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2010 NBA Playoffs Western Conference – First Round Preview

You can also check out our first round preview of the Eastern Conference.

#8 Oklahoma City Thunder vs #1 Los Angeles Lakers
Game 1 – Sunday 3:00 PM ET

Coach Phil Jackson fired a pre-series, misdirection bomb yesterday, claiming that Thunder F Kevin Durant receives star treatment from the refs. Durant took the bait and played the ‘disrespect’ card. The youthful Thunder, led by Durant, G Russell Westbrook and F Jeff Green are fun to watch, but they are clearly over matched against LA.

About the only edge you can give to the Thunder is on the injury front, but even if Lakers’ C Andrew Bynum (Achilles) isn’t able to contribute fully, the Lakers’ experience should wrap up this series in five games. The games may be close but the series will not be.

Hottie to watch: Lakers’ Forward Luke Walton
Luke Walton and Lakers look to flex some muscle

Luke Walton and Lakers look to flex some muscle

#7 San Antonio Spurs vs. #2 Dallas Mavericks
Game 1 – Sunday 8:00 PM ET

If this playoff series was a movie, it would be called ‘Old and Older’. The Mavs’ acquisition of Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson prior to the trading deadline, significantly improved Dallas’ athleticism, defense and attitude; all missing from their recent playoffs past.

San Antonio started slow, but as a veteran team, they understand, it’s not how you play in December, but in April and May that matters. The Spurs enter the playoffs on a roll, having had an entire season to work F Richard Jefferson into the mix. The Spurs have five players averaging double figures in points, the Mavericks have six.

This is easily the one series that could go either way, the survivor will have an easier second round match up, versus either Phoenix or Portland. I’m thinking the Mavericks in seven, based on home-court advantage.

Hottie to watch: Spurs’ Guard Tony Parker
Tony's got the Spurs on a roll.

Tony's got the Spurs on a roll.


#6 Portland Trailblazers vs. #3 Phoenix Suns
Game 1 – Sunday 10:30 PM ET

Injuries have plagued Portland all season long, so it’s no surprise to hear that Brandon Roy will undergo surgey for his torn meniscus, missing the first round series against the Suns.

Phoenix’s wild-ass, no defense style of play normally gets stuffed in the defensive minded playoffs. With Brandon Roy, Portland has a chance, without Roy, the Suns will blow by the Trailblazers in just five games.

Hottie to watch: Portland Guard Travis Diener
Diener's good looks don't translate to much playing time.

Diener's good looks don't translate to much playing time.

#5 Utah Jazz vs. #4 Denver Nuggets
Game 1 – Saturday 10:30 PM ET

Bill this first round series as the Rockies vs the Wasatch or East Slope vs the West Slope, but make no mistake, in order to get to the second round, the higher seeded Nuggets have a huge mountain to climb.

Utah is solid and plays fundamental basketball, emphasizing defense and rebounding. What else would you expect from head coach Jerry Sloan, whose teams seemingly always overachieve?

Recent injuries, the absence of head coach George Karl (throat cancer) and the total abandonment of their defense-first philosophy, dropped the Nuggets, a team once considered a serious threat to the Lakers Western Conference dynasty, to at best the fourth best team in the West.

Taking into account how each team finished the second-half of the season, the seeds should be flipped, but considering the Nuggets owned their division rivals this year, winning three out of four against the Jazz, I’m going to stay away from the chic upset pick, and say Nuggets in seven.

Hottie to watch: Utah G Kyle Korver
Mysterious hottie Kyle Korver

Mysterious hottie Kyle Korver


What do you think? Drop some game knowledge on me in the comments below.

2010 NBA Playoffs Western Conference Bracket

2010 NBA Playoffs Western Conference Bracket

2010 NBA Playoffs Western Conference Bracket

NBA News of Note

Gilbert Arenas Suspension
The NBA leveled an indefinite suspension against Washington Wizards’ foward Gilbert Arenas on Wednesday for a gun incident involving teammate Javaris Crittenton. The latest reports corroborate the initial Washington Post story that Crittenton actually loaded his gun during the incident at the Verizon Center. If true, Crittenton deserves a life long ban from the NBA.

Part of the Arenas suspension may stem from his seemingly playful nature in this pre-game huddle photo where he appears to making light of the situation modeling phantom six shooters with his hands.

Gilbert Arenas making light of gun probe in pre-game huddle.  Source: Getty Images

Gilbert Arenas making light of gun probe in pre-game huddle. Source: Getty Images

Clippers best the Lakers at home/road
The Lakers play four more home games than any other team in the NBA since they share an arena with the Clippers, which is somewhat unfair. Yet, the Clippers beat the Lakers, who were without Pau Gasol –nursing a strained left hamstring — by eleven last night at the home/road venue.

Southwest is the Best
We are almost at the halfway point in the season and the Southwest division has proved itself to be the toughest division. The worst team in the division, the Memphis Grizzlies, are 17-17 and whatever team wins this division will be battle tested and ready for the playoffs.

Buy, hold or sell
Buy the Spurs – 8-2 in their last 10, as they learn how to work Richard Jefferson into the rotation.

Buy the Cavaliers and Celtics.

Hold the Lakers – still have played only 12 of 35, approximately 36%, of their games on the road.

Sell the Suns – not sold that the high-scoring, no defense act will win against good defenses in April.

Sell the Magic – losers of three straight against teams with losing records.

Top 5 NBA Hotties – #5 Tony Parker

Tony ParkerHow can life possibly get any better for Spurs point guard Tony Parker? Consider this, he’s a star point guard on one of the best teams in NBA history, he’s a three time NBA champion, he’s married to a stunning Hollywood actress, he’s got a nice ass (see below) and he’s a friggin hottie who just landed at #5 on the SportsFags list of hottest NBA players for 2009. What a life.

The 6-2, 180 lb Frenchmen spurred offers from American colleges and spent his time preparing for the NBA with Racing in the European league. In 2001, Parker’s play as a rookie for the San Antonio Spurs left little doubt as to whether he made the correct decision. His selection to the 2001 NBA All-Rookie first team was evidence that the Spurs had found their franchise point guard.

Tony Parker shirtlessHe’s not a muscled up hottie as you can see in these shirtless photos, but his thin physique certainly adds to his quickness and ability to get out on the run to lead the fast break.

His stylish good looks have landed him several endorsement deals and he appears just as comfortable in Hollywood as he does in South Texas. His marriage to Desperate Housewives’ star Eva Longoria made him a household name to many gay sports fans but it’s his play on the court that leaves you shaking your head — not that one — in disbelief.

Tony Parker may not be considered the best point guard in the NBA but he’s got three rings and looks primed and ready to lead the Spurs back to the finals in 2009-10.

Tony does endorsements

Tony does endorsements

Tony (far right) shows his ass

Tony (far right) shows his ass


Cute but not cut

Cute but not cut


The fierce competitor within

The fierce competitor within


Tony Parker jumps off a yacht with his ass exposed.

Tony Parker jumps off a yacht with his ass exposed.


Tony looking all hot

Tony looking all hot


Tony looking really gay

Tony looking really gay

Why the Lakers will NOT repeat

Predicting who’s gonna win a championship before the season starts in any sport is guess work at best. The best you can do is take a look at who’s coming back, factor in the additions and subtractions to the current team and assuming that injuries are constant, use all of this information as a proxy for who you think will survive a grueling season and playoff run.

And so, as I watched and graded the NBA off season — not the pre season — I came to one simple conclusion, the Lakers will not repeat as NBA champions.

Western Conference

Will Tony score more with Richard Jefferson or Eva Longoria?

Will Tony score more with Richard Jefferson or Eva Longoria?

The Lakers have the best player in the West, and possibly the entire league, in Kobe Bryant, but the best team in the Western Conference resides in San Antonio. Let’s face it the Lakers are basically the same team minus Trevor Ariza and with Ron Artest. No doubt Artest gives them another outside threat in coach Phil Jackson’s triangle offensive attack and I’m not one of those who thinks team chemistry will be an issue, I simply think the Spurs are a better team.

Which lineup would you feel more comfortable with in the fourth quarter of a tight game? Would you be more confident with the Lakers lineup of Kobe Bryant, Derek Fisher, Ron Artest, Pau Gasol, and Andrew Bynum or with the Spurs lineup of Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Richard Jefferson, Tim Duncan and Antonio McDyess. The Lakers bench is deeper than the Spurs and that’s nice to have during the regular season, but when the game’s on the line the Spurs have more reliable weapons.

The addition of an athletic, floor runner in Richard Jefferson to complement Parker’s fast break ability was the off season move of the year, one that will lead the Spurs to the NBA finals. Of course, if a starter for either team goes down then they could both exit in the first round just like the Spurs did last year without Ginobili against the Mavericks.

The Beasts of the East
Who will the Spurs face off against from the East? The Cavaliers will be fun to watch but I don’t think adding Shaquille O’Neal puts them over the top. The Magic added another dynamic play maker in Vince Carter and a real nice rebounder and high energy forward in Brandon Bass, but Orlando also lost Hedo Turkoglu to the Raptors.

Garnett's back and the Celtics Big 3 are hungry

Garnett's back and the Celtics Big 3 are hungry

The Celtics were the defending champs in 2008-09 and won 62 games. The champs lost all-everything forward Kevin Garnett before the playoffs started. Losing a player of Garnett’s status would keep any team from repeating. During the off season the Celtics added Rasheed Wallace and Marquis Daniels to their bench, giving them perhaps the deepest bench in the NBA on top of what many consider as the best starting five. How can you pick against the Celtics?

NBA Finals
The Celtics and Spurs will be a slugfest that features the second and third best defensive teams from a year ago. In a series I fully expect to last seven games I will take Boston.

SportsFags Poll Results
Our Sportsfags poll shows 50% of gay sports fans believing the Lakers will repeat. One thing we can all agree on, it’s a long damn season.