NBA playoffs: it’s all about matchups

There is a lot of talent in the NBA Western Conference. Currently, the New Orleans Hornets are the best team in the West. But, the teams that are tied for seventh and eighth, the Nuggets and Rockets, are only 5 games away. Compared to the West, the Eastern Conference is more or less a two-pony race between the Celtics and Pistons. There is absolutely no question who will compete in the Eastern Conference Finals: the Celtics and the Pistons. The West, on the other hand, is a completely different story. Honestly, any one of the 8 or 9 teams could potentially win the West.

Take a look at the past year. Did anyone ever think that the Golden State Warriors would defeat the Mavericks in the first round? No way! But Baron Davis and company did the impossible by beating the # 1 seed as the eighth seed. So how did it happen? How can a relatively inexperienced playoff team (the Warriors haven’t been to the playoffs in 15 years) beat one of the most talented and stable teams in basketball?

MATCHES

The Warriors pair well with the Mavericks. They were able to exploit the weaknesses of the Mavericks team and ultimately prevailed.

This year it is more or less the same. The Warriors (I use the Warriors as an example because I’m a huge fan. But the same could be said for pretty much every other contender in the Western Conference). They have a winning record against almost all of the best teams in the West. However, every time they play the Utah Jazz, they get killed. I went to the Warriors-Jazz game on Tuesday night and was completely blown away by the Warriors’ performance. It was mediocre, and that’s being generous. Then last night the Warriors beat a star-studded high-octane conference leader on the Boston Celtics.

So it really comes down to how a team takes on its opponents. With competition as fierce as it is in the West, teams are only looking to make the playoffs, let alone win the championship. Then once they’re in, hopefully luck will give them a good showdown. For example, obviously I would love for the Warriors to win the rest of their games and be the best team in the West. But, a small part of me wants them to finish seventh or eighth, barely making the playoffs. That way, they will most likely face the Suns, Mavericks or Hornets, whom the Warriors have a good chance of beating. Now, if they were unlucky and faced the Jazz or Spurs, their chances would not be so good.

The point is this: With the NBA awash with foreign and local superstars, almost every team has the firepower and talent to win the championship this year. It all depends on the teams they have to face on the way to the final. The eventual NBA champions will be the team that faces opponents they pair well with.