2nd Round NBA Playoff Preview.

I was 5-3 in the first round but am confident I can get at least 3 out of 4 in the second round. The NBA is the league most centered on team matchups as evidenced by Dallas going down to Golden St. in the first round even though Phoenix was the only other team that could have beat them. Unfortunately the NBA does not have the top seed left playing the lowest seed left so the two best teams in the east and west are playing in the second round.

Eastern Conference

Detroit Pistons (1) vs. Chicago Bulls (5)

The Bulls looked great against Miami and would have beaten them even if Miami was 100% healthy. But their lack of low post scoring is going to kill them against the Pistons who are far and away the class of the east. You can't beat Detroit shooting jumpers all day because their defense is too aggressive. The difference in this series will be the interior passing of Detroit and the scoring of Rip Hamilton.

Detroit in 6

Cleveland Cavaliers (2) vs. New Jersey Nets (6)

I can't figure this series out at all. The Nets Jason Kidd is playing extremely well and the Cavs don't have anyone who can stop him. The Cavs LeBron James is playing well and the Nets can't stop him. The problem for the Cavs is their supporting cast is not very good and LeBron is the closest thing the NBA has to a 1 man team. Despite what people think Vince Carter is not the key to the Nets. Kidd knows her can't rely on the gutless Carter game in and game out so the Nets winning or losing comes down to Richard Jefferson who is really there key guy. When he plays well they win and he will play well in this series. Which means Carter only has to have a couple of good games for the Nets to win this series. I'm picking the Nets but it's close to being a coin flip.

New Jersey in 7

Western Conference

Phoenix Suns (2) vs. San Antonio Spurs (3)

This series is the NBA Finals and it's being played in the second round. There is no way in hell the winner of this series loses the rest of the way. I am openly cheering for the Suns because they play a great brand of ball. Up tempo, balls to the way fast break ball. If any team is going to bring the casual fan back it is the Suns. But they are going to lose this series. The Spurs are the worst possible matchup for them for two big reasons and one small one. The two big ones - Tim Duncan is so good defensively he can shut down Amare Stoudamire for long stretches, and Tony Parker is so good offensively he will be able to exploit Steve Nash's bad defense. The small reason is that the Spurs' Bruce Bowen is such a strong defender that he will be able to slow Steve Nash down, but only for short stretches. The Spurs will control the tempo in this series but despite what most fans think they are not just a half court team. They can run as well as anyone they just like to play to their opponents weakness which is why they will try to play half court (whereas against the Rockets they would play a lot of fast break). And finally Gregg Popovich is the best coach in the league and will outwit Mike D'Antoni down the stretch of game 7.

San Antonio in 7

Utah Jazz (5) vs. Golden St. Warriors (8)

This is a perfect example of what I meant by matchups being so important. If Houston had won game 7 last night against the Jazz I would be picking the Warriors to beat the Rockets because they could spread the floor, neutralize Yao and run them off the court. But they can't do that against the Jazz. Jazz point guard Deron Williams is almost as strong as Baron Davis and just as tough so Golden St. does not have a huge advantage at the point. And Utah's front court of Carlos Boozer (who destroyed Yao in the first round), Mehmet Okur, Matt Harping, and Andrei Kirilenko are so quick and active that Warriors will have a hard time handling them because they play so few big men. I like that the Warriors say to hell with the Center position and just put their 5 best players on the court but that won't work in this series. The other problem for Golden St. is that Don Nelson won't be able to outcoach Jerry Sloan the way he did Avery Johnson in the first round. The big X factor here is the Warriors home court in Oakland which is really tough to play in. But so is Utah and they have home court.

Utah in 7.