Last 10 games as of today:

POR, DEN 8-2
LAL, HOU 7-3
DAL, SA 6-4
NO 5-5
UTA 3-7

Compared to season averages, says this to me: POR, DEN surging with some impressive wins in the stretch. LAL slipping, losing one they shouldn't have. HOU steady as she goes. SA missing Manu. DAL performing on par. NO missing Chandler, needs Peja to step up. UTA proving they still can't win on the road and even had struggles against sub-par teams at home (not good for 8th seed)

1st Round:
I think LAL will take UTA in 5. HOU should move up to 3 (they own tie-breaker between POR and SA) to face NO, and win in 6 in an easy series because of geographical relationships (NO is close to HOU). and a hobbled NO. POR should play SA at the 4 and 5 and win in 6. DEN should beat DAL in 6 also, but they match up well and might be interesting.

2nd Round:
LAL vs POR 7 games either way, edge to LAL
DEN vs HOU 7 games either way, edge to DEN

WCF...... ?

It's mostly up in the air for the 4 teams in the 2nd round. Of course LAL is favored, but will be heavily challenged throughout. I think it will come down to the two teams in the WC who have players that represent the biggest matchup problems for everyone in the west, i.e. Kobe and Yao.

Supersleeper]Over-confidence is a dangerous thing to have come playoff time... My thought is, the Rockets need to watch the games the Lakers played against Portland. Apparently, Portland has the Lakers solved. 0-4 in the regular season means nothing in the playoffs... I don't think it will be easy for either team but to say there's no chance the Rockets can win a series against the Lakers is wrong...

If I had to bet everything I own on that series, sure... I'd probably bet on the Lakers... But I'd still be nervous, because you never know what can happen... The Celtics thought they'd roll over the Hawks last year and they almost lost... Does that mean the Hawks were better than the Lakers? Hmmmmmmmmmmmm....

The Hawks had a great game plan and stuck to it... That's it.... Any team can do the same... Determination and Execution....

We'll see how it plays out....

This year, the Championship will go through the Lakers, Rockets, Blazers, and Nuggets...

Technically, based on the last 10 games, the outlook has changed a lot based on the raw numbers. Offense would go to Denver, then Dallas, then Utah. They have the best momentum going into the playoffs. And based on PPG, the Lakers have dropped to 18th in the NBA. Denver does have a problem with fouls though.
Defensive, Houston is a rebounding nightmare and will be hard to contain on the boards. Lakers and Dallas are respectivly 7th and 9th in the NBA while Houston is 4th overall. If Houston sticks to the game they have played, then they will go far.
Turnovers are a big issue for Utah, while the Spurs and the Mavs are two of the best at holding on to the ball.

In short, you are right on when you say the playoffs are a whole different game. But the last 10 games leading into the playoffs are a good indication on what may happen. I may be wrong, but I still say the Lakers will struggle and face elimination in the 1st or second round. Right now they would play the Jazz and that is the last thing they want........ well, except Portland wrote:

The Rockets could get to the WCF but beating the Lakers in 7 I going to say no.

No.