Tonight, we could see the end of a dynasty (perhaps) and the emergence of a new guard, or see the dyansty move one step closer to cementing itself as a team to be remembered as one of the very best when the Spurs face the Hornets in game 7 of their series. It seems funny that even though this should be talked about as a classic struggle, all that seems to be talked about is Robert Horry nailing David West in the back to knock him out of the rest of game 6 (for the record, I feel that while Horry did give a clean foul by definition, he meant to hit West in the back, but that's water under the bridge). I choose to focus on something that didn't get as much acclaim.

Watching ESPN recently, I came across Jalen Rose (who must be in a competition for dumbest outfit with Don Cherry with his bowtie look), and they asked Rose (proud possessor of zero NCAA titles and zero NBA titles) who would win game 7 tonight. He said "It has to be the Spurs". Let me get this straight, Jalen; you say New Orleans shouldn't win tonight? The Spurs have to win tonight? To be clear, Rose then went on to say the Lakers (waiting in the wings) would rather play SA not because they match up better, but that they would rather beat the Spurs. Are you saying that the Hornets playing the Lakers wouldn't entertain us?

If I'm L.A., I just want to win the title, no matter whose playing. Beating the Spurs would be poetic justice, but it's not about beating who you want to beat; just ask the 1990 Pistons. They would have prefered to beat L.A in the Finals, but did they lose to Portland? Hell no! So, now that I've ranted, let's pick a winner!

The biggest whine I've heard besides Horry's foul is that the Spurs are so much more experienced in game 7 than thye Hornets. I think that's overrated. The Spurs are 1-1 in the Duncan era in game 7, and both times they played at home. And don't tell me Byron Scott doesn't have his team ready; he played game 7's with the Lakers, and his last title was won in game 7. He'll have his team ready. Pay attention to the third quarter; the Hornets have made their move in all three prior home games there.

So, who wins? I'll say the Hornets will end the Spurs' quest to repeat tonight; the homecourt edge, plus Duncan's inconsistency in NO will haunt the champs. I just hope that guys like Rose, Jay Mariotti, and Skip Bayless are watching when it happens. Because the Spurs won't return the same if they lose; for guys like Horry, Michael Finley, Brent Barry and even Bruce Bowen, this could be the last rodeo together. But the Hornets will win tonight, I'll say 105-101.

At the beginning of every NBA season, you hear commentators say "This team needs home court advantage to win in the playoffs. That refrain is heard all through the season. And usually, those guys are right. However, what's going on in round 2 of the playoffs makes me wonder if homecourt is the only way teams can win in this round.

Including last night's games, the home team is an incredible 19-1 in round 2. Only the Pistons in game 4 of their series with Orlando, and the final score was 90-89! The Celtics, the team with the best regular season record, are winless in five road playoff games (by the way, the last team to make the Finals without a road victory in the playoffs was the 1963 Lakers, and they only played one playoff series to get there). How has homecourt suddenly become unstoppable?

With that in mind, here are some possible solutions to allow the road team a chance to win at least once in the games coming up:

Have Robert Horry hipcheck someone (Chris Paul) into the boards, forcing a benched David West and Tyson Chandler to get off the bench, leading to their one-game suspension for game 7 in New Orleans: Hey, it worked against Phoenix, didn't it?

Have Joe Crawford re####ame with Tim Duncan, then allow them to really fight: Crawford would give the stoic Duncan a war, but the smart money is on Duncan.

Have DeDoNothing Stevenson badmouth one of the road teams' best players and call them overrated before the game: It made LeBron want to knock out the Wizards, and I found a way to keep my nickname in the news.

Warn the Hornets, Lakers and Celtics the 'consequences' of another Spurs-Pistons Finals matchup: That thought, in Stern's mind, is scarier than the 'Saw' series! He'll threaten the Lakers with a Kobe trade if they fail to make it!

Tell the remaining teams if they fail to win on the road, some of the players will be traded to the Knicks!: A fate worse than death, perhaps? They'll play their butts off to win then!

Have Tony Romo sing for the home team before their game: They'll be so frazzled, they won't be able to concentrate and stop the opponent!

Take the home team to watch 'Speed Racer' before the game: See above.

If they fail to win, the road team's players must watch all of Shaq's movies... without a break!: See the Knicks above.

Yeah, this may be sarcastic, but what's preventing these teams from winning A ROAD GAME? I'm not saying that every win should be on the road, but a figure closer to round 1's figure (7 of 10 wins by the home team) would do. What makes these games so hard to watch is that, for the most part, they are blowouts, and blowouts don't interest the casual fans and make diehards fall asleep, too.

So, what's your take? Does this homecourt dominance take away from the excitement of the playoffs? And what would you suggest to fix it? Let me know! Until then, may everyone run should Romo sing in front of a theater showing 'Speed Racer'!

I apoligize for being inactive recently. My grandmother has been seriously ill in the hospital, and I've spent most of the past week at her bedside, praying for her to get better. I won't go into details, but she has been the single biggest influence in my life, and has raised me like I was her son. Thankfully, she's recovering well, and hopefully soon she'll return home and resume her normal routine.

Now, back to sports. It's officially April, and now I feel it's time to present some awards. Here are my picks (along with runner-ups in most cases) of the major NBA awards:

MVP: Kobe Bryant, Lakers: Say what you will about his attitude, Bryant has been a key reason the Lakers are back as a relevent team again. While Gasol and Bynum have been hurt, he has kept his team in the thick of a brutal Western race. And, frankly, it's about time he got an MVP.

Runner-up: Chris Paul, Hornets: There will be arguements for Kevin Garnett and LeBron, but Paul is the engine for the surprising Hornets, as he leads the league in assists and has New Orleans primed for a major playoff run. Thus, he's my runner-up.

Coach of the Year: Maurice Cheeks, Sixers: I'm not knocking Byron Scoot or Doc Rivers, or even Phil Jackson; they've all done remarkable jobs this season. But each has major talent to work with. Cheeks has Andre Igudola... and a bunch of youngsters and bench fodder. Yet he has the Sixers in the playoffs with a winning record in the Least, er, East, marking their first trip to the postseason since 2005.

Runner-up: Byron Scott, Hornets: Scott gets runner-up because no one expected the Hornets to be near the top of the West. Scott has done a magnificent job of molding this young team into a contender the same way he did the Nets; by letting a special PG lead the way.

Defensive Player of the Year: Marcus Camby, Nuggets: He leads the league in blocks per game (by a wide margin) and is second in rebounds. And, by the way, he does it on the run-and-gun Nuggets, who play defense only if the moon is in the correct phase.

6th Man Award: Leandro Barbosa, Suns: Because, simply, no one else stood out enough to win the award. I actually wouldn't mind if someone could give me another candidate (and before you Manu people chime in, he plays starter minutes, so that skewers his stats).

Rookie of the Year: Luis Scola, Rockets: Whoa, no Durant? Well, Scola has been instrumental in the Rockets' surge since January. While he would become the first ROY to win the award averaging fewer than 10 PPG, the Rockets have lost only 4 or 5 games since he became a starter.

Runner-up: Kevin Durant, Sonics: Durant finishes second because his team stinks, and he has needed a lot of shots to get his points (on a bad team, which skewers any productive players on such teams). I call it the John Starks effect. Durant has a bright future, but he shouldn't win ROY by default.

All-NBA 1st Team:

G Chris Paul, Hornets

G Kobe Bryant, Lakers

F LeBron James, Cavaliers

F Kevin Garnett, Celtics

C Dwight Howard, Magic

Executive of the Year: Mitch Kupchak, Lakers: Kupchak gets the award because he made the unsung moves to make the Lakers a contender again. And any exec who can trade Kwame Brown's corpse for Pau Gasol should be EOY.

Runner-up: Danny Ainge, Celtics: Like Kupchak, Ainge made the moves to make Boston relevent again after 21 years of dormancy. Ainge took a chance, and it paid off, big.

Now, as far as the playoffs go, here are my favorites in each conference, ranked 1-8 based on my preference, not on current seeding. They are:

West

1. Lakers (provided Gasol and Bynum are healthy, they're the deepest team)

2. Spurs (to be the best, you must beat the best. Until they lose, they're the best)

3. Hornets (inexperience an issue, but Paul and Scott will guide them nicely)

4. Suns (Shaq was brought in to win a title, after all. Right?)

5. Jazz (need to show they can win away from home consistently)

6. Rockets (no Yao will hurt them against elite bigs in playoffs)

7. Warriors (lightning won't strike twice)

8. Nuggets (no defense except Camby = no playoff series wins)

East

1. Celtics (Garnett, Pierce and Allen are hungry for a ring)

2. Pistons (if they overcome conplacency, the biggest threat to Boston)

3. Cavaliers (LeBron can win series himself)

4. Magic (Howard is emerging as maybe best C in game)

5. Sixers (a sleeper to pull an upset 1st round win)

6. Wizards (can't stay healthy... or play defense well)

7. Raptors (a poor man's Wizards)

8. Whoever is 8th (Hawks, Pacers, Bulls, etc.; it doesn't matter; they'll get swept)

There you are. Disagree? Just drop me a line. Gotta go; Kwame Brown's corpse is being moved out of the morgue!