The NBA Playoffs 2008 have officially ended and there are two teams that remain after three grueling rounds in the playoffs. The Finals of the NBA 2008 season pit the two best teams this year and the two expected teams to come out of the East and West, both number one seeds.

The Lakers had a relatively easy time advancing, even if they had gone up against more formidable opponents. They swept through the AI-Melo led Nuggets in Round 1, then dropped the solid Jazz team in 6 games to close out Round 2, and then defeated their nemesis the Spurs in 5 games to close out the Western Conference Finals.

These 3 teams were very tough and looked to challenge the Lakers strongly, but Kobe and the gang easily closed out each series. Even when they seemed down and out, the Lakers would just need one quarter to come back and close out the games, finishing their playoff run with only 3 losses, and winning all their home games. They are the favorites to win it all this year, even admist the Big 3 on the other side, that look to oust them in the Finals.

The Celtics, on the other hand, were THE team to beat this year and were on top of all headlines this year with the presence of the Big 3. It was a certainty that they would reach this point, and anything less would have been a total disaster.

Boasting of 3 of the top players in the league, they went through a very tough 3 rounds to get to the Finals. The upstart Hawks pushed them to Game 7 in Round 1, they narrowly escaped Lebron’s Cavs by 5 points in another Game 7 in Round 2, and then took the Pistons out in 6 games in the Conference Finals.

Does all this matter when they get to the Finals? Well for me, yes it does. Even if the Celtics won both games against the Lakers this year, it was without Gasol and with the Lakers still taking it easy. The Lakers are a totally different team right now, while the Celtics look very, very vulnerable.

It should be a good Finals series to watch, but it looks like the Lakers will take it in 5 or 6 games. This is definitely not going to go 7 games, unless by some miracle the Celtics win both home games and take one from the Laker floor. I just don’t see the Lakers losing at home at all in the post-season, and should pretty much take the Larry O’Brien trophy in Game 5 at home.

My prediction would be the Lakers winning in 5 games, with the Celtics winning just one home game.  Click HERE for a more detailed look at the Finals this year.

I still haven’t had any time to do the matchups for the East and West Finals, and I doubt I’d be able to get them up in the kind of detail I have before. The first games for both matchups have also been played anyway, so I’ll do a short writeup instead

For the Celtics-Pistons matchup, that will be a grind-out series and I think each team will steal a game from the other’s home floor. Looking at this to go 7 games, Pistons should win out in 7, but if it goes 6, Celtics should move on. KG will be hard to stop even if Detroit has a ton of big guys. The matchup between these two particular teams just have a much more different dynamic compared to their matchups in Round 2. So it will be interesting to see how Ray Allen and Chauncey Billups play.

On the Lakers-Spurs matchup, people have counted the Spurs out since Round 1. But never doubt the champions as they have proven time and time again, that you should never bet against them otherwise you’ll get burned. Kobe will always be Kobe, and it should be a proven fact why he is MVP and it will show in this series. Tim has always played well against the Lakers in the playoffs and should still do the same. The game actually just ended with the Lakers coming back from 20 points down to win by 4. All because of Kobe Bryant. The series should also be a great one, as the addition of Gasol will prove to be a big difference compared to Andrew Bynum. Everything says Lakers are destined to win it all this year, so as much as I am an avid Spurs fan, it should be the Lakers in 7, with a chance to advance in 6.

With one game remaining to determine the Final 4, it has been all home teams winning their home games except for I believe about 2 of them. One being the Lakers beating the Jazz in Game 6 to close out the series and move on to the Conference Finals where they will be favorites to move to the championship. And the other being Detroit’s Game 4 squeaker 1-point escape in Orlando. Detroit was the first to advance, amidst Jameer Nelson’s prediction that the Magic will surely win Game 5. Not that anyone believed him anyway.

And after another Game 7 for the Celtics, they finally beat Lebron’s Cavs on a nail-biter a few hours ago. The Celtics were up 89-88 with about a minute remaining and the Cavs had the ball! But instead of driving to the hoop, Lebron lobbed up a three which of course missed, and there went the Cavs season. It would have been great to see LBJ at least try to get to the hoop to get a foul or kick out to his teammates, but he chose the worst possible shot. Beating the Celtics would have been testament to Lebron’s overall greatness (afterall he scored 45 points in a Game 7) but I guess he still has a lot to learn. Too bad. A lot of people from Boston would have probably lost cars and houses if the Cavs came out with the win hehe

In terms of predictions, as of the moment all my picks have been correct pending the Spurs-Hornets game tomorrow. It’s do-or-die and I will bet my money on the Spurs against the Hornets there. Lakers are 2-2 against either team though, but I think they will have a harder time dealing with the Spurs. Celtics and Pistons should be a great series to watch! In-depth looks at the Conference Finals for East and West should be up in a few days.

*Update: Spurs beat the Hornets at the Hive to snatch Game 7 and set up a Conference Finals duel with the Lakers

The 2nd Round matchups for this year’s playoffs are now set. In the East, the Celtics had the hardest time getting to this point by beating the Hawks in 7 games. They will face Lebron’s Cavs tomorrow night at Boston. The Pistons are already up 2 games by virtue of winning both their home games against the Magic. That series shifts to Orlando in 2 days.

In the West, the Lakers swept the Nuggets on their way to this round. They are up 1-0, as they pounded Utah 2 days ago. Kobe (this year’s MVP, finally!) scored 38 points and was unstoppable. The Spurs are now down 0-2 against the darkhorse Hornets and will be looking to grab their first win of the series back home, also in 2 days time.

Click on the links below for an in-depth look at the 2nd Round matchups. All top 4 teams in both East and West advanced. No upsets as of the First Round

EAST
Boston Celtics (1) v Cleveland Cavaliers (4)
Detroit Pistons (2) v Orlando Magic (3)

WEST
Los Angeles Lakers (1) v Utah Jazz (4)
New Orleans Hornets (2) v San Antonio Spurs (3)

The NBA Playoffs will begin in 2 days, and the matchups for both East and West for Round 1 have now been set. For a closer analysis of the teams squaring off in Round 1, please click on the links below. The Eastern Conference matchups are complete, while the Western Conference matchups should be done before the playoffs officially begin.

EAST
Boston Celtics (1) v Atlanta Hawks ( 8 ) – 4/15/08
Detroit Pistons (2) v Philadelphia 76ers (7) – 4/17/08
Orlando Magic (3) v Toronto Raptors (6) – 4/17/08
Cleveland Cavaliers (4) v Washington Wizards (5) – 4/18/08

WEST
Los Angeles Lakers (1) v Denver Nuggets ( 8 ) – 4/18/08
New Orleans Hornets (2) v Dallas Mavericks (7) – 4/19/08
San Antonio Spurs (3) v Phoenix Suns (6) – 4/18/08
Utah Jazz (4) v Houston Rockets (5) – 4/18/08

The NBA Playoffs are about to begin on April 19th! The last 2 days of the regular season are being played out but the positions for the Eastern Conference are pretty much set. The West still has some final positioning battles going on and we will have the final matchups in 2 days time.

Currently, these are the head-to-head matchups for both the East and the West as of today. If you are interested in a more in-depth look at each series in the first round, please click HERE.

EAST
Boston Celtics (1) v Atlanta Hawks ( 8 )
Detroit Pistons (2) v Philadelphia 76ers (7)
Orlando Magic (3) v Toronto Raptors (6)
Cleveland Cavaliers (4) v Washington Wizards (5)

WEST
Los Angeles Lakers (1) v Denver Nuggets ( 8 )
New Orleans Hornets (2) v Dallas Mavericks (7)
San Antonio Spurs (3) v Phoenix Suns (6)
Utah Jazz (4) v Houston Rockets (5)