year. As soon as they are out, my boycott of the NBA resumes.

It is also despicable to me that they practice restraint of trade by barring adults from earning their living with the profession of their choosing until they are a year out of high school. I know the NFL does that for even longer and I am not saying this is in and of itself enough reason to boycott them; however, it is another thing I hold against the league.

Similarly, there are issues with the societal conduct of both league's players (something you don't see in the NHL, by the way) turning me off to those leagues. But the NFL has much better competitive balance and much more entertainment to offer. This year, seven of the eight playoff teams in the Western Conference are repeats of last year, and five of the eight in the East. It is exactly the same in the NHL, but the NBA—Spurs games aside—does not have the level of physicality that exists in the NHL or NFL.

The officials have given us plenty of points of contention. Tim Donneghy's gambling showed obvious corruption of the integrity of the games. An official had an obvious bias against one player, then the league overreacted in firing him for good when the bulk of his resume was solid.

But since many of you will not join me in boycotting the NBA, I will put forth picks for the playoffs. Don't bother telling me where I am crazy, since I willfully concede I don't follow the game anymore and my knowledge is faulty.

Lakers-Nuggets: I do not know what Steven A. Smith was talking about picking the Nuggets at the beginning of the year. For one thing, he said George Karl is a great coach. Excuse me?! This is a man that coached the first #1 seed to lose in the first round, failed to get an extremely talented Sonics team to the Finals more than once, and has won exactly as many championships as I have. The Nuggets are talented and should take a game or two from the Lakers, but Lakers in five.

Hornets-Mavericks: Dallas has shown some mettle of late, with the huge comeback effort against the Suns and Dirk Nowitzki actually hitting some big shots. Chris Paul has raised the level of that team—anyone thinking at the start of the season that they could win the league's toughest division is crazy, no matter has happened. But ultimately, Dallas has superior talent, so Mavericks in six.

Spurs-Suns: I want to pick with my heart and say last year will provide motivation, or that they will overtake an old team with glaring weaknesses, but the latter could describe the Suns too. I do not know what the Suns were thinking trading for Shaq...Spurs in six.

Jazz-Rockets: Houston has been on an amazing run without Yao Ming, but Utah is a deep, talented team. I hate to say it Tracy, but Jazz in six. Celts (that's right, they should not be called the Celtics: for one thing, the "C" is never soft in the Celtic language, and the race is does not have the "ic" on it--are you going to call my grandmother a "Germanic," with a hard "G"?)-Hawks: I will give Atlanta a game because I think Boston will be bored and overconfident: Celts in five.

Pistons-Sixers: Philadelphia has been playing really well, and the Pistons have been known to lose focus even before Flip Saunders, whose teams have also had a history of this, took over. But they will not be able to get past a team this talented and experienced...Pistons in five.

Magic-Raptors: Toronto has been a disappointment this year, but they are still a dangerous team and Orlando does not have much experience. But they are more talented, so Magic in seven.

Cavaliers-Wizards: Washington wants revenge, and the Cavaliers have not been playing well since the trade. But I just have to believe Ben Wallace is going to make a difference (could he really have forgotten how to play in two years?), and the Wizards do not play the kind of defense Cleveland can...Cavaliers in seven.

In the rest of the playoffs, Detroit will sneak by Orlando and Boston will thump the Cavs. The Lakers will handle the Jazz and the Spurs should eek by the Mavericks. In the semi-finals, Detroit's experience will carry them to the Finals, where Kobe (having beaten the by then out-of-gas Spurs in no more than six) can get revenge.