Best in the West: NBA Playoffs - Round 1 Analysis

#1 San Antonio Spurs v/s #8 Sacramento Kings (Series 2-2)
"Mike Bibby will not be able to keep up with Tony Parker." This was just one of the knocks put on this Sacramento Kings team who are on a mission to knock out the reigning NBA champions. The beautiful part about the NBA is that its not about one game, its a series where a team can make adjustments, they can play the matchup game and they can on any given night throw a blow to a team that might have looked poised and ready to bulldoze over them the previous night. The 05-06 Spurs are deeper and more experienced than the team that won the championship the previous season. With the additions of Michael Finley and Nick Van Exel, this group has a vastly improved Tony Parker leading their offence but injuries have plagued this team all season long. Tim Duncan has been dealing with plantar fascitis and Manu Ginobli has been in and out of the lineup with back problems. Everywhere I was reading that the Kings didn't have much of a chance against the Spurs but right from the get go we were treated to some vintage Ron Artest and as a repercussion to an elbow thrown out at Manu, Ron Artest was suspended by the league for game 2. Mike Bibby and Brad miller who are a big part of the Kings offence struggled through the first two games but if it wasn't for a Brent Barry buzzer beater this series would be 3-1 right now in favour of the Kings. They have had great support from their off-season acquisitions of Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Bonzi Wells and Ron Artest has managed to pretty much eliminate Manu from the game with his smothering defense. A pleasant surprise for the Kings has to be the play of second year player Kevin Martin who turned out to be the hero in game 3 as he hit the game winning shot at the buzzer. For a kid who was left of the active roster in the previous years playoffs he has shown a lot of confidence and stepped in when Artest was suspended and given the Kings a boost on both ends of the floor. As for the Spurs, they are not a team that is just going to concede anything but in order for them to get to the Finals they are going to need production from the likes of Ginobli, Finley and Horry and a little healthier Tim Duncan will really help their cause.

#2 Phoenix Suns v/s #7 Los Angeles Lakers (Series 3-1 Lakers)
Mr. I dropped 81 points on the Raptors going against the MVP Steve Nash. I got to admit I am a Kobe hater but this series is just to exciting not to watch. TV remotes have been thrown, foul language has been used at my TV and several creative names have been put on my MSN to express my displeasure over the Lakers. The Phoenix Suns led by Steve Nash were not even expected to make the playoffs this year. Amare Stodamire sidelined for the season after knee surgery, Joe Johnson was traded away for Boris Diaw and a draft pick, Quentin Richardson headed for the Big Apple to play for the Knicks but Raja Bell and James Jones were added and this new look team finished atop their division and looked as deadly as ever ready to make a run to the Finals this year. Kobe Bryant has been a man on a mission in his own right as he averaged over 35 points a game this season and after missing the playoffs last year he was determined to get his team there this year. He took his team on his back and willed them into the 7th spot in the west. With a mix of youth and experience the Lakers starting 5 for the playoffs would have people wondering how this team made it there in the tough west but its been the players surrounding Kobe Bryant that have put the Lakers in a position to eliminate the Phoenix Suns. Kwame Brown has matured tremendously over the course of the season and has made his presence felt in this series in the paint as he is defended by a much smaller Phoenix Suns lineup who use Boris Diaw at Center and the same goes for Lamar Odom who has had a solid playoff series. The Suns sported the highest scoring average in he NBA over the season but have had trouble making shots in this series and a big problem is the lack of production on the part of Shaun Marion. The Lakers have solved them in a way and have greatly slowed down the pace of the game more to their own liking rather than the run and gun Suns who put up on average 10 more shots their their opponents. Boris Diaw who is the leagues "Most Improved Player" struggled for the first few games but is slowly getting it together. Nash the leagues MVP possibly for a second straight year is doing his best but needs his teammates to start making shots in order for them to push this series to a game 7. I avoided talking about Kobe but you can't talk about the Lakers without mentioning him and he has changed his role quite a bit during this series. He has been a playmaker more than a scorer but it was his buzzer beater in game 4 that put a dagger through the hearts of the phoenix Suns players.

#3 Denver Nuggets v/s #6 Los Angeles Clippers (Series 4-1 Clippers)
In the words of Sir Charles Barkley... "This aint yo daddy's Clippers." Over 500 regular season games played, yet Elton Brand had never tasted the post season. This year was different with the addition of key players like Sam Cassell and Cuttino Mobley and the emergence of Chris Kaman the Clippers were poised to be a part of basketball in May. Carmello Anthony on the other hand has made it to the second season in the NBA in every year that he has been in the league (3) but each time his team was handed an early exit from the playoffs which has left him hungry. In a weaker division of the western conference the Nuggets secured their division but did not hold home court advantage even in the first round. Home court is not what came to bite them in the ass though, it was the lack of any kind of offensive production from anyone not named Carmello Anthony. Marcus Camby had an outstanding season but he is not a guy who contributes consistently on offence same goes for Reggie Evans who was a nice addition at the trade deadline but he never addressed the problem the Nuggets have had for 2 straight seasons. Earl Boykins is the only jump shooter on the team and he had a broken wrist at the end of the season but was not at 100% heading into the playoffs. The Clippers had the Nuggets figured out pretty quick and took away their fast breaks and lob passes which is what got Denver a lot of their wins as Andre Miller is one of the best passing point guards in the league. With the inability to spread the floor as the Nuggets have no 3 point threats, the Clippers had a solid gameplan just double team Melo and let the rest of the guys try to win the game and clearly they were unable to do that as the Clippers with the leadership of Sam Cassell and the talent of Elton Brand rolled over the Nuggets to make it to the next round potentially setting up and a Lakers v/s Clippers series with the clips having home court.

#4 Dallas Mavericks v/s #5 Memphis Grizzlies (Series 4-0 Dallas)
Note to Pau Gasol: I think the playoff beard thing only works in hockey. The Grizzlies have been swept every year that they have made the playoffs and right now this year was no different. The Grizzlies are known for the defence but seem to have gotten away from what got them into the playoffs and their lack of offence surely didn't help their situation. A healthy Damon Stodamire might have been a key here to provide some of that much needed offence but he has been sidelined for the 2nd half of the season after having surgery. From watching this series I kept getting the feeling like I was watching a team of really good role players playing against Dirk Nowitzki and the rest of the Dallas Mavericks. In the post season you need to have one or two guys really step up but the Grizzlies never got that on a consistent basis. I won't get into too much detail about this series as it was one and done but I do want to point out that the Mavs looked great in the first round and seemed to have figured out a way to play on both sides of the court. Their defense has been shored up and the elevated play of Josh Howard along with the shot blocking presence of Diop has set them up to go deep in the playoffs this year and I personally have them pegged as the team who will come out victorious in the west.

Random quotes and stats from the first round...
- Ron Artest was given a 1 game suspension following the incident where he threw an elbow at Manu Ginobli.
- Shareef Abdur-Rahim of the Sacramento Kings played in over 700 regular season games before getting a chance to play in the post-season. Only one other player in history has played more games without going to the playoffs.
- Just straight up funny: Steve Nash's new Trophy
- The LA Clippers won game 5 to eliminate the Denver Nuggets from the playoffs and move to the second round. For the first time in 30 years.
- Kenyon Martin was also suspended but not by the NBA. The team suspended him indefinitely for conduct detrimental to the team after he refused to play in the 2nd half of the first game against the Clippers.
- On the eve of game 5 in the Lakers series new was released the Kwame Brown is being charged for sexual assault.
-"I've never seen that in all my years in basketball, that someone (would) do that before. I don't think it has anything to do with basketball at all. It's totally ridiculous for someone to do that in a game. I don't care one way or another what happens to him." - Chris Kaman after being groped by Reggie Evans. (Denver Post)
- Saquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant became fathers of baby daughters six minutes apart last week.

Last time I checked this is what we call a "CHARGE!!!"