Starting this week, we have a new feature at Sportolysis. In Visitors, I invite one person each week to share perspectives on a sport, a sporting event, sporting aspects or any thing in between. This week, Jon Reed of Complete Sports joins us to give his thoughts on the NBA Playoffs 2006 till the conference semi-finals and looking ahead at the conference finals.

By Jon Reed

What have we seen so far? Try 9 OT games, lots more that were decided by 1 or 2 points, and the biggest young star in the NBA proving that he can get the job done in the playoffs. Ah yes, the rebirth of the NBA.

We’ve seen one of the best conference semifinals ever, when we had arguably the top 2 teams in the NBA (San Antonio and Dallas) square off in an incredibly well-matched series, where only one game could be considered “not close.” We saw a series between Cleveland and Washington that featured Cleveland making 3 game-winners in the last 5 or so seconds. We’ve seen running and gunning from Phoenix throughout the playoffs, and we’ve seen tight defense in Game 7 when the Pistons needed the win.

We’ve seen countless incredible performances from stars. LeBron got a triple-double in his first playoff game. Tim Duncan did everything but drain a couple 3-pointers against the Mavs (incredibly without drawing a foul), but even he was topped by the heroics of Dirk Nowitzki. Dwyane Wade’s been knocked down many times, but he has the Heat in the conference Finals. Shawn Marion has played over 40 minutes a night, guarding guys like Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Chris Kaman, or Elton Brand, and all the while he’s been the Suns #2 scoring threat. The individual performances have been incredible.

In the Conference Finals, I’m expecting a little more of the same. Heat/Pistons is a rematch from last year, and last year was an excellent 7-game series. Mavs/Suns are both extremely talented offensively, and have great coaches, which should make that one an entertaining give-and-take battle.

Detroit Pistons vs. Miami Heat

Technically, this is a rematch from last year. However, Miami is a much different team this year, after Pat Riley overhauled the roster in the offseason. Gone are Damon Jones and Eddie Jones, starters last year, and in are Jason Williams and Antoine Walker. The result? A more talented team, but it took them a while to find their groove. But now that they have, they’re a legitimately scary team with the talent to win it all. Heck, they probably would have beaten Detroit if Dwyane Wade had been 100% in Game 7.

For Detroit, it’s the same old story for them. We know what they have, and we know what they do. It will all depend on what type of intensity they play with, because if they play like they did in Games 3-6 against the Cavs, Miami can and will beat them. I do think Detroit did at least come to their senses somewhat in that 2nd half… they began playing their old style of defense, which is to say that they absolutely shut the opposing team down. I think they’d do well to stick with that strategy.

As far as the series goes, let me just say that Dwyane Wade is the best player in the series, and one of the top 5 players in the NBA. Also, I do like this Miami team more than last year, because I think that when things are going right they have a lot more balance and scoring options. However, Shaq is just not his old self. He can’t play as many minutes, and because of the refs or otherwise he has not been as effective in thos minutes. I think with Wade on board they can again extend it to 7 games, but I think it’ll be a new year, and the same results. PISTONS IN 7.

Dallas Mavericks vs. Phoenix Suns

Very interesting matchup here as well, if only because of the coaches, because Avery Johnson and Mike D’Antoni are absolutely 2 of the top 4 coaches in the NBA. Add on to that that these teams are talented and play fun-to-watch styles, and this should be another entertaining series.

When Phoenix is hitting their 3s (like they were in Game 7) they are unbeatable. Against a super-athletic team with a lot better coach (AKA the Mavs as compared to the Clips), I don’t see them doing this as much. As Dallas showed against the Spurs, they can play smallball if need be, which will probably negate any positive Kurt Thomas would be able to bring.

I think this will be very entertaining, but I think the Mavs defense is just too much better than the Suns defense. I think whoever Steve Nash guards, whether it’s Devin Harris or Jason Terry, will just put up really big numbers. Dirk, as always, will be excellent as well. MAVERICKS IN 6.

Either way the two series turn up, I hope you’re enjoying what has been the best the NBA Playoffs have had to offer in quite some time.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 25th, 2006 at 4:49 am and is filed under NBA. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.