NBA Playoffs Today...Who ya Got??

The 7th-seeded Chicago Bulls are currently in an entertaining dogfight with the shorthanded Boston Celtics, missing the fiery glue of their team in high-octane Kevin Garnett. Without KG, I would think that few (if any) expect them to get past the Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA finals, but losing to the Bulls is definitely not in the blueprint. I don't think Paul Pierce lets Beantown lose to the young Bulls, who just aren't quite at that elite level yet, but do you see anyone who can stop Derrick Rose? Thoughts??
The Cavs will take care of business in 4 or 5 games against the Pistons, no questions asked. Detroit is a shell of the team they used to be, with all their stars like Rip Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace aging at a rapid clip. I like young guards Will Bynum and Rodney Stuckey, but we are talking about Lebron James here, guys. Now that he finally has a legitimate wingman in Mo Williams and a rock-solid defense behind him, the Cavs will be in the NBA Finals out of a weak Eastern Conference.
In the playoffs, single players can take over games by themselves enitrely. Whether by the beauty of their own skill, the hand-check rule, or some generous calls by corrupt refs (D-Wade circa 2006 against Mavs), one superstar caliber player can get to the rim and score at anytime in the NBA. This is why I have Wade, playing at a divine level right now, and his green cast of characters getting past the Atlanta Hawks to play Cleveland in the 2nd round. Atlanta is a fun batch of athletic phenoms, but a team stocked with 6 foot 7 swingmen isn't going to win a title anytime soon.
Finally, Magic vs. 76ers is more intriguing than some "experts" are likely to think. Orlando has played poorly down the stretch, and I still contend that even though Dwight Howard is a freak of nature and monster among men, he's not an amazing basketball player. His post moves are lackluster at best, and his free throw shooting abysmal. Yes, he has mack truck-shoulders and otherworldly hops, allowing him to finish with reckless abandon around the rim and snatch rebounds like pinata candy, but if he runs into an equally capable center, than he's in trouble. Philadelphia is an athletic, up-tempo team without a real half-court offense or much shooting spark if they are forced to slow the game down. Luckily, both of these teams play fast-paced, so it should be fun to watch, and though I think this series could go to 6 or 7 , the Magic have more talent.

In the much deeper West, the general consensus is for the Lakers to roll through the playoffs into the Finals again, especially with the return of potent big man Andrew Bynum, who provides a physical complement to Charmin-soft Pau Gasol. They have the most talent (by far), the game's most feared closer in Kobe Bryant, two great post scoring options in Gasol and Bynum, and one of the NBA's most versatile players in Lamar Odom, who can come off the bench and provide unparalled depth. They don't have a great point guard in Derek Fisher or Jordan Farmar, but when you have Kobe, is it that big of a deal? They have a tough 8 seed in the Utah Jazz, who are nearly unbeatable at home, but the Jazz haven't been totally healthy or together all season, plus I have a deep-seeded hatred for Dr. Flopenstein, Andrei Kirilenko, so Lakers all the way.
My Houston Rockets take on the Portland Trail Blazers in perhaps the biggest toss-up of the 1st round. This really could go either way. Portland is young, but exceptionally talented, with an excellent go-to scorer in Brandon Roy and two-headed post monster in LaMarcus Aldridge and big-time bust Greg Oden, who I'm not going to get into on this blog post. Houston has played eons better since T-Mac went down, relying on Yao Ming, stingy defense, and a balanced cast of scorers to win 53 games. They don't really have a reliable perimeter scorer down the stretch, but Portland has nobody with playoff experience, so who has the advantage? I'll go with Houston just to be different, and be loyal to my fanhood.
The Spurs play the Mavericks in a re-match of one of the best playoff series in my lifetime, with the famous Ginobli foul on Dirk in Game 7. Ginobli is absent for the rest of the postseason, which is the sole reason that I'm picking Dallas. I'm trying to let my San Antonio hate rest internally for this one, and just look at the series objectively, and I really believe that Dallas stands a chance. They have played fantastic to end the season, while the Spurs look old, banged up, and merely solid instead of spectacular. Obviously, you can never discount San Antonio in the playoffs, as they still have Duncan and Parker, but I'm thinking (or is it hoping?) that this year might be the end of an era. Dallas in 7.
Finally, we have the Denver Nuggets versus the New Orleans Hornets. Denver has been a new team since nabbing Chauncey Billups, who has brought this selfish cast of characters and one-on-one scorers together as dangerous team. New Orleans had an unfortunate series of injuries and odd defections that kept them from repeating last year's success, including the whole Tyson Chandler fiasco (he's still not playing). Chris Paul is amazing, and can make this team compete by himself, but they can't beat the Nuggets without major contributions from West and an inspired return from Chandler, who looks like he has no desire to play. The Nuggets are the weakest of the elite seeds, but they still beat the New Orlenans Chris Pauls...