My picks

The NBA playoffs begin next Saturday. The probable seeding will be:

In the East...

Boston (1) v. Atlanta (8)
Detroit (2) v. Philly (7)
Orlando (3) v. Toronto (6)
Cleveland (4) v. Washington (5)

Do I have to watch any of these? Boston destroys Atlanta in four and then eliminates Cleveland in five (who beat Washington in 6). Detroit takes out Philly easily, Orlando beats Toronto, and then Detroit again beats Orlando and Superman! Dwight Howard. Boston in six over Detroit.

In the mighty West...

Lakers v. Denver
New Orleans v. Dallas
San Antonio v. Phoenix
Utah v. Houston

On this side of the aisle...I can't wait. (I've made some edits since the standings changed yesterday). I like the Houston v. Utah matchup better than a Houston/PHX one. T-Mac and the crew (which will become the crew and T-Mac when he folds under the pressure of the playoffs) will have a better chance against the Jazz, who won't be posting as many points as the Suns. Still, I think the Jazz make it out of round one.

New Orleans over Dallas in six. Lakers over Denver in five (two by double digits). And the mighty Spurs going out in round one to the Suns.

That pits the Lakers against the Jazz and the Hornets against PHX and the Big Cactus. That latter matchup will be great: the past and the present in point guard play, Nash and Paul going head to head. I say PHX in seven; I like them to come out of the west against...Kobe. Shaq proves himself to be the biggest difference maker ever. Sorry, Kobe.

As for predictions after that, I say Boston beats PHX in seven. I really want both of these teams to win it for different reasons, but whoever wins it will be a great final. Here's hoping that this is how it turns out.