NBA Playoffs: 2009 Will Be a Year To Remember

This year's March Madness was anything but. It should've just been called "March Mediocrity," or the even less catchy "March Basketball (Shoulder Shrug, resume watching Law & Order)." 

So where can fans turn for exciting basketball? The NBA.

This season's playoffs are fraught with potential for legendary performances, huge upsets, and teams establishing, regaining, or legitimizing their dynasties.

Let's start with legendary performances.

The Cavaliers have LeBron James at the age of 24—six years into his pro career. Eerily enough, Michael Jordan got his first championship six years into his pro career.

Now, the 2009 Cavs are not the 1990 Bulls, but James is getting to that level of game where no matter what teams do, they can't stop him. If the Cavs win the championship this year, it could be the beginning of a dynasty in Cleveland. 

And why would you not want to watch the most prolific player in the NBA as he goes through the East trying for his first title?

That doesn't tickle your fancy? How 'bout the run-and-gun Hawks, who took last year's champs to the limit in the first round?

This year, they start off facing the Heat. Dwayne Wade has shown what he can do without much help all season, so there's no telling how he'll handle this year's postseason.

If the Heat make it past the first round, Wade could cause headaches for both the Hawks and the Cavs.

And if the Heat do make it past the first round, are you really not going to watch James and Wade go head-to-head?

Talk about an epic matchup, two of the top three MVP candidates trading baskets at each end with phenomenal play after phenomenal play!

You're still not interested? I getcha. You need some underdogs with hope. "Where are the upsets?!" you proclaim.

Try this one on for size: Bulls vs. Celtics, first round. 

Normally this would be a beat down, but the Celtics are going to be without one-third of the Big Three in Kevin Garnett. 

How could you not want to see Derrick Rose's first playoff appearance as the Bulls get all the darkhorse potential in the world with the Celtics missing KG?

Should the Bulls make it to the second round and face the Magic, they've got little big men that can toss fouls at Howard, making him shoot from the line (Howard's only weakness). 

The Bulls could be the Cinderella team of this tournament and even make it to the conference finals. 

And how 'bout that Magic team, anyhow? Does anyone have more fun playing than Howard?

He got criticized for it by some idiot (head coach Stan Van Gundy), but tell me you don't want to see this guy dunking and blocking shots with a big grin on his face the whole time.

Now granted, some of the East's first round matchups aren't fun to look at. Pistons at Cavs and 76ers at Magic aren't going to excite a lot of viewers.

That's why you'll watch the West's first round.

A conference so tightly packed, the final week of the season looked more like tournament week in college, with teams battling for playoff seeds like the writers of America were going to rank them after each game. 

How jam-packed is the Western Conference?

The Houston Rockets had a shot at a two-seed on the last night of the year...and ended up with a five-seed. 

Every matchup could go either way.

The Lakers probably drew the toughest eight-seed ever to be an eight-seed in the Utah Jazz, a team that is only the eighth seed because they were decimated by injuries throughout the season.

The Jazz matchup incredibly well with the Lakers.

Mehmet Okur and Carlos Boozer can draw Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum away from the basket, while Deron Williams will cause havoc penetrating to the hoop.

Kobe Bryant will be facing a slew of different defenders in Andrei Kirilenko, Paul Milsap, Matt Harpring and Ronnie Brewer.

Upset potential is written all over these games.

And how about the Rockets and Blazers? Can the Rockets finally get past the first round, and if so, should that count for Tracy McGrady also, since he's out with injuries?

Yao Ming, the best pure shooting center there may ever have been, will be going up against a smaller Trail Blazers lineup. 

Brandon Roy, who already beat the Rockets with a three-point buzzer beater earlier in the year, has ice water running through his veins when the game is on the line.

Can he lead a young, but talented, Trail Blazers team to the second round?

Another series with a chance at seven close games will be the Mavs against the Spurs. This should be a good ol' fashioned Texas shootout as the Mavs will run an up-tempo game with Jason Terry, Jason Kidd, and Dirk Nowitzki. 

The Spurs will need to step up their defensive game to make it to the next round and Tony Parker will have to wheel and deal his magic.

When the games get close, watch for Roger Mason, Jr. He is looking like this playoff version of Robert Horry with all the clutch shots he's hit so far in the season.

Hornets at the Nuggets: You like offense? You'll love this. 

These games' scores are going to be higher than Denver's altitude as Chris Paul runs and guns with a ton of alley-oops, while Denver will counter with Chauncey Billups tossing to Carmello Anthony. 

So tell me what it is you don't like about these playoffs? Is it that the Lakers and Celtics are trying to re-capture the dynasties they once had?

Is it the Spurs trying to legitimize their dominance as the best team of this decade?

Is it the young, upstart teams with their first real shots at playoff success in a long time like Orlando, Atlanta, Houston, Portland, Denver, and New Orleans.

Or maybe you don't like the fact that there is at least one player on 13 of these 16 teams with the ability to take over a game and make amazing plays.

If you can't get excited about players like Kobe Bryant and Brandon Roy, Chris Paul and Jason Terry, LeBron James and Dwayne Wade all facing off, if you can't get excited at what will be a ton of series with physical play and fantastic finishes, then you're not a basketball fan.

These playoffs are going to be the best we've seen in years. Get up for it already!

Byebye, March Madness. Hello April Anarchy, May Mayhem, and June Jubilation!