Ball gazing

Picks and Pans
• First Round Prognostications. Includes our long-range forecasts for Conference Finals teams, Conference Winners, Finals teams and 2001 NBA Champions.
• Pickpocketed, how our our First Round picks panned out.
• Conference Semi-Final Prognostications.
• Pickpocketed II – How our Semi-Final picks panned out.
• Nets-Centric Playoff. Prediction System, Rounds 1 and 2.

May 17 - 20, 2001
Playoff Prognostications III –
Conference Finals
Kenny "The Jet" Smith has been fond of this quote by Walt "Clyde" Frazier: "The regular season is where you make your name, the playoffs are where you make your fame." Lordy, how much stronger can Shaq get? How much higher can Iverson take his game? This is the round we find out, sports fans. The playoffs have had their share of magnificent individual performances this year, and we think we're only going to see better, if they don't also peak, right here. The Finals may be (another) anti-climax.

Western Conference
(1) San Antonio Spurs vs (2) Los Angeles Lakers
Joe: THIS is your NBA finals - forget about this conference bullshit. You'd be hard-pressed to have a finals as exciting as this series promises to be. It's the Spurs and their fundamental team basketball shtick vs the Lakers and their two-man superstar tag-team. The guess here is that this series will hinge on two things: 1. The Twin Towers' ability to contain Shaq. If they can hold Shaq to under 25 points per game, Spurs win. If either gets into early foul trouble, the Lakers will shred the Spurs defense. 2. The ability of the Lakers to have a third option. Right now, Derek Fisher seems to have stepped up and is contributing the much-needed third scorer's role. If Shaq and Kobe don't have help, they'll have trouble winning. Look for Ali-Frazer, USA vs Russia and Yankees-Red Sox all rolled into one. This is must-see TV for all basketball fans. Joe's pick - Spurs in 7.
Champagne: Hey, Joe...Antonio Daniels is going to guard Kobe Bryant? How? Furthermore...you're betting against Phil Jackson? The dominant duo of the '90s was Jordan and Jackson, not Jordan and Pippen. Now it's a goddamn power trio, and I'm done betting against him. Unlike all Chicago natives, whose loved ones were held hostage in the '90s until they could demonstrate a working knowledge of the triangle offense, I'm from championship-free New Jersey, so I've only got a basic sketch: the triangle is a system for the disruption of opposing defenses with an organized whirling flow. And it puts the controls in the players' hands. You teach that to great players like Jordan, Kobe and Shaq, and you can sit back in your sideline seat as smug as Phil has for a decade, flashing rings. Spurs aren't dummies, but my theory is that a team that intelligently runs itself on the floor will beat an intelligent team whose authority on the floor derives primarily from their coach. I think the Lakers are the easiest underdog pick of the playoffs. Phil Jackson's teams rarely allow a Game Seven, so I'll call Lakers in six.
Nets-Centric Playoff Prediction System:
The Lakers' winning percentage vs the Nets was 100%, the Spurs' was 50%. Prediction: Lakers.

Eastern Conference
(1) Philadelphia 76ers vs (2) Milwaukee Bucks
Joe: It all comes down to which team will have more bodies standing at the end of the series. Philly's bench is thin - the loss of George Lynch will hurt a bunch. Iverson needs all the help he can get, with Allen and Cassell running and gunning, if ol' Alan doesn't get some rest, he'll be dragging by Game 3. For the Bucks, if Robinson, Allen and Cassell can score 60 points between them, and the Bucks bench (which appears to be deeper and healthier) continues to play well, this could be another classic. Larry Brown is a damned basketball coaching genius, and he's got the Answer, so I give the nod to the Sixers in 6. Unless the Sixers lose another key player to injury, which could very well happen. Then, all bets are off, as far as Joe's concerned. I'm looking for some great Memorial Day weekend hoops, that's for sure. Now, who do I talk to about the Nets trading that #7 pick of the draft? Champagne wants to acquire Antonio Davis, while I'd settle for Scott Williams...
Champagne: Joe, if Brown is a genius, what does that make Karl? His decision to double-team Mashburn in the last two Hornet games was crucial. As you know, for a long time Karl's Sonics was my "Team on the Side." The Bucks aren't their reincarnation, I know, but they certainly have their own charms. Ray Allen switching his ball-hand in mid-air is fairly amazing to see, for one, and Sam Cassell's all-around fearlessness is another. But picking the Bucks is impossible. Second only to Iverson (the true 76er genius), Mutombo's presence will be series-altering – I can't see his match-up with Ervin Johnson as anywhere near fair. I agree with you Joe, Sixers in six.
Nets-Centric Playoff Prediction System:
The Sixers' winning percentage vs the Nets was 75%, the Bucks' was 100%. Prediction: Bucks.

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