The Show.

We've reached the halfway mark in the NBA Playoffs and we're down to 4 teams. Out of the West we have the defending Western Conference and NBA Champion Lakers who will tip off against the Phoenix Suns. Coming out of the East we have the defending Eastern Conference Champ Orlando Magic who will play the Boston Celtics.


WEST MATCHUP: Lakers vs. Suns
This is going to be a very offensive series. Each team has averaged over 100 points a game in the playoffs they both give up over 95 as well. The Lakers had it easy against a beat up Jazz team, but I think the Thunder proved in round 1 that the Lakers can be shut down somewhat. The Lakers are facing some injury issues - Kobe Bryant hasn't been practicing and Andrew Bynum's knee still isn't 100%. It'll be interesting to see how they hold up, especially if the series goes deep.
The Suns surprisingly cruised through their series with the Spurs, and they're playing great basketball right now. The Suns scored a least 110 points in 3 of the 4 games against the Spurs, despite how many people thought the Spurs had a good chance of making it to the conference finals. The Suns, however, behind stellar play from Steve Nash who's averaging 9 assists per game, as well as Jason Richardson and Amar'e Stoudemire, who are both averaging over 20 PPG in the playoffs, seem poised to make a serious run at the Finals.

PREDICTION: Suns in 7









EAST MATCHUP: Magic vs. Celtics
This is a great matchup between two great defensive teams. These two have the lowest points against average in the playoffs - Boston is giving up 91 a game and Orlando is giving up just 83. Boston did a great job shutting down LeBron towards the end of their series, and they got some amazing offense out of Rajon Rondo. That being said, I can see Boston struggling offensively against the Magic - the Magic are a great team defensively, and they play much better d than the Cavs, who gave up nearly 100 points per game in the playoffs. Offensively, the Magic are perhaps the most dynamic and deep team in the league. Their bench has enormous depth and it seems that even when their starters are out, they just keep coming at you. If the Magic shoot the ball well they're very hard to beat. I think the break the Magic have had will help them throughout the series, and I think their dynamic game will take them to the Finals for a second straight year.

PREDICTION: Magic in 6









Finals predictions soon to come!