So I am either 6-2 or 5-3 in the first round. Clearly not impressive, we will see what happens this morning in Atlanta, but I dont to wait until then to make my second round prediction. I expect the Cavs to take either of them in 5.

I made a bad call on the San Antonio series. I have had very little respect for Dallas since the meltdown in the finals, but Carlisle has shown that he is a good coach wherever he goes, and this may be the best Dallas team we have seen in a while. In fact I think the most interesting series in the second round is the Dallas/Denver matchup. Both teams seem to have moved past their histories of folding under playoff pressure and are playing a more mature and consistent brand of basketball.

I still think that Chauncy Billups is a better gaurd than Jason Kidd ever was, and though Nowitzky is the best player in this series, Denver has enough overall talent and live bodies to even the rest of it out. Denver is at home with a proven winner leading the team. This gives me Denver in 7, though it could be 5 if Dallas proves to be a mirage and their win against San Antonio came by default.

Speaking of teams putting their past behind them, Houston has finally overcome theirs. Using the less is more philosophy, we now have the tough, defensive minded Battier taking the role left open by the again injured McGrady. Artest has proven that he can keep it together and be a leader, and Yao has removed the albatross from his neck. Role players like Scola, Landry and Hayes provide toughness and energy, while ex Lakers Wafer and Cook come into this series with a chance to drive 3 point daggers into the team that spurned them. Aaron Brooks is an energetic waterbug on the floor, the type that typically gives the Lakers trouble. Houston beat a very good Portland team by keeping their poise and matching the Blazers vaunted athleticism. This should make them the team most dangerous to the Lakers in the playoffs before the finals.

The Lakers come into this series after an uneven 5 game pummeling of the Jazz. The Lakers looked brilliant at times but seemed unable to stay interested. Bynum looks like a young player who missed a lot of time and is unused to the playoffs, which is exactly what he is. The big question for the Lakers is; Can Bynum develop back into the force he was in the regular season? The answer is unclear and that is clearly troubling to the Laker faithful. That being said, the Lakers have plenty to be happy about. The emergence of Shannon Brown has us ecstatic. We finally see that athletic/defensive point guard that this team has needed for years. Trevor Ariza did not have a great series against Utah, but he continues to develop ahead of schedule. By running a lineup with Brown, Kobe, Trevor, Lamar and either Pau or Bynum in the post, the Lakers can field a lineup taht is both impressive offensively and potentially ferocious on defense. This is the first time we can say that about a Laker team in years, and that is what makes this group scary to the rest of the league. What makes the Lakers scary to their own fans is that we do not often see the Lakers play with the intensity and focus of a champion. They play a hard 5-10 minutes, build a big lead and coast. The second unit has been wildly inconsistent, largely due to injuries and personel changes, but the talent is there to do the job required. Though I think Farmar may of played his way off this team come the offseason.  So depending on which Lakers show up it will be either Lakers in 5 or 7.

Boston played the most entertaining series of the first round against a Bulls team that would not of made the playoffs in the west. Boston is a shadow of its former self, first weakened by the loss of James Posey and PJ Brown, further eroded by the injuries to Leon Powe and the addition of Stephan Marbury. The absence of KG takes any joy from the Laker fans heart and seeing Boston eliminated from the playoffs. With the crew of Perkins, Davis and Scalabrine all that remains to try to contend with Dwight Howard, The Celtics clearly are doomed in this series. Only a magical return of KG or a complete meltdown by the Magic could make this series a close one. Magic in 5.